Discussion with Poly house vendor

@Ronali Pradhan (Unlicensed) @Ashu Sikri (Unlicensed) @ashok @Ravi Shankar Sharma (Unlicensed) @Aditya Sethi (Unlicensed) @Sai @Chandan Dash (Unlicensed)

Discussion with Poly House vendor :

What is the maintenance work that needs to be done and how frequently? How much should the FO budget for annual maintenance? Can someone be trained in how to do basic maintenance?

They used to make an AMC ( annual maintenance contract ) while doing any Big Project. But for small projects there is no need for such maintenance every year . After 2-3 years , the poly house may demand some maintenance ,which may go upto 10k / year .

2.Is the polyhouse removable? How much would it cost to take down and re-establish at a new site?

Yes, the poly house is removable but there will be a wastage of polythene used. 40% of the polythene can be used again and 60% needs to be replaced. There may be some wastage in irrigation pipes . The shifting of the polyhouse may cost around 4-5 lakhs .

3.Does the developer have any potential customers who struggle with the purchase price? Has he worked with any financing partners to increase accessibility to his products? What sorts of models have worked?

There are 3 types of customer base

Private farmers (with subsidy)
Private farmers (without subsidy)
Govt & other institutions (With work order & agreements)

The payment procedure works in a process where 75 % of the amount is deposited before work and 25% after the completion of work . The vendor is dealing with a very less number of customer availing loan facilities from the bank as they are facing a lot of problems in getting the last 10% money from the bank . This last 10 % money requires farmer consent , and sometimes farmers don't give consent . In the loan process it is mandated that farmers have to give at least 10 % of the amount and 90% will be funded by the bank. For the loan proposal , the farmer has to submit a business plan or project report (will be shared by the vendor ).

If the Poly house works with full capacity 2 seasons in a year growing normal fruits /vegetables , it will require 4-5 years to pay back the amount. It can go down to 1.5-2. Years if hybrid

Are his customers typically individual farmers or farmer groups? What is his perspective on assets owned at a group vs. individual level?

Group /Institution - 4-5 polyhouses / Month (48-50 polyhouse per year , considering the size of polyhouse to be medium )

Individual framers - 2/Month (20-24 polyhouses per year )

The polyhouse owned individually is maintained properly and the profit is more compared to the group . As the decision making power is in individual hands and mostly exotic fruits and vegetables are grown . But after the covid situation ,there is huge loss with the individual farmers as the flower business went down during the covid.

If the FPO wants to make more profit , then they should try off season vegetables . The saplings should be ready 1-1.5 months before the season .

Grafted Brinjal is also profitable . Training the FPO on the same is needed to know whether it is feasible or there is any risk associated with the same.

The Vendor will share a poly house Project report with us .