Many urban and peri-urban areas in India can play a perfect host to urban farming, as these farms can help control floods, increase job opportunities and enable productive usage of marginal land. The Smart Cities drive can help
The current pace of growth in global population is a cause of concern especially from the perspective of food security. According to the US based Global Harvest Initiative, the world is headed for a huge food crisis in 2030 as the existing agricultural productivity is inadequate to cater to the rising food demand. India in particular is facing the grim prospect of being able to meet only 59 per cent of its total food demand by 2030, if the current agricultural productivity is maintained.
As the world grapples with dwindling natural resources, the growing mismatch between population and food availability is making the situation worse. The regions of Sub-Saharan Africa are already projecting an inability to meet nearly 85 per cent of food demand by 2030. East Asia too is looking at a possibility of meeting only 67 per cent of its food demand by 2030. Given the circumstances, these regions will have to rely on expensive food imports and aid from other countries leading to adverse impact on their economies.
With barely a decade-and-half to go before the situation turns critical, it is necessary to re-think on how the world perceives agricultural production and why there is an urgent need for innovative approaches to increase productivity. Innovation and investment are two essential tools that can script a turn around in agricultural productivity provided these tools are incorporated in robust strategies that not only boost production but also conserve the natural resource base.
According to a research study in the Environment Research letters journal, urban farming is emerging as one of the most innovative approaches in increasing agricultural productivity and therefore bolstering global food security and sustainable development. As on date, nearly 456 million hectares is under urban farming across the world and its scale is increasing. Utilising the Smart City initiative as a vehicle, India on its part is uniquely positioned to leverage the concept of urban farming and strengthen its food security conditions.
Many urban and peri-urban areas in India can play a perfect host to urban farming as these farms can help control floods, increase job opportunities and enable productive usage of marginal land. lands under urban farming are also capable of utilising wastewater in quantities that are greater than the municipal wastewater treatment plants.
The city of Jaipur is already taking urban farming to the next level. The Municipal Corporation of Jaipur is in the process of framing by-laws for making terrace vegetable farming mandatory in the city. There are more outstanding examples of urban farming scattered across the country, for instance, a former dump site in Mumbai’s Ambedkar Nagar slum is now a thriving vegetable garden. Similarly, in the city of Cuttack, slum-dwellers are now relying on organic farming to grow the vegetables needed to meet their dietary requirements, and are even able to sell the surplus to local markets. local fruit and vegetable production in and around urban Delhi is allowing poor communities to access cheap, healthy food, which would otherwise be too expensive. This demonstrates that urban farming is capable of positively impacting community food security.
The Government, however, needs to realise that urban farming is still not a cohesive part of the overall agricultural and urban development strategy and this is impeding the realisation of its full potential. To remedy this, the Government can plan an aggressive awareness campaign in the urban areas regarding the benefits of urban farming and hold demonstrations at municipal centres and community areas through resident welfare associations and NGOs. In addition to these efforts, authorities can also impart training on how to engage in sustainable urban agricultural practices using organic methods.
The priority being accorded to the farm sector through heavy subsides is not reflecting in productivity, and this is a cause of concern as many other sectors receiving far lesser subsidies are able to perform better than the agricultural sector. The Government can re-design its subsidy policy and provide benefits and sops to the urban farmer, thereby providing impetus to the promising concept of urban farming. The resultant push to urban farming will rejuvenate the urban and peri-urban economic prosperity besides providing affordable and healthy source of nutrition to the community.
Urban agriculture has the potential to become a dynamic economic sector that can ensure food security by continuously adapting to the changing urban conditions and demands through intensification of its productivity and functional diversification.