On January 18, the opening of the demonstration polyhouse in Tumkur, Karnataka, India, took place. During the inauguration ceremony, the project initiators and the Consul General of the Netherlands in Bangalore, Mr. Gert Heijkoop, participated in a light ceremony. Lots of farmers from the Karnataka region were invitation to the ceremony and participated in the greenhouse tour. The day was closed with a technical workshop focused on improving growth in India.
The demonstration polyhouse is a cooperation between a consortium of Dutch companies active in the horticultural sector, the Dutch government and Future Group, one of the largest retailers in India. The aim of the project is to reduce food waste in India through the establishment of an improved supply and cold chain, as well as to show Indian growers that Dutch technology and knowledge can help them improve crop quality and yields.
The world population is growing, and it’s growing fast. The population in India is no exception. India has a large consumer market with currently over 1.3 billion people and this number is rising. Due to this the demand for food increases, but food security is not self-evident in India. In fact, it is a major concern. According to United Nations India, nearly 195 million people are undernourished. 4 out of 10 children in India are chronically undernourished. United Nations India also estimated that approximately 40% of the food production in India is wasted. This food waste occurs at every level of the food production chain; harvesting, transporting, processing, packaging and consuming. This shows the need for an improved cold chain and improved production. Besides that, the demand for better food quality and food safety is on the rise.
At the demonstration polyhouse, producing more with less is key. To realize this, robust starting materials, sustainable cultivation methods and knowledge are crucial. By combining inputs, technology and knowledge, yields and quality can be improved. At Hoogendoorn we want to help our customers to produce more with less. Our sustainable automation solutions ensure that the available resources, such as fertilizers and water, are used as efficiently as possible. With this, we help our clients to minimize costs and maximize crop yield and profitability.
At the demonstration polyhouse in Tumkur, Hoogendoorn supplied the climate computer The iSii compact is installed on site to control irrigation and manage the greenhouse climate. To produce high quality products and to reduce pest and diseases, it is important to have a uniform greenhouse climate. All controls in the iSii compact work together to balance all climate factors properly.
Sulabh Bandari, project manager at the demonstration polyhouse: “The iSii compact makes it easy to monitor nutrition parameters and align irrigation with plant needs. The records stored in the system help enormously in analyzing trends and the remote operation ensures easy control. In short, I think the iSii compact is essential for growing in polyhouses”.