general considerations APPLYING THE POLYCULTURE DESIGNS The three polyculture designs described in this section can be applied separately. However, as described earlier, an ideal scenario is one where all three designs are used in combination in different sections of a single greenhouse. The main goal of the polyculture production approach is to limit production to what can feasibly be sold locally at retail prices (matching production to the consumption of local consumers). If a grower is transitioning to polyculture production, then some products can initially be sold wholesale. A best case scenario is if the grower has his own point of sale, either through a shop or through a produce package that is filled weekly with the crops that were harvested in that time period. Alternatively crops can be sold to local shops or restaurants at slightly lower prices, but still above standard farm-gate values. The estimated revenues from each of the three designs described here vary considerably. At maturity, the berry polyculture, for example, has an estimated potential revenue of 560.000 euros per hectare per year at retail prices. This is in contrast to the lower revenue of the tree polyculture, which is estimated to produce 350.000 euros per hectare at maturity. The highest potential revenues are predicted by the annual crop polyculture, which can make up to However, they are both worth growing together for the purpose of maintaining product diversity. Assuming that a single family will purchase an average of 5 kilograms each of a variety of fruit crops, a grower can estimate how many families he can service in his local area and scale the system to match. Using this measure, each hectare of the tree and berry polyculture designs is suitable for providing fruits and some vegetables for 1.000 - 2.000 families. Assuming that each family will purchase an average of 40 kilograms of vegetables, the annual polyculture described here can provide for around 10.000 families. These estimates can be adjusted based on local consumption patterns, and the mix of products produced in the greenhouse should also be optimized for these local demands. The costs of establishing a polyculture system are higher than those for a monoculture. However, these costs generally get incrementally smaller for each crop that is added. The basic costs of soil preparation, weeding, and installation of irrigation equipment remain similar on a per hectare basis. Additional labor is required per crop for pruning and harvesting. However, the shared labor for basic crop establishment can ultimately translate to reduced labor per crop output. MARKETING FOCUS Because a good marketing strategy is so essential to achieving a financially successful polyculture greenhouse, a sales strategy needs to be a core factor prior to embarking on production. Prior to starting soil preparation and creating a detailed planting schematic, the grower must answer the following key questions related to his or her target market: › How long should the harvest season be? › › What is the required quality of fruits? › What is the maximum quantity of each fruit type that I can locally sell, and through which potential channels? When should fruit production start and end for each fruiting crop? SEASONAL PRODUCTION SHIFTS Both the annual polyculture and the mushroom production in the tree and berry polycultures go through a significant seasonal cycling pattern. To take maximum advantage of temperatures within the greenhouse, a variety of mushrooms can be intercropped in the polyculture depending on the season. A target for any polyculture system designed for local sales should be to maintain production year-round. The marketing strategy also should reflect this seasonal shiſt, with specialty products highlighted at the change of each season. PRODUCT LONGEVITY AND PROCESSING A unique concern with polyculture production is the risk of not selling all the products that the system outputs. One way of managing this risk is to set up a small facility for processing unsold products. Many products can be canned or dried, retaining their value for over a year in processed form. The added costs of setting up and running a small scale processing facility have to be measured against the potential added benefit. This is also a cost that could be shared between several growers if a cooperative sales model is developed. 56 / 64 Pagina 55
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