There are various revolutionary changes in the Indian Agricultural system with a development in technology, markets and institutions that have an extremely important role to play. The green revolution brought about a massive change in the agricultural sector in the late sixties and early seventies which was a not-for-profit movement by the public sector. The mindset has recently been shifting to a for profit movement by the private sector that is not only boosting the income status of the farmers but also giving them an opportunity of development and advancement from traditional farming techniques.
The traditional farming techniques give them lesser yield which in turn leads to lower profit. If the farmers adopt the automation advancements, they have higher yield, higher profits which gives them a higher opportunity for development. The agricultural sector in India is extremely large contributing to about 15 percent of the total GDP and giving employment to more than half the Indian population. In this century, Indian overtook the United States to being the largest producer of milk in the world and is also amongst the largest producers of pulses, lentils, rice and wheat.
Credit for this growth can be given to automation developments such as irrigation systems, greenhouses and polyhouses. Greenhouses are considered to be the future of high-tech farming and have become extremely popular across the world. The Indian agricultural landscape has adopted the green housing mode of agriculture recently and has seen a lot of positive response through higher automation, lower labor force and higher yield.
Greenhouse farming refers to a process of growing crops in a greenhouse. A greenhouse is a closed structure that helps in creating an artificial micro environment that is conducive for the growth of that particular set of plants/ crops.
Automation in a greenhouse can be achieved by controlling the humidity, temperature, light and ventilation externally. This control allows the farmers to create and provide an environment that will boost the plant growth. A greenhouse that is installed based on the type of crops grown, size of requirement and other properly measured external factors can also help in preserving energy, reducing production costs and prove to be extremely pocket friendly to the farmers. They can also help farmers in exploring the growth of a wider range of plant and provide higher profits with the production of exotic fruits and vegetables like strawberries, blueberries etc. in India.
Apart from these benefits greenhouses prevent pest attacks and pathogen infestations giving farmers a certain level of surety with the production and output levels.
Keeping in mind all these advantages, the Indian greenhouse market has been growing at a phenomenal rate and has currently reached a market valuation of USD 190 Million and is estimated to grow even more. The increase in population and hence in food demand has on some level, forced the Indian farmers to search for better, sustainable and independent modes of farming and move away from the traditional modes. Greenhouse farming satisfies all the criterion for Indian farmers and is a rising entrepreneurial field with government backing.