The food demand is increasing day-by-day due to burgeoning population of the country.  In order to make pace with food demand and over increasing population, there is an urgent need to enhance the productivity of crops.  Sometimes, climatic variation and other natural adversities such as flood, drought, cyclone, hail and storm etc. cause poor crop production or total crop failures.  So, there is an urgent need of appropriate technology in the field of agriculture to meet out the food demand of rapidly increasing population.  Therefore, it is need of the hour to bridge the gap in between food demand and increasing population.

            Protected cultivation is one of the leading technologies to meet the requirement of food especially there in horticulture sector.  Production of crops under protected conditions has great potential in augmenting production and quality of vegetables, flowers and some fruit crops in main and off season and maximising water and nutrients use efficiency under varied agro-climatic conditions of the country.  At present in our country, the area under protected cultivation is around 25,000 ha. While the area under protected cultivation of vegetables is about 2000 ha. Leading States in protected cultivation in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, J & K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 

            The major crops that are grown under Polyhouse are Capsicum, English Cucumber, Hybrid Tomato, Gerbera, Carnation and Roses.

As on today, the following crops are grown in Polyhouses / Shadenet Houses. The average production and net value are as follows:

The total area covered under Protected Cultivation is 284.07 Ha. (i.e., 710.18 Acres  / 28.40 lakh Sq. Mtrs.). The approximate gross returns out of 710.18 Ac. Is Rs.71.01  crores (@ Rs.10.00 lakhs gross value for 4000 sq.mtr. or 1 Ac.).

DISTRICT-WISE AREA COVERED UNDER PROTECTED CULTIVATION SINCE INCEPTION OF SHM