SRINAGAR, DEC 08: The shortage of fresh vegetables during winters in Union territory Ladakh is likely to end as around 1800 units of greenhouses have been constructed by people, which allow farmers to grow a variety of vegetables throughout the winter season.
Ladakh has introduced a technology named ‘Ladakh Green House’ which allows the farmers to grow vegetables even at minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The cropping season in Ladakh has been severely restricted due to its icy winters when the temperature dips to minus 20-30 degrees Celsius. However, with this technology, people can grow vegetables even during winter.
“The maximum temperature recorded in these is above 40 degrees Celcius in the summers and the lowest temperature recorded in peak winter months amid extreme cold conditions is 5-10 degrees Celsius. This is enough to grow vegetables in winter months,” the official said.
He said people here have cultivated cabbage, spinach, cauliflower and coriander.
He further explained how while regular greenhouses became untenable when the temperature dropped below zero outside, solar greenhouses did not need to be heated, but they retained the heat derived from the sunlight during daylight hours and kept warm.
“Even in the bitterest cold between November and February, the farmers now have fresh vegetables to eat and sell. We are receiving an immense response from the farmers. The department bears the cost of polycarbonate sheets, doors, and windows. And, the government is installing these solar powerhouses at a subsidy of 70 per cent,” the official added.
Sharing her experience, Rincha, a 50-year-old farmer of Khalsi village in Ladakh said tomatoes in the winter months could cost as much as Rs 150 to Rs 200 a kilogram, and because the vegetables are airlifted from Delhi or Srinagar into snowbound Ladakh, the prices are high and most of us cannot afford it.
But things changed two years ago when she learnt about Ladakh Greenhouse, a passive solar greenhouse, which allows farmers to grow a variety of vegetables throughout the winter season. “I approached the government’s agriculture department in July 2021, and with its help installed an 18 x 32 feet solar greenhouse, in which I can grow vegetables even in the midst of freezing temperatures,” she added.
