Though not a good news from the entrepreneurism point of view, but the much publicized Chief Minister’s polyhouse scheme failed to take off in Uttarakhand (They are the big polythene covered angle iron structures, which you may or may not have mistakenly assumed to be some banquet hall. Although chances are that you may not have stumbled any, as till now, only 10 to 20 polyhouses have been set up against this year’s target of 2,000).

Under the scheme launched last year, the horticulture department of Uttarakhand launched an ambitious project to set up cluster-based 20,000 modern polyhouses to boost production of vegetables and flowers in the state.

To revive the scheme, the state government has announced new incentives for farmers, which include a cash subsidy of Rs 10,000 and free disbursement of seeds worth Rs 5000. The earlier target of 20,000 polyhouses has been brought down to 6,000 now.

Hope the incentives attract at least some enterprising minds. Amen.

So what made the scheme failed?

There are many factors like undulating topography, fragile environment, fragmented and small holdings, little or no irrigation facilities, poor marketing structure (something which has hampered the growth of the horticulture sector in the state, and never allowed the state to emulate the success of neighboring Himachal Pradesh).

A little bit about the PolyHouse scheme:

The project is part of Chief Minister’s Protected Cultivation Scheme, where-in farmers are being given 50 per cent central subsidy under the Horticulture Technology Mission and the rest of the amount is made available through loans from various banks for setting up polyhouses.
Because of farmer apathy towards the scheme, the Government has decided to increase the subsidy level to 65 per cent.

How much a polyhouse costs under the polyhouse scheme?

According to Government, a modern polyhouse costs around Rs 1 lakh to the Government. But to the farmer it costs just rupees 35 thousand, the rest 65 thousand will be provided by the Government in the form of cash subsidy of Rs 10,000, free disbursement of seeds worth Rs 5000 and 50 per cent central subsidy.

To set up a polyhouse or to be eligible for the subsidized polyhouse scheme: the person should have 100-300 square metres of land. Farmers taking part in the project will be provided polyhouses (help create) by six companies which have already been selected by the government to provide polyhouses to farmers. The same companies will also be providing the farmers the required skills to upkeep and run these polyhouses.

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It’s good to know that the central and state governments are encouraging horticulture in the state. Having a climate similar to neighboring Himachal Pradesh, the state can also empower its people though horticulture. With right information about the scheme, an enterprising youth of the state can venture into horticulture business with limited money. The fact that government has already identified nearly 750 clusters in about 5,000 villages where the government sees tremendous scope in the horticulture sector, can give a big boost to entrepreneurship among the youth of the state.

If you are a person in his 20s or 30s, living in any part of the state, and always known for his out of the box ideas; then this can be one opportunity to avail. If you don’t have land, then try to bring together young people who have money. Try to make for the deficiencies by acting collectively. If done rightly, you and your team can be the first horticulture entrepreneurs from the state, selling your produce not only in the Uttarakhand, but India and may be world. Through this project, the government is aiming four to ten times higher productivity of cash crops. The project will also provide support for capacity building of local youth and employment of local artisans in the construction of polyhouse designs. So if you have always aspired to grow fruits and vegetables, then let this scheme be your first step.
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