In India, urban farming is mostly done on private land for private consumption as opposed to the global trend of using public and private land and selling the produce in the local markets. Apart from making a family self sustaining, urban farming is a sustainable and desirable practice for various reasons.
Apart from producing food, it provides jobs and income and ensures food safety and food security for its growers and consumers. It is energy-saving as it cuts out long distance transportation.
The biggest beneficiaries are the poor living in urban and suburban areas as it enables them to grow some food for their personal consumption, thereby saving money for other use.
Constraint in urban farming in India
The only constraint in urban farming in India is availability of land that can be used for cultivation. As most cities in India are not planned to provide spaces for growing food, problems relating to land rights and encroachment are major issues coming in the way of urban farming. Moreover, most land is covered up in bitumen and whatever space is available is perceived as more profitable if diverted for real estate development instead of being utilised for growing vegetables.
An effective alternative is using terraces and balconies in urban dwellings for raising nutritionally acceptable food close at hand, within one’s own premises.
Victoria gardens
The Urban farming concept is really a very old one. Harvesting food in small plots of land was popular in the push to contribute to war efforts even in the early 19th century. Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defence, were set up at private residences and public parks in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply because of the wars.
With two-thirds of the world population projected to be living in the cities by 2030, the FAO, under its “Food for the Cities” program, is helping a number of cities to support urban agriculture to help them feed themselves.
Watch video on rooftop farming in Kerala, India
