How A Madhya Pradesh Village Became 'Mini Holland' With Modern Flower Farming
Rupakheda, a home to around 1,930 residents and 391 families, was earlier dependent on conventional crops like wheat, gram, maize, and soybean.
Published : August 5, 2026 at 11:44 PM IST
|Updated : August 6, 2026 at 12:00 AM IST
Dhar: A small village in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district has earned the sobriquet of ‘mini Holland’ by adopting modern floriculture. Rupakheda village, located in Badnawar block, is cultivating high-value premium flowers such as roses, gerberas, lilies, gypsophila, blue daisies, and white daisies, along with vegetables, in polyhouses and shade-net houses.
Rupakheda, a home to around 1,930 residents and 391 families, was earlier dependent on conventional crops like wheat, gram, maize, and soybean until a decade ago. However, changing weather conditions, rising cultivation costs, and limited returns made farming difficult.
Then, the Horticulture Department introduced farmers to protected cultivation techniques through polyhouses and shade-net houses. Today, the village has 44 operational polyhouses spread across nearly 144,407 square metres, where farmers grow high-quality flowers for commercial markets. Additionally, 13 shade-net houses covering around 42,000 square metres are being used to cultivate improved vegetable varieties.
The controlled environment has improved crop quality, reduced weather-related risks, and enabled farmers to secure better prices in the market.
The Centre's Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) extends its support to the farmers. Under the scheme, farmers can receive subsidies of up to Rs 19 lakh for constructing a polyhouse and up to Rs 14.2 lakh for a shade-net house to make advanced farming technology more accessible.
"If someone wants to build a one-acre polyhouse for flower cultivation, the structure itself costs around Rs 20 lakh. Plants and red soil require another Rs 5 lakh, which makes the total investment to about Rs 25 lakh. The government also provides subsidies," said Mohanlal Patidar, a farmer.
Another farmer, Abhishek Patidar, said nearly 70 households in the village are now engaged in polyhouse farming. "We grow four to five varieties of flowers. Most of our flowers are supplied to Jaipur, while the rest are sent wherever orders come from. Flower cultivation is more profitable than growing soybean or wheat," he said.
Dhar collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena said farmers in the village are cultivating several varieties of flowers, including a rose-like flower without thorns, which is fetching good prices in the market.
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