The Delhi Government has decided to launch a mega campaign for urban farming. A roundtable conference will be held on April 25 to discuss the future course of action and to reduce the excessive consumption of chemical products in order to improve health. The horticulture department will be the nodal department for the campaign.
Delhi’s Environment Minister, Gopal Rai said that the roundtable conference will be attended by Government functionaries from Pusa Institute, research organisations and experts in the field.
“Delhi will become the first State in India to prepare ward-level environment action plan.
Delhiites will be able to reduce the excessive consumption of chemical products in their everyday life and improve health through urban farming,” said Rai. Rai said that the concept of urban farming is to encourage and enable everyone in Delhi to plant everyday fruits, vegetables and other necessities in their own homes.”Delhiites who have terraces, verandahs with access to sunlight, can begin urban farming in their homes and help meet their needs on a day-to-day basis, all while contributing to improving and preserving the environment of their city,” said Rai.
“This method is being used in different cities of the country, as well as the world. A discussion on how to implement these techniques throughout Delhi will take place at this conference which will be held at the Delhi Secretariat on April 25.
Commencing our urban farming mega plan, we will brainstorm its implementation in Delhi at this conference,” said Rai.
“For this purpose, a primary proposal on two factors will be developed. First, with the help of the Pusa Institute we will train people throughout Delhi. We are targeting people on a ward-by-ward basis. Counting all the wards under the MCD, NDMC and the Cantt Board there are 300 wards in Delhi,” said Rai.”A centralised training program will be initiated through master trainers and then they will further train the rest of the population.
Second, the whole initiative will run with the support of awareness campaigns on the lines of the winter action plan inculcating RWAs, market associations and NGOs in the prospect,” Rai added.
“To train people, create awareness and make people join the urban farming revolution, we have proposed the establishment of the Delhi Environment Protection Committee,” said the Environment Minister.
“We understand that once people start urban farming they’ll need to procure material like seeds, bags, soil, equipment as well as training, following which we will create a panel from where the required inventory can be procured.
They’ll just need to make one phone call and get all their needs fulfilled from there,” said Rai.