Economic and Environmental Analysis - Greenhouse Technology and Management - page 246

(old type) without auxiliary equipment,
which is common nowadays in Spain, costs
around €10 m −2 (Table 14.1), whereas a
well-equipped

would cost around €43.1 m −2 , which is less
than half of the cost of a completely equipped
modern glasshouse (Castilla et al ., 2004).
The cost of the improved low-cost green-
house with high roof slope (Photo 14.3) is
intermediate (Table 14.1).
These figures for the initial invest-
ment needed for greenhouse cultivation
must be increased to take account of the
cost of, for example, preparing the land,
water and electricity supply, etc. (Table
14.3), excluding the value of the land and
taxes.
The level of sophistication of the chosen
'greenhouse technological package' will deter-
mine the possibilities for climate control and,
therefore, the productive performances and
profitability of the chosen package.

curved-type multi-tunnel

Table 14.2. Average construction and equipment
costs of Mediterranean greenhouses equipped with
motorized sidewall and roof ventilation (excluding
taxes) including the installation of the plastic film
cover (year 2007). Values calculated for a minimum
surface of 1 ha. Climate control and fertigation
computer are excluded. (Source: Hernández and
Castilla, 2000; Castilla et al ., 2004; updated to 2007.)

Type of greenhouse Cost ( € m −2 )

Improved low-cost parral-type
greenhouse, roof slope 27°/27°
(symmetric)
Structure 14.0

Fans (de-stratification) 1.3

Fog systems (low pressure) 1.3

Heating (hot air) 3.0

14.1.3 The Spanish greenhouse
horticultural farm

Total 19.6

Curved-shape multi-span (multi-
tunnel) greenhouse
Structure Although there are farms of different sizes

in Spanish protected horticulture, it is gen-
erally characterized by small size farms
that, for the specific case of Almeria, range
between 1.5 and 2.4 ha, and most exploit
family labour (Martínez-Carrasco, 2001;
Pérez et al ., 2002). Their technological level
is low, with a predominance of low-tech

19.0

Fans (de-stratification) 1.3

Fog system (high pressure) 2.8

Heating (metal pipes) and CO 2 15.0

enrichment

Double-use screen (thermal 5.0

and shading)

Total 43.1