URBAN AGRICULTURE: USING BUILDINGS TO

FEED CITIES
By the year 2050, it is projected that the world’s population will
exceed 9 billion people, with over 70 percentage of humans
living in cities. With this in mind, it is apparent that we need to
start growing more food to ensure food security and also grow
it in a sustainable way that does not destroy our ecosystems.
Current agricultural practices in rural landscapes pollute our
waterways with chemical laden runoff. This destroys our
freshwater systems and also produces questionable food with
less nutritional value. In addition to this, we are currently using
over 80% of arable rural farmland today with 15% of it being
damaged from bad farming practices. How will we supply food
for future generations? This leads to the importance of growing
food in cities to curtail CO2 emissions associated with the
transport of food and ensure natural, fresh produce while also
supporting local economies.
With this in mind, there arises a question on how to integrate
agriculture to buildings within the city, rather than open public
ground floor spaces ad garden allotments. With the rate of
development and population density rising fast in most cities,
the land dedicated to these spaces may become too valuable
and be occupied with built constructions soon in the future.
BENEFITS OF URBAN FARMING: WHY GO AGRI IN CITIES?

SOCIAL

BENEFITS
ENVIRON
MENTAL OF URBAN HEALTH
FARMING

ECCON
OMIC
ENVIRONMENTAL

AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF IS RUINING OUR ECOSYSTEMS AND

WATERWAYS
Modern agriculture uses 70% of fresh water withdrawals
globally and is the largest source of water pollution. The runoff
from agricultural practices-surface water filled with chemicals
including nitrates, pesticides-are the largest contributor to river
degradation. Due to climate change taking effect, areas are
getting wetter and closest to the equator are getting drier.
Human populations are urbanizing closer to the equator and
the rural area around the city won’t be able to produce food on
dry agricultural land with diminishing water sources. The land
surrounding our cities are becoming barren and our freshwater
supply is significantly decreasing due to our current practices
and climate change.
WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF PRODUCTIVE LAND
The Food and Agricultural Organisation has reported that by
2050, the human population is expected to reach over 9 million
people which is 34% higher than today. It is also expected that
over 70% of them will be living in cities and to accommodate
for this larger population food production must increase by
70%.The amount of arable land in 2050 in developing countries
will also need to expand by 120 million hectares. The land not
being used for production today may be roadblocks from being
productive in the future such as chemical and physical
constraints, lack of infrastructure and higher demand purposes
in the future. We are running out of places to grow food the
conventional soil-based way and need to look into growing
cities.
IMPROVING AIRQUALITY AND REDUCING THE URBAN HEAT
ISLAND EFFECT
Smog, dust and air borne chemicals all contribute to air
pollution in urban environments. By integrating vegetation into
our built environment, air quality can be significantly improved
by mitigating nitrous oxides, volatile organic nitrous oxides,
volatile organic compounds and reducing airborne particular
matter. When using a green roof or other exterior building
surfaces for food production, the urban heat island effect is also
greatly reduced. The plants reflect solar radiation that would
otherwise be absorbed my roof surfaces leading to cooler and
more bearable summer temperatures.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

REDUCTIONS
By implementing green roofs, the average daily heat flow can
be reduced by 70-90% in the summer and 10-30% in the
winter. With the energy savings from the thermal mass of the
roof, greenhouse gas emissions will also be greatly reduced.
RESTORING DAMAGED LANDSCAPES
Many agricultural landscapes have been severely punished and
damaged over the years to the point of no return. Chemical
fertilizers and pesticides used for growing as well as natural
disasters such as crop-related diseases, floods and droughts
have destroyed these lands to be revived. The Food and
Agricultural Organization reports that the simplest solution for
restoring the natural world is to leave it alone.
This has been proven at Hubbard Brook, New Hampshire in
1967- a clear-cut mixed boreal watershed that had been
farmed 3 times in the past 350 years. After three years of being
left alone, trees started growing again and the water draining
into the damaged area was of high quality again because the
ecosystem that supplied the water was able to repair itself. By
restoring damaged lands, ecosystems that existed before
development would be brought back and clear-cut areas for
farming can become forests again to restore biodiversity and
sequester carbon.
SOCIAL
A CONSTRUCTIVE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY
In the 21st Century, most of our leisure and downtime is spent
around technology and consumerism, often leading to feelings
of unfulfillment and isolation. By tending to a vegetable plot, a
collaborative and productive ground can be constructed
bringing social contact and communication into our personal
leisurely activities.
ADDING COMMUNITY VALUE TO OUR CITIES
Urban Agriculture is a valuable tool for bringing people together
of different demographics, ages and cultures. By incorporating
a community driven activity into developments, a sense of
place and pride can be developed and citizens will value their
land. Urban farming can be also aim at tackling food poverty in
low-income and deprived areas of the city where fresh produce
can be hard to access.
ECONOMIC
INCREASING PRODUCTIVE INTENSITY
Proposed methods for urban farming such as aeroponic and
hydroponic farming grow produce with ten to twenty time less
land than conventional agriculture and with much shorter grow
times. This is an important factor when growing large amounts
of food for increasing populations and saving land. Even soil
growing urban farms, since they are worked more intensely,
can produce up to 15 times more per acre than their rural
counterparts. If taken at a large-scale urban farming can be a
business that generates revenue. Indoor farming ventures such
as hydroponic farms would not be an issue.
CUTTING COSTS IN ENERGY BILLS AND STORM WATER
MANAGEMENT
Installing a green roof can provide economic benefits for the
owner including cutting energy costs due to the highly
insulating nature of a green roof and infrastructure related
costs including storm water management. Government and
corporations also provide monetary incentives for certain
projects that implement sustainable technologies such as green
roofs, which can dampen the steep overhead costs often
associated with new technology.
HEALTH
FRESHER FOOD IS HEALTHIER
Often times organic fruit and vegetables to be sold at markets
goes bad due to transport times from the rural areas to the
city. By considering urban agriculture, food will be fresher and
more nutritious.
LESS TRANSPORT = LESS CHEMICALS
These days food preservative and additives are questionable in
terms of the quality and cleaning of the food. Factory farms are
known for dousing their produce with chemicals, whereas a
local small farm is likely to grow a larger range of produce
harvested at the peak of its freshness.
SUSTAINABLE FARMING METHODS IN CITIES
With the lack of arable land to grow in cities, the methods of
farming are limited. There are certain appropriate ways to grow
in cities including on roofs, Indoor Environments, on facades
and in small spaces. In addition to growing the food itself,
energy and waste cycles associated with farming and food
consumption must also be considered in order for it to be an
environmentally sustainable venture.
HYDROPONIC FARMING-GROWING INDOORS
Hydroponics is a system of growing plants and vegetables
without using soil. It yields a large of produce including leaf
crops and vine crops and can be grown anywhere indoors as
long as there is ample sunlight and water.PVC plastic piping is
used to hold the plants in a place while a stream nutrient rich
water runs over the roots of the crops which recirculates
through the system. Although hydroponics only utilizes water to
grow, it saves 70-95% of water when compared to conventional
soil agriculture.
AEROPONIC FARMING
Aeroponic is a growing system that uses a fine mist of nutrient
enriched water that is pumped to the root systems of crops. It
is often recognised as a more intense type of hydroponic grow
system that can also be grown anywhere indoors with sunlight
exposure and water. The main advantage of aeroponic is that it
uses 70% less water than hydroponics using minimal output to
gain maximum output-a reason why it has been heavily
researched by space agency NASA and is a considerable option
for climates where water is scarce.
GREEN ROOF
A green roof can be utilised to grow produce if the existing roof
structure would allow the additional load. The structure consists
of an impermeable membrane attached to the existing roof
structure, a layer felt that acts as thick sponge for absorbing
and storing water from the top soil, a drainage mat for the
water, another felt layer for further retention and then a layer
of soil on top. Growing produce in soil often requires deeper soil
than many green roof plants, which add to the weight of the
roof. Lightweight growing media soils such as GaiaSoil and
Rooflite have been developed to lighten the load of green roof
while also allowing adequate excess water drainage and storm
water retention for the plants.
SIPS
Sub irrigated planters (SIPS) are a popular method of growing
produce in urban settings because they are compact and easy
to construct. SIPS uses planters with a reservoir of water below
the soil so the plants are being irrigated through capillary
action. Up to 90% of water is saved using SIPS system rather
than top down irrigation system because none is lost in
evaporation. SIPS are advantageous because they are low-
maintenance, easy to construct out of recycled materials
(therefore cost efficient) and low water consumption container
gardening.
PRODUCTS: INCREASING YOUR YIELD WITH LESS SPACE
THE VALCENT VERTICROP
The valcent verticrop is a multi-layer system of rotating
hydroponic trays on rails that ensures that all the plants get an
even amount of sunlight so they can harvest simultaneously.
The verticrop is designed to produce high yields of fruits and
vegetables within a small footprint and can easily fit into
existing buildings. It can produce approximately 20 times the
normal production volume for field crops with only 5% of the
water. A verticrop conveyer uses around the same amount of
electricity as using a home computer for approximately 10
hours a day producing up to ½ million lettuce heads a year.
Because verticrop grows the same number of crops in less
space. It takes typically 7 times less energy to produce the
same number of plants in a conventional greenhouse.
OMEGA GARDEN CAROUSEL
Omega Garden Carousel is a rotating carousel that consists of
several rotating hydroponic grow trays around a cylinder with
grow bulb located in the middle The cylinder slowly rotates
around the light bulb providing even light distribution to all the
crops yielding 3-5 times the weight Of plant per watt Of
electricity used. It is compared to flat farming and can yield
over 3.000 plants in only 150 square feet of floor space
EETHUIS

Eethuis is an edible greenhouse designed by Atelier Gras

located in Appletern, Netherlands. Vegetables are grown along
the walls and roof structure in modular plastic crates packed
with soil and metal mesh to keep the plants in place. Eethuis is
an innovative and beautiful idea of housing a vegetable garden
without much outdoor space and also with reusable materials.

Edible walls

Edible walls are a way of growing produce on existing interior

and exterior walls. These walls are constructed as metal panels
filled with seeds and soil that are hung vertically. Edible walls
can also be a mobile unit that move to area with maximize sun
exposure. Like green roofs, edible walls are thermal masses
that can reduce heating an electricity cost, produce fruits and
vegetables in far less space than a typical garden. Many
technologies in bringing farming back to the city such as
greenhouses on buildings require large investments whereas
an edible wall is far more simple, cheaper and does not require
computers or greenhouses to grow.

CASESTUDY:ELI ZABAR’S VINEGAR FACTORY-USING WASTE HEAT

Eli zaber’s Vinegar factory in New York is a market and a
bakery with a rooftop greenhouse that grows vegetables, fruits,
and herbs to sell his store. It is also the first of its kind in New
York that uses the waste heat from the bakery oven ducts to
heat the greenhouse above, providing all the heat needed to
grow all his produce.

CASESTUDY:ZONNETERP-GREENHOUSES THAT MAKE USE OF EXCESS

SOLAR HEAT
Greenhouse village is a neighbourhood in the Netherlands that
takes excess heat from the solar radiation gained in the
summertime in greenhouses, stores it and then delivers it to
heat the greenhouses and the houses in the neighbourhood
during the wintertime and at night. Greenhouses are highly
energy intensive buildings and because they are fully
transparent structures, they receive more solar heat than they
need. The excess heat is stored in aquifers using the system of
heat exchangers and pumps and is released at the time of
need. In addition to using the waste heat, the Blackwater from
the houses are anaerobically digested produced biogas which is
burned and used as co2 fertilizer in the greenhouse and the
combustion energy is used for power generation. The grey
water is purified and used for irrigating the plants in the
greenhouse, which then filters it to become household tap
water. The whole neighbourhood is energy self-sufficient in
energy and water.

CURRENT BUILT DEVELOPMENTS

There are some case study projects that have been built or are
currently under construction that integrate agriculture into the
built environment with the urban farming as a part of buildings
being a relatively new phenomenon, some projects are more
experimental and educational in nature while others use
agriculture as a permanent feature in their buildings. These
projects differs in scale and in program but all of which bring
farming to urban building.

THE SCIENCE BARGE

Who: BrightFarm System, New York Sun Works.
Completion date: March 2010
Where: Yonkers, New York, USA
The science barge is a prototype sustainable urban farm and
education and the first fully functioning demonstration of
renewable energy supporting food production in the city. It is a
greenhouse situated on a barge that grows its’s own food with
no carbon emissions, no net water consumption and no waste
streams. The science barge is a museum that promotes food
production in cities in a sustainable way, a centre for research
for ongoing investigations of ecologically responsible systems
or the production of clean water, energy and food. It is docked
on the Hudson river, a site picked for it’s easy access to mass
transit including the New York water taxi and an opportunity to
create a vibrant recreational district.
From the findings on the science Barge, BrightFarms aims to
construct sustainable greenhouse on top of the supermarkets
throughout 2011.An acre large greenhouse on supermarket
roof will produce 7500-9000 pounds of fresh produce per year,
resulting in 1.3-1.6 million dollars in revenue per annum. This
will allow retailers to sell locally produced food reducing cost
associated with transit while also reducing their carbon
footprint.

Sustainable Technologies and Design:

Solar panels, wind turbines and biofueled generator power the
science barge. The Biofuel used for the generator is taken from
the waste oils and by-products from food and restaurant
industry.
Use of 6 photovoltaic panels installed on a passive tracker to
follow the sun across the sky boosting output by 20%.
Reuse of a shipping container to house the power centre, office
space and utilities.
Electricity for cooling is greatly reduce by relying on
evaporative cooling-absorption of heat by water as it changed
from liquid to vapour.
The crops are grown hydroponically, irrigated by captured
waste water and desalinated river water (using reverse osmosis
system). Being hydroponically grown, there is no agricultural
waste or pesticides and the water is recirculated.
Rainwater catchment reuses rainwater for plant irrigation.

CASESTUDY:THE PLANT-INDUSTRIAL RETROFIT

The plant is an industrial reuse of the Peer Foods meat
processing plant aiming to be an educational facility
highlighting sustainable urban agriculture and manufacturing
and also closed energy and waste loops in the built
environment. This 93,500 square feet complex will house a
food production farm that is 36,000 square feet, sustainable
food-business incubator units, a community kitchen and
educational facilities.
Bubble Dynamics is a company known for transforming
abandoned industrial buildings in Chicago to occupied offices
for sustainable manufacturing businesses at a low cost using
labour consisting mostly of do-it-yourselves and volunteers, a
method they continue for the construction of the Plant.
Current plans for the office space occupancy are for the start-
up companies and entrepreneurs in the sustainable
manufacturing field who will share kitchen space to prepare
meals and collaborate with each other. The greenhouse space
will also be available businesses in the facility that wish to grow
their own produce. The project is currently under construction
and has been housing a test aquaponics farm for the past 15
months. Although the ideas implemented in the Plant are not
new, the innovation lies in the scale of the project.
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
The plant aims to be closed loop system operating with zero
net energy. Use of waste heat will produce biogas burned in the
gas-turbine generator set.
With the Anaerobic Digester and Combined Heat/Power system.
Plant aims to convert 18 tons of biomass per day to
approximately 300Kwh of electricity-sufficient heat to operate
entire facility, rooftop greenhouses and providing process heat
for brewing.
Reusing parts of the building that were specific to the previous
use of the building, the meat processing plant, industrial
stainless steel smokers will be used as scrap metal for the
fittings in new building, existing metal halide light fixture will
heat the growing beds, and the fiber-reinforced plastic panels
as new partitions for growing beds and food production spaces.
CASESTUDY: BROOKYLN GRANGE ROOFTOP FARMS-
OFFICE BUILDING RETROFIT
Brooklyn Grange is a 40,000 square feet office building rooftop
space that is privately owned and operated by Ben Flanner as a
green roof and vegetable Farm. Located on top of a The
standard Motor Products Building- a six floor masonry structure
built in 1919,Brookyln Grange is one the first of its kind in New
York to explore the possibilities of growing food for a dense
urban population that is economically profitable as a business
venture.
Brookyln Grange also supplies a volunteer community
agriculture program and educational program for children. With
co-operation with the building manager for a negotiated lease,
consultations with engineers for designing the green roof, and
funding from private ventures,community fundraiser events,the
project was able to come into fruition in May 2010.
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
A top watered irrigation system like a traditional garden is used
on the green roof. The green roof is assembled with an
impermeable membrane, felt, drainage mats and soil but the
weight of the soil was the main concern for a project this size
on an existing building.
With the consultation of architects and engineers, Brooklyn
Grange purchased one million pounds of Rooflite intensive soil
mix- a light, moisture retaining and drainable soil medium that
is easy to transport and lay onto the roof. The thermal mass
provided by the green roof increases the building’s energy
efficiency and lifespan of the roof. Brooklyn grange is a
commendable example of how abandoned usable spaces in
urban environments such as flat roofs can become productive
landscapes that service the city.
CASESTUDY: 60 RICHMOND STREET EAST-CO-
OPERATIVE HOUSING
60 Richmond Street is a housing co-op with for workers in the
hospitality industry, the first co-op built in Toronto in recent
years. An urban infill project on a 2.3 acre site in heart of
downtown Toronto, the building is 11 storeys tall with 85
apartment units. The main strategy was to design a building
that incorporates social spaces dedicated to food production
that is economical to build and also maintain. The building was
designed as a solid mass that was carved as garden spaces and
also draw light into the building interior giving it a sculptural
quality.
A main feature to make 60 Richmond Street sustainable for the
residents is a large cistern below the roof that captures
rainwater to irrigate the roof garden and walls. The project has
achieved LEED gold certification and has won many awards
including the Ontario Association of Architects Design
Excellence Award and Canadian Architect Award of Excellence.
The Food Itself: The fruits,herbs, and vegetables grown on the
6th floor terrace and green roof supplies the residents-owned
and operated restaurant and training kitchen on the ground
floor.The gardens are irrigated by storm water from the roofs
and the organic waste from the kitchens creates compost for
the garden.

SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLIGIES AND DESIGN

The use of energy saving insulating fibre cement panels.
Heat Recovery system is used. Drain water heat recovery from
the Laundry facilities are provided. Provision of Green Roof for
reducing urban heat island effect.
Rainwater collection from terraced gardens and cistern to
irrigate gardens and grow wall.
Restaurant food waste providing compost for the garden.
Passive ventilation through social grow spaces and evaporative
cooling.
CASESTUDY: THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT
The greenhouse project was realised in 2008 by a group of
public school parents and educators who aimed at introducing
food and nutrition education to the public school systems in
Manhattan, inspired by the urban farm project “The Science
Barge”, the main purpose of the greenhouse project was to
create space for the students to get hands-on experience with
the food production and education of sustainable practices and
environmental sciences.
With the Lack of buildable space all over Manhattan, a
greenhouse large enough to house 40 students was built on
Manhattan School for children of about 1,420 square feet
rooftop. The overall budget of this project is 8, 00,000 dollars
provided by Manhattan’s local government and fundraising
activities. With the success of the greenhouse P.S 333,New
York Sun Works has already begun the construction of
greenhouses at cypress Hills School in Brooklyn and PS.89.
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN
The vegetables in the green house are grown hydroponically-
circulates and recycles water.
Solar panels are implemented to generate energy to power
greenhouse.
Energy Requirements are lowered through the construction of a
twin wall polycarbonate roof as opposed to a glass roof.
Composting station-Using worms to decompose leftover lunch
scraps.
Rainwater catchment system-40,000 gallons of rainwater will
be collected per year, filtered and used for cooling the building
and irrigating the plant.
VERTICAL FARMING-A CONCEPT
Vertical farming is an idea developed by Columbia University
professor of microbiology and public health Dr.Dickson
Despommier that suggests that in order to meet the future
population’s food needs, food will need to grow vertically in
cities. Despommier envisions towers of at least 5 stories tall,
clad entirely in glass that house food production systems
including hydroponic, aeroponic and livestock. These vertical
farms can be housed in abandoned buildings and deserted lots
in cities, making unused spaces productive.
The main advantages of urban farming include:
1. Year-round, 24 hour crop production.
2. No weather-related crop failures due to droughts, pests
and floods.
3. No agricultural runoff by recycling black water.
4. Allowance for ecosystem restoration, returning damaged
farmlands to nature.
5. No use of herbicide, fertilizers
6. Use of 70-95% water than conventional soil farming.
7. Greatly reducing food miles.
8. More control over food safety and security.
9. Purification of grey water to drinking water.
By growing hydroponically, food is grown safely without
chemicals and the danger of being harmed by natural disasters.
This can have a drastic impact in dry cities with no arable land.
Despommier understands that these farms, which have
significant energy consumption (for grow lights, hydroponic
systems, heating and cooling etc.) will be powered by cheap
and renewable energy in order for them to work.

PRECEDENT OF VERTICAL FARMING THE SEED UVF

GERMINATED

JOESPH PAXTON
In 1832, Paxton developed an interest in greenhouses at
chatsworth where he designed a series of buildings with the
“forcing frames” for espalier trees. After much
experimentation, he designed a glass house with a ridge and
furrowed roof that would be right angles to the morning and
evening sun and a frame design that would admit maximum
lighting. This is the forerunner of the modern greenhouse. It is
within one of these greenhouses that he becomes the first man
in England to bring an Amazonian waterlily to flower in
November 1849, this is done through the ability to control the
climate in a building for a plant in the same way we control
climates for people within buildings.

Paxton’s masterpiece, The Crystal Palace of the Great

Exhibition of 1851, employed techniques taking advantage of
technological advances in the manufacture of both glass and
cast iron. The pavilion created an interior garden space which
used sunlight to control temperature and housed both plants
and animals alike. The multi-story building combined this indoor
garden with gallery and community space creating a very
popular space that promoted culture.

LOUIS SULLIVAN-THE SEED

Sullivan explores the complex creations of nature through an
understanding of the line and its manifestation in the natural
environment. This portion of his paper he dubs as remember
The Seed-Germ relating all ingenuity to original manifestation
in nature that are then adapted by people. He argues, through
drawings, the many different forms seeded in nature.

OTEMACHI HQ-KONO DESIGNS

Otemachi HQ (Tokyo) is a 10,000 sq ft space of over-

ground farmland located in otemachi Headquarters
building. It took over a 50-year-old structure and
renovated it into the urban farm.O2 elected to dedicate
considerable space inside the building to hydroponic and
soil-based farming, which is interspersed throughout the
entire building. There are a total of 100 different types of
produce grown. Through their urban farm and
headquarters, the recruitment company is also supporting
the education of Japan’s next generation of farmers who
work in internships to learn about food production.

“It is the largest and most direct farm-to-table of its kind

ever realized inside a building in Japan”
-kono Designs

The combination of education with urban farming is key

due to most people’s lack of connection with their food
and the world’s steady decline of farmers. There are
natural needs and market needs, for a long time market
needs have outweighed natural needs have outweighed
natural needs yet we must remember, everyone must eat.

MIT-CITY FARM

At MIT Media Lab open agriculture (“OpenAG”) initiative

they are on a mission to bring out the farmer in “city folk”
by creating healthier, more engaging and more intensive
food systems. openAG is building collaborative tools and
platforms to develop an open-source ecosystem of food
technologies that enables and promotes transparency,
networked experimentation, education, and local
production.

The OpenAG process begins with the production of

controlled environment agriculture systems. These “food
computers” are set to create specific internal climates that
can be modified, manipulated, upgraded, and hacked as
users experiment to find the perfect climate recipes for
their favourite fresh foods.

In building this open network, openAG will also create

communities in which the smallest scale climate can
instantly be translated to make the largest impact. When
shared openly, controlled environment agriculture will
provide access to fresh, nutritious and delicious food,
grown locally, anywhere on the Earth.

PLANTAGON

“Plantagon International is the global innovation leader in

the sector urban agriculture. Plantagon’s resilient food
systems minimize the need for land, water, energy,
pesticides. The environmental impact is low, and if the
products are delivered directly to the consumers in the
city, the transportation costs are also minimised.

Plantagon develops innovative solutions to meet the rising

demand for locally grown food in cities all around the
world. They minimize the use of transportation, land,
energy, and water-using waste products in the process but
leaving no waste behind”.

The ideas about Plantagon which aims to create a large

scale indoor vertical farm relate very closely to the ideas
of Joesph Paxton with the use of greenhouse technology to
spur growth. The seed will act differently, incorporating
the linkage of smaller micro climates that utilized natural
and mechanical control systems to create ideal growing
climates. Imagining the model of MIT’S City Farm, linked
like a battery in both series and parallel.

Through understanding of our diets JasonBradford Ph.D.

estimates a person requires about one acre of land to feed
them for a year. 34.5 percent of a person’s diet is made of
fish and vegetables. It requires 15028 sq ft to feed a
person their fruits and vegetables with 25 percent of that
as aquaponics to fill the demand for fish. With hydro and
aeroponic one acre of land grows enough for 30 people to
live off in a year, this means each person requires 500sq ft
of aero and hydroponics.

Despommier states “some 70 percent of all available

freshwater on earth is used for irrigation”. With Urban
Vertical Farming the use of hydroponic and aeroponic
farming methods could save millions of dollars and trillions
of gallon I water a year. Hydroponic farming uses
approximately 70 percent of the water in hydroponic
farming.

UA A TOOL FOR CREATING CITIES

Types of urban farming vary greatly in size, shape,

purpose and operator. They include home gardens,
community gardens, demonstration gardens, edible
landscaping, and entrepreneurial farms. Urban farming
occurs in a variety of places, some unconventional. Food is
grown in vacant lands, on patios, rooftops, walls, fences,
rights-of-way and even trucks. Urban farming improves
quality of life in urban and suburban areas. It enhances
food and security and health, contributes to urban
environmental management, and provides educational
and recreational services. It helps redevelop underused
and abandoned properties and turns undevelopable land
into economically viable sites that create jobs and
generate income.
Urban farms are flourishing on rooftops in New York City,
converted brownfields in Philadelphia, parkland in
Baltimore, vacant lands in Oakland, in abandoned
greenhouses in Lynchburg, flood damaged
neighbourhoods in New Orleans. Most of them function as
educational and training facilities as well.

Prince George’s county has joined the movement. Its

emerging urban farms grow organic produce with
intensive farming methods. Residents are learning how to
grow their own food. Gardening activities are booming.
Community gardens are in demand. Demonstrate gardens
educate and motivate the public. There is an example-
county’s urban farms and gardening activities.

New Planning and public policy tools are needed to

facilitate urban farming’s assimilation into urban and
suburban environments. Local government may take
these steps to facilitate the process: assess existing
conditions; incorporate urban farming into landuse and
other plans; identify and preserve suitable land; promote
conducive urban design; educate and engage
communities; assure soil safety; redevelop brownfields
and promote direct marketing, edible landscaping and
infrastructure planning. Unintentional policy barriers
should be reduced and new policies adopted to help foster
urban farming. Zoning is the biggest barrier in jurisdiction.
This can be corrected by amending zoning ordinances to
include: a definition of urban farming; creation of an urban
farming district or overlay zone; addition of urban farming
as a use category; and permission for special urban
farming activities. Local government can also create
programs and develop incentives to foster urban farming,
including community, local food policies, education for
residents, land provision, developer incentives,
infrastructure and utility incentives, funding and financial
assistance. There are some best local government
practices on planning and public policy for urban farming.
 Prince George’s County resident deserves access to
healthy, affordable, and ethnically appropriate food. The
following policy recommendations to turn urban farming
into thriving industry and to make fresh, nutritious food
available to all Prince Georgians. Multiple strategies for
each policy are proposed in this project.

 Recognize urban farming as a viable industry and use

it as a tool to develop a robust economy.
 Integrate urban farming into Landuse planning.
 Provide access to suitable land for urban farming
activities.
 Establish community gardens in all neighbourhoods.
 Encourage new development and redevelopment
projects in the Development and Developing tiers to
include urban farming.
 Provide education on urban farming and healthy
eating.
 Promote and support direct marketing opportunities
for urban and suburban farmers.
 Permit backyard gardens in all residential areas.
 Encourage edible Landscaping.
 Amend the zoning ordinances to accommodate urban
farming uses and activities and remove, reduce,
and /loosen zoning barriers to urban farming.

INTEGRATE URBAN FARMING INTO LANDUSE PLANNING

Assimilating farming into the urban and suburban landscape
requires innovative planning.The rural-urban divide that was
cerated in the twentieth century has started to dissolve in
twenty-first century with the burgeoning of farming activities in
urban areas. Planning needs to adjust to the changing urban
and suburban environments.
HOW?
 Recognise urban farming as a landuse that is separated
from conventional farming.
 Develop an urban farming plan
  Consider incorporating urban farming into plans, including
general Plan, area and functional Master plans, and sector
plans.
 Plan to provide much needed tools and infrastructure,
particularly land, transportation, and water access, to help
urban farming flourish.
 Engage residents and businesses in local food production
planning.
 Conduct an assessment study to determine the condition
and needs of urban farming in the country.
 Identify available land that is suitable for urban farming.
 Develop innovative strategies and techniques to preserve
land for urban farming.
 Establish a “food policy” council to help plan for urban
farming and develop policy recommendations to support
urban farming.
 Develop a food system plan that shows the place of urban
farming in the bigger picture and analyses it as a part if
local food production.

PLANNING FOR URBAN FARMING

Urban farming amy be used as planning tool to resolve many
issues and create better communities in which to live, work,
and play. Urban farming has the potential to fit into nearly
every major ongoing program in urban areas, from
environmental improvement, waste water management, crime
prevention, revitilization, and development to health care.

RESEARCH PAPERS
BUILDING INTEGRATED AGRICULTURE (BIA)
METHODS OF GROWING FOOD ON AND INSIDE BUILDINGS

BIA METHODS
 VERTICAL
GREEN ROOF CONTAINER FARMING
FARMING FARMING
HYDROPONICS

There are two main categories of BIA

1. Outdoor, soil based agriculture ( green roofs and
containers)
2. Indoor, water based agriculture (hydro-aqua-aeroponic
and vertical farming).
ROOFTOP FARMING: CHALLENGES AND REQUIREMENTS OF
GROWING FOOD OUTDOORS
There are three main reasons why rooftops should be used for
farming activities.
 Lack of available land: As cities grow bigger, the
impermeable areas expand and the available land for food
growing in cities is disappearing. Surfaces of the buildings,
such as rooftops, are ideal because they provide the
opportunity to replace their impermeable surface with
vegetation.
 Better control and monitoring: Roofs are free from
vandalism risks, as opposed in allotments on ground that
suffer from thefts and intrusions of unwanted groups of
people.
 Potential for creative development: According to Nowak,
roofs can be designed to integrate to a diverse range of
activities (educational, recreational, and agricultural)
giving thus the opportunity to urban citizens to
experiment, to enjoy and to produce.
The greatest challenge of rooftop farming is the severe
weather: High temperatures, light intensities and wind speed
are crucial to plant survival and growth. There are certain plant
species that can thrive on roofs, the selection of which results
from the experimental trials in different rooftop conditions.
As far as roof requirements are concerned, the main issues to
examine are
  Roof size: For commercial productions, the size of the roof
needs to be 350 sq. m minimum. The area needs to
provide sufficient space for the planting beds, for the
farming equipment and for the supplies.
 Roof Accessibility: The roof must be easily accessible and
must also provide a water source for irrigation of the beds.
 Roof Load Capacity: The roof must be strong enough to
hold the extra weight of: the people that work on the roof;
the farming equipment; the crops; the saturated soil.
 Safety and Authorization: Authorisation and safety
measures are essential.
SOIL BASED SYSTEMS
GREEN ROOFS-
FOOD PRODUCTION: WHAT CAN WE CULTIVATE ON A GREEN
ROOF?
Practitioners agree that there is a clear need for more research
on “the kind of food crops that grow on Green Roofs”, since the
factors to consider are complex and they support that in theory
almost anything can be grown on a green roof with adequate
irrigation and sufficient soil depth. Crop selection depends on
the depth of growing medium. A green roof with less than 15cm
of soil can support the growing of herbs and strawberries. A
green Roof with a 15-30cm depth can support the growing of
leafy vegetables. A greater variety of deep-rooted vegetables
can grow successfully in a depth of more than 30cm of soil.
REQUIREMENTS OF GREEN ROOF FARMING
According to MacDonald (2008) the main requirements for
Green Roof Farming are
 Sufficient soil depth and good soil composition: the
growing medium must be high in organic matter and in
nutrients and lightweight at the same time.
 Sufficient sun exposure and wind protection of the roof
finally
 Sufficient irrigation, because crops are water demanding.
To be more specific:
WHY CHOSEN A GREEN ROOF FOR FARMING? BENEFITS OF
GREEN ROOF FARMING
The main reasons for choosing a green roof for farming would
firstly be because of the benefits that a Green roof generally
offers to our built and natural environment.As far as the
building is concerned;
 Green roofs provide extra insulation (thermal and
acoustic) to the entire structure. They reduce the noise
levels as well as energy for (winter) and (summer) cooling.
 They increase the life of the roof by protecting it from
weather conditions and finally.
 They improve the view of the built environment.
As far as natural environment is concerned Green Roofs:
 Add value to biodiversity by providing habitat, shelter, and
feeding oppurtunities.
 They improve the microclimate and reduce the urban heat
island effect by lowering the temperatures around the
building.
 They improve the storm water quality which would
normally be dismissed into groundwater.
Green roof farming can provide recreational and educational
opportunities to people; a farming plat on the rooftop of a
school for example, maybe used as an outdoor classroom
within a walking distance, which students can use for
educational activities.
CASESTUDY: EAGLE STREET ROOFTOP FARM, BROOKLYN
Designer: A collaborative between Ben Flanner and Annie
Novak
Size: 557 sq. m
Height above ground level: 15m
Year of completion: 2008
Yield: Around 30 tons of vegetables and fruits per year.
Aim-purpose: To provide high production crops for restaurants
and market sales.
Future –Aim: To reduce the cost and introduce more farms in
the city.
Benefits:
 Provides produce to local restaurants and citizens.
 Reduction in cooling costs for the building below because
the captured rainwater from the roof cools the warehouse.
 Reduction in storm water run off
Lightweight soil: A mixture of compost, rock particulars and
shale that retains water and allows for air circulation.
North-south oriented planting beds that benefits from day-long
sun exposure.

Challenges-Drawbacks:
 Installation Process: soil had to be transferred three floors
up to be placed on the roof.
 Crop selection: In the first season, the farm was growing
more than 30 types of crops which later on had to be
reduced.

UA-CULTIVATING THE CITY

HISTORY OF URBAN FARMING
Urban farming is a practice that people have been known to
use throughout history, from the hanging gardens in Babylon,
to Mayans growing crops within their city walls approximately
2,000 years ago.
In the United States we see examples throughout history with
propaganda gardens and a war relief gardens. During World
War I, with a shortage of crops for the American people, the
government encouraged Liberty Gardens to relieve the stress
of food shortage of home. These gardens were small yet
effective, encouraging families to grow their own produce. In
World War II, the government again encouraged these gardens,
but renamed them ‘victory Gardens’ again in an effort to
relieve the stress food shortages in the nation.
During World War II, tankers transporting food were targeted,
created shortages in food supply at the front lines so military
forces began cultivating food on islands and within their ships
through the use of hydroponics.
In 1960’s space travel was on the rise, and NASA began
experimenting with hydroponics and aeroponic so that they
could grow fresh food on the ship.
In the 1970’s, the revival of community gardens started
resurfacing throughout cities across the United States. These
community gardens popped up due to economic issues in each
region with community gardens in Chicago and Detroit rapidly
growing.
Since the early 2000’s, commercial grade facilities have been
development, in states like Arizona and New Jersey. Aerofarms
in New Jersey is currently the largest commercial grade facility,
producing over 2 million pounds of food annually through the
use of aeroponics.
Urban farming within many cities today take advantage of
available vacant land. One of the best examples of this in
Detroit, Michigan, a once booming city, has been the victim of
blight. This Blight has resulted in a great deal of vacant land,
and buildings being burned or torn down. As the many of these
plots lay vacant, community gardens have begun to pop up.
Detroit is home to approximately 1,400 urban gardens,
providing jobs for more than 70 urban gardeners, as they sell
this produce to local markets. Urban Farming which In some
cases, is a result from turmoil, like arson, is active way that the
community can begin to rebuild, by greening the
neighbourhood, providing food locally, and educating the
youth.
Urban Farms throughout history have been a reaction to issues
plaguing a neighbourhood or shortages of food, however today,
urban farming is a movement in cities throughout the United
States, as they provide food locally, provide jobs, better the
environment, create community involvement, and convert
vacant land into blossoming farms within urban areas.
FARMgr aims to combine the production of crops with the
typical conceptual vertical farms we see as spectacles. This
combination of building typologies create an atmosphere prime
for the education of the general public.

FUTURE OF URBAN ARCOLOGY

HISTORY & OVERVIEW
—Skycourt and Skygarden
ROOT OF VERTICAL GARDENS
Although the skycourt and skygarden is a relatively new
construct, high rise greenery is not a new phenomenon unique
to our age. Greenery employed in ‘high-rise’ of the past can be
traced back to the urban habitats of antiquity and prior. The
Hanging Gardens of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his
wife Amyitis were recorded by the Greek historian Diodorous
Siculus in6 BC as one being a series of planted terraces
propped on stone arches 23 meters above ground. These plants
were irrigated mechanically with water from the Euphrates
River.
In Italy, hill establishments like the Urbino and San Gimigano
harness the natural topography to develop urban settlements
that were naturally protected with their raised elevation. In the
Renaissance, steeply terraced gardens and green roofs were
common in the city of Genoa, Raised piazzas interconnected by
steps traverse the changes in level, permitted the surveillance
of land at lower elevations and also allowed for public events to
take place.
By the 19th century, the ability to glean panoramic views was
no longer unique to the elite. According to Dario Trabucco a
researcher at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat,
“The top floors used to be for the poor, but the elevator flipped
everything around. The upper floors quickly became the most
attractive as they boasted better natural light, cleaner air and
less traffic noise“.
The Eiffel Tower of the Paris exposition of 1889 provided a
ticketed platform where the payee could enjoy the Paris
skyline. By the 20th century, the manifestos of Le Corbusier
further celebrated the sky as the new ground, a space where
the socio-economic and environmental benefits could be
reaped.
PASONA
SUSTAINABLE TECH
 Ductwork reworked to the perimeter.
 Smart Artificial lighting and irrigation systems
 Farming continuation workshops held to spread the know;
how of farming.
 Double skin facade act as an environmental filter
 Rooftop farm serves to increase thermal mass of the
building.

DESCRIPTION:
Pasona HQ is a nine story high, 215,000 square foot corporate
office building for the Japanese recruitment company, Pasona
Group, located in downtown Tokyo. It is a major renovation
project consisting of a double-skin green facade, offices, an
auditorium, cafeterias, a rooftop garden and most notably,
urban farming facilities integrated within the building. The
green space totals over 43,000 square feet with 200 species
including fruits, vegetables and rice that are harvested,
prepared and served at the cafeterias within the building. It is
the largest and most direct farm-to-table of its kind ever
realized inside an office building in Japan.”
PLACEMENT TYPOLOGY:

Roof Interior Façade on a roof inside the as the building skin.

“URBAN ARCOLOGY” —Urban Agricultural Planning
CONTEMPORARY URBAN AGRICULTURE THEORY GARDENCITY
MOVEMENT
The industrial revolution displaced agriculture to sub urban
areas and to a certain extent severed the relationship between
agriculture and urbanity. City planners and architects alike
started to envision how a utopic future of city life would be?
GARDEN CITY
Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City movement placed a large
emphasis on macro scale reforms and organization of public
spaces. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City moved large
swaths of people in the urban environment to the country side.
The crux of the garden city concept by Ebenezer Howard in
1898 was the idea of shifting urbanity to the country side and
received much criticism for utilization of agricultural land for his
envisioned cities. His representation of the three magnets of
the town, the country and the town-country led him to conclude
on what he developed further into “the garden city” which is
the narrative of Singapore till 2013 with the newer narrative of
city in a garden in the draft master plan of 2013 by the URA.
One of the earliest examples of the garden city was Letchworth
and had a great impact on urban planning as many western
cities like New York abstracted the ideas from Ebenezer
Howards’ vision.
BROADACRE CITY
Frank Lloyd Wright in contrary to Ebenezer Howard paved the
way for agrarian urbanism through the Broadacres plan to re-
imagine the American suburbs and cities by means of involving
agricultural practices. Broadacre City translates the populace
from urbanity into country life, transplanting them into
suburban plots with each family owning an acre for farming. He
focuses on the individual where ““Whatever a man did would
be done — obviously and directly — mostly by himself in his
own interest under the most valuable inspiration and direction:
under training, certainly if necessary.” The keystone to his
scheme was the farm where the cities food supply was the
foundation to the city. However it lacked the density of urbanity
and consequently cities have continued to remain severed from
agriculture.
CONTINUOUS PRODUCTIVE URBAN LANDSCAPES (CPUL)
This promotes the blend of agriculture with public space and
streets. In the context of Singapore, though she is aware of the
benefits of green space on urban living the greenery is not
meant to be productive. CPUL requires green plots of land and
mixes both the functions of the city and the farm. Though
increasing access to healthful food, it gives rise to conflicting
use due to land scarcity in urban environments such as
Singapore.
AGRARIAN URBANISM
In contrast, this aspect limits urban agriculture but improves
from traditional urbanism. In Agrarian Urbanism, Duany argues
that urban agriculture can be recycled onto the transect of the
New Urbanist city through a kit of parts. Farms remain farms,
while balconies and rooftops are transformed to harbor
agriculture.

HISTORY OF FOOD PRODUCTION IN SINGAPORE

Through understanding the context of local food production, we
can begin to speculate and forecast how a divided food model
can be integrated into the urban centres of Singapore and
envision ways in which food networks can affect city
organization and architecture and vice versa. In the early years
of Singapore, when she gained independence in 1965, She was
mostly reliant in local production.
Approximately 20 000 farms occupied more than 25% of the
land and supply. Besides vegetables and livestock, cash crops
such as rubber, coconut and gambier were farmed, Singapore’s
population was 1.6 million then. However the local food
production declined from the late 1970s due to government
policies and political forces that changed the nature of the
industry. Due to the fragmentation of small farms, they were
relocated to designated farm site in the North and Northeast of
Singapore. However if the cost of resettlement was too great or
result in too large an impact on the environment, farms were
phased out and compensation was provided”*.
In this retrospect, we can begin to understand the complexity
and the background forces at play that affect how perhaps a
fragmented food production that failed in the past could
succeed in future given the proper environment, policies as
well as infrastructure necessary to ensure food resilience in
Singapore.
Technology is the answer but what was the question — Cedric
Price; acting at a more fundamental level and engaging
architecture as the vehicle to change, adapt to as well as
influence food supply chains in Singapore, the answer of
agricultural innovations can be effectively implemented to
integrate green buildings, maintenance, biodiversity as well as
logistics to food production. The all-in-one business solution
idea seems pivotal in rooting agriculture practice in high rise to
urban centers, where the traditional farm reinvents itself to
embody a myriad of functions namely production, processing
and logistics to create a domain that improves productivity and
competitiveness.
VERTICAL FARMING TYPOLOGIES—Classification
IRAP RESEARCH PAPER
Introduction
With food prices rising and with increasing incidence of
extreme climatic events, the Food and Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) has identified urban and periurban
agriculture as a farming system that can contribute to domestic
food & nutritional security and jobs, and improving urban
ecology and sanitation, thereby achieving poverty alleviation,
food security and sustainable urban development. The FAO
defines urban and peri-urban agriculture as an industry located
within (intra-urban) or on the fringe (periurban) of a town, a city
or a metropolis, which grows and raises, processes and
distributes a diversity of agriculture products, using largely
human, land and water resources, products and services found
in and around that urban area. As India is projected to add 400
million people to its urban population by 2050, it is very
important for the country to address this issue earnestly to stay
ahead of the huge challenge of meeting the nutritional security
and sanitation needs of the urban dwellers. At the aggregate
level, access to land and water can play a critical role in
reducing urban poverty and improving food and nutritional
security through urban and peri-urban agriculture, especially
gardening of fruits, flowers and vegetables. There is a growing
market for these products in cities particularly for organic
produce with increasing buying power and nutritional
awareness among the residents.

At the micro level however, those who have land in their

dwelling premises may not have the time and interest or
motivation to undertake farming while those who are willing or
are in need of work may not have the basic factors of
production for the same. So there is a need to connect the two
groups, through appropriate institutions. In heavily populated
cities, where availability of land is a constraint even at the
aggregate level, a different approach may be needed to
overcome the scarcity of urban space for urban agriculture
including developing technologies for vertical farming. In
Singapore, Sky Greens, a business venture of entrepreneur Jack
Ng produces in its low carbon, hydraulic driven vertical farm,
one ton of vegetables every other day and is five to ten times
more productive than a regular farm. Chicago’s ‘Farmed Here’
uses hydroponics systems to produce greens in an abandoned
warehouse and provides employment to more than 200 locals.

The problems related to real estate development in India also

have a bearing on the availability of usable land for urban
agriculture. There is a huge investment in plots and
apartments, which remain un-used. A sizeable percentage of
this investment is black money. In cities like Singapore where
vacant land tax laws are stringent there is more effective
utilization of urban land.

While many large cities are already under water stress, urban
agriculture would increase the demand on the already stressed
resource base. Hence, new sources of water need to be found.
In most cities and towns in India the management of waste
water and solid waste is far from satisfactory. Most water
bodies in the cities are polluted with untreated and partially
treated sewage. Municipal waste including biological waste
ends up in the soil and water bodies. An assessment by Water
Aid says that about 80% of India’s surface water is polluted.
According to the Census of India 2011 only 32.7 percent of
urban households are connected to a sewerage system. The
remaining depend on in situ systems of disposal and it is
unclear how the waste is further disposed.

But, if effectively planned, there can be a win-win situation for

those who are interested in urban agriculture and municipal
water utilities. The biodegradable waste can be effectively used
as fertilizer for the small scale urban farms after composting
while the waste water can be treated to such levels that it can
be used for irrigating these farms. The possibility of using bio
swales for the treatment of grey water can also be explored.

The objective of this paper is to analyse the urban agriculture

scenario in India, identify the prevailing problems and
constraints and suggest a way forward based on a nuanced
understanding of the factors that make urban agriculture
successful. The cities where UA has been very successful were
studied to understand the factors that contribute to the
success. An attempt is made to identify the factors that help
sustain UA and the problems that hinder it, in different Indian
cities where there is considerable urban agricultural activity.
The future institutional and policy support needs for promoting
urban agriculture were examined along with the existing
institutional support for farming in cities.

Need for Urban Agriculture in India

The urban population in India which stands at 377 million is
expected to grow by 404 million by 2050 (World Urbanisation
Prospects, 2014). The nutritional requirements of this increased
urban population have to be met. Also, with growing affluence
and increasing nutritional awareness among the city dwellers
about nutrition, there will be increased demand for vegetables,
fruits, eggs, meat, dairy products and even flowers. The direct
consumption of food grains has decreased while the demand
for food products higher up in the food chain, especially
processed food, has gone up in recent years.

On the other hand, about 65.5 million people live in urban

slums and sprawls which lead to intra generational nutritional
inequality. As pointed out by the “Report on the state of food
security in urban India” by the M. S. Swaminathan research
foundation the situation in urban areas is often overlooked
during discussions on food and nutrition security. There is
considerable food and nutritional insecurity in the urban areas
the situation being worse in smaller towns. Especially
vulnerable are women and children; about 50% of the women
are anaemic, and undernourishment resulting in severe energy
deficiency is rampant among women (MSSRF, 2010).

People living in urban areas have much less control over the
supply and quality of the food they consume as compared to
the rural population. The food prices, especially those of
vegetables, fruits and pulses, which heavily influence the
quantum of their intake, are often subject to huge fluctuations
due to many factors ranging from the vagaries of the monsoon
to spread of diseases to the changes in price of crude oil in the
international market and to the changes in policies governing
import and export of agricultural commodities. They also have
no control over the use of pesticides and other chemicals used
in producing the food, which has serious implications for
nutritional value and safety of the food consumed. Instances
where farmers grow organic food for their own consumption
and insecticide laden produce for sale have been reported. By
the time it reaches the urban consumer the food will not be
fresh and maybe refrigerated or artificially ripened. Use of
chemicals to increase shelf life of the produce is also prevalent.
The prevalence of cancer in India is expected to increase from
an estimated 3.9 million in 2015 to an estimated 7.1 million
people by 2020 (Ernst and Young LLP, 2015).

Urban agriculture will go a long way in addressing these

concerns to a great extent. It can provide fresh produce to city
dwellers without the need for resource intensive transportation,
refrigeration and storage facilities, by reducing the time and
distance from farm to fork. Being labour intensive it will also
provide jobs and can become a source of income and thus
contribute to poverty alleviation. Urban farming has been found
to be particularly helpful for poor women in urban and peri
urban areas as it provides a means for meeting their families’
nutritional needs and getting some income as they work near
their homes, simultaneously taking care of their families. UA
has a significant role in urban environmental management as it
can combat urban heat island effects and function as an urban
lung in addition to providing visual appeal. The Food and
Agricultural Organization has long since recognized Urban
Agriculture as a key element in food security strategies.
However formal recognition of UA and its integration into the
urban planning process is necessary for it to be successful.
In India urban agriculture is being carried out in many cities
including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai under
the leadership of government, private agencies or even
individuals. An important factor that needs to be mentioned in
this context is the use of treated or untreated waste water for
agriculture. In cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and
Ahmedabad direct and indirect use of waste water in urban and
peri-urban agriculture is widespread. While the use of untreated
waste water for irrigation is not allowed for public health
reasons it is being used in many places for want of access to
fresh water. It is also proven that yields are higher with the use
of untreated domestic waste water for irrigation owing to the
presence of nitrates. There are recent initiatives to sell treated
waste water to farmers in Delhi, Noida, Hyderabad and
Chennai. Treated sewage is sold in Chennai and there is
increasing demand for the same. The Noida authority uses
treated waste water for irrigating some green belts and have
plans to undertake tertiary treatment to treat waste water to
potable standards. In Hyderabad farmers lift domestic effluent
from the Musi River for irrigation purposes. The use of waste
water in urban agriculture not only reduces demand for fresh
water but also helps close the loop in urban water
management, provided the wastewater is treated to safe
standards for preventing environmental pollution. Organic
waste from the city can be composted and used in urban
agriculture with the added advantage of reducing waste that is
dumped on land. FAO reports that extensive farming in Havana
led to the near elimination of local refuse dumps for household
waste.

There is also great interest in organic farming in many quarters.

However the scale of the UA efforts has not been sufficient to
make a substantial difference to food and nutritional security in
the urban areas. There is need to undertake planning towards
achieving this goal. Crucial to this is the research based
knowledge about the set of conditions under which urban
agriculture becomes viable.
Urban Agriculture in India and Other Parts of the World
One example which is always quoted while discussing
initiatives on urban agriculture is the success story of Havana,
Cuba. After the Cuban communist party came to power in 1960
and till 1989, Cuba was importing most of its food, devoting
most of its agricultural land to the cultivation of sugarcane.
Soviet Union paid premium price for the sugar imported from
Cuba in the form of food, petroleum, machinery and other
goods supplied to Cuba in return. But the fall of the Soviet
Union in 1989 led to severe food shortages in Cuba and with no
access to food, petroleum, machinery and fertilisers Cuba had
to quickly transform itself from an import dependant nation to a
food self- sufficient nation. The main reason for the success of
the world’s first co-ordinated urban agricultural programme
other than the fact that it was a necessity at that time was the
complete support provided by the government with favourable
policies and institutions playing a pivotal role in spearheading
the urban agricultural revolution.

President Fidel Castro proclaimed that no piece of land should

be left uncultivated. Even on the lawn of the Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA), crops were planted. The newly formed Urban
Agriculture Department worked with the Poder Popular or
Legislative Council to change city laws to suit urban agriculture.
The urban agriculture programme worked by integrating access
to land, providing extension services, undertaking research and
technology development and providing marketing schemes and
selling points for the produce. The self-supply (autoconsumo)
plan, initiated in the late 1980s, was expanded to increase local
food self-sufficiency and reduce the need for transport,
refrigeration, storage and other resource-demanding activities.
In September 1993, the Cuban Government issued Law No.
142, breaking up the majority of large state farms into Basic
Units of Production (Unidades Básicas de Producción
Cooperative (UBPCs) and the ban on farmers’ markets was
lifted. This helped to make the collective of workers and their
families self-sufficient, connect income directly to the degree of
productivity and increase autonomy of governance (Novo and
Murphy, 1998) By the year 2000, urban agriculture had become
an activity covering 12% of the area of Havana involving more
than 22000 urban and peri-urban producers, and resulting in a
near elimination of refuse dumps for household waste. By then,
UA accounted for more than 60% of the country’s vegetable
production and provided 117000 direct and 26000 indirect jobs
(FAO, 2008).

FAO (2008) discusses several urban agricultural projects from

different parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Roof gardens
in Cairo, solar green houses in El Alto, Bolivia, micro gardens in
the slum areas of Bogota and Medellin in Columbia, Edible
Landscape Project in Kampala, Uganda and Backyard
Agricultural Programme of Mexico are some of them. In India,
the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation practices UA and
small livestock farming in the urban areas and livestock,
vegetable and sewage based farming in the peri urban areas
(FAO, 2008).

Urban agriculture has not been very popular in India. The rural
areas have traditionally provided food for the country’s
population. There were also resource constraints in pursuing
urban farming in a systematic way. However, with more and
more people migrating to urban areas it is predicted that India
will add 404 million people to its urban population by 2050 (UN,
2014). This would take away a large amount of water resources
from rural areas to meet the urban needs, competing with
agricultural demand in the rural areas. It is therefore important
that the wastewater generated in urban areas is reused in an
environmentally sustainable manner to meet part of the food
demand in urban areas, which in turn can also reduce the
pressure on scarce water resources. Increasing the contribution
of UA in India would ensure food and nutritional security for the
rapidly growing urban population in addition to providing jobs.
As pointed out by FAO (2001), Urban and Peri Urban Agriculture
helps in closing energy loops and transforming waste into
biodiversity. In recent years there has been some interest in
urban agriculture in some cities in India.
Mumbai is a city which has little open space that can be used
for urban farming. Mumbai also is home to one of the largest
slums in the world. But it is also a city where there is a lot
happening in the UA scene. Citizens of Mumbai are becoming
innovative and are transforming terraces, balconies and
common areas into vegetable gardens. Organisations like City
Farming, Earthoholics, Fresh& Local, Urban Leaves, etc are
helping people to grow their own food. The Indian Railway has
leased its land along railway tracks to farmers to prevent
encroachment and to keep the land clean and useful. A waste
dump in Mumbai’s Ambedkar Nagar slum is now a community
garden. It is another matter that many of these farmers who
have no access to good water use drainage water for farming
leading to complaints that the vegetables contain harmful
levels of heavy metals and other chemicals.

Though Pune has some gardens on terraces and empty parking

areas, the Pune city corporation’s City Farming Project started
in 2008, where citizens were encouraged to grow vegetables
and other crops on allocated land, was not a success (Times of
India, 2012). Nagpur is another city where people are into
organic farming on terraces and small plots but at an informal
level. Slum dwellers in Cuttack have taken to organic farming
and even sell the surplus produce to local markets. In Delhi
there is extensive farming happening on the banks of river
Yamuna as the flood waters make it very fertile though the
farmers have no legal sanction to farm there.

In Hyderabad, farmers along the Musi River use water from the
river for urban farming which except during heavy rains
consists of the waste water let into it from houses, apartments
and commercial buildings as it flows through the city. Though
the government did not support the use of partially treated
waste water for irrigation, farmers have continued to do so due
to the absence of an alternate source of water. Para grass, rice
and vegetables are grown though only 1-2 % of the vegetables
contributed to the market. With the introduction of more
sewage treatment plants the quality of water has improved and
the farmers have year round access to water. However
significantly higher morbidity rates have been observed among
the farmers using waste water with skin problems, nematode
infections and waterborne diseases like dysentery being
reported(IWMI, 2013).Measures to minimise risks while at the
same time providing access to waste water for irrigation is what
is required.

In Chennai too roof top farming is becoming popular. The

Government of Tamil Nadu introduced a “Do-it-Yourself” kit
under the Urban Horticulture Development Scheme in 2014 to
enable city dwellers to grow vegetables on open terraces of
individual houses and apartment buildings. First introduced to
Chennai, the kit is now available in Madurai also. At present the
subsidised kits which contain the basic materials needed to
start a garden (except soil) are priced at Rs 500 and there is no
limit on the number of units one can purchase. There has been
a lot of interest to purchase the kits but we do not know if the
scheme has been successful in increasing the access to
nutrition among the poorer people or in reducing their monthly
food expenses. While the Chennai Metropolitan Water supply
and Sewerage Board popularly known as Metro Water says on
its website that it sells 36MLD of secondary treated sewage and
5 MLD of untreated sewage to industries this is only a small
quantity considering the amount of sewage generated in the
city. Another disturbing fact is that during the drought of 2003
Metro Water bought from farmers the rights to pump water
from 164 bore wells and from another 44 in 2004. A majority of
these farmers prefer selling the water as it fetches them more
money than farming on their small holdings (Down to Earth,
2004).

The department of horticulture in Karnataka provides support

for horticultural activities and the Horticultural Producers’ Co-
operative Marketing and Processing Society Ltd. or HOPCOMS
was established with the principal objective of establishing a
proper system for the marketing of fruits and vegetables
covering the five districts of Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural,
Kolar, Ramanagara and Chikkaballapura. HOPCOMS obtains
horticultural produce directly from its members. It uses an
indent system that puts a ceiling on the quantity procured with
the result that it favours small scale farmers who make up 77%
of those who supply to HOPCOMS (Kolady, Krishnamoorthy, &
Narayanan, 2007).

According to an exploratory study from the IWMI-Tata Water

Policy Programme published in 2012, there is considerable use
of waste water in urban and peri-urban irrigation in Gujarat.
Small scale farmers prefer to irrigate their crops with waste
water as it is cheaper, more readily available and provides
nutrients to the crops too. However application of waste water
poses a health risk to the farmers and is not suited to micro
irrigation techniques. Soil quality may also be affected due to
application of waste water. The amount and quality of nutrients
as well as presence of pathogens in the waste water need to be
ascertained before use in agriculture.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has no sewage treatment

plant. The 3800 hectares of wet land on its eastern fringe are
used for biological treatment of waste water. Agricultural
labourers use aquatic plants and sunlight to treat the waste
water and also use strips of land in the low lying area to
compost the organic waste from the city. The treated water is
used for pisciculture in 3500 hectares and vegetables are
grown in 350 acres.26000 urban poor work in this venture
(Gupta and Gangopadhyay, 2013)

Kerala is a continuous ribbon of settlement with no

demarcation between urban and rural settlements.
Urbanisation is happening at a fast pace and Kerala is expected
to become an all urban state in the near future (Sharma,
2004).Kerala’s rice deficit, which was 50 to 55 % from the early
fifties to the mid-seventies, is more than 85% now. This has
resulted from a consistent reduction of the area under rice
cultivation and an increasing population even though at a slow
rate (Kannan, 2000). Over the years Kerala shifted its focus to
more remunerative and less labour intensive cash crops such
as rubber, coconut and banana eventually becoming dependent
on import from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka even for vegetables.
There has been growing awareness about the health risks
associated with pesticide infused food in Kerala. This coupled
with the fact that sample tests conducted in laboratories of
Kerala revealed high chemical residues in fruits and vegetables
supplied from other states has generated a great interest in
organic farming in the state. While the production of grains and
pulses is limited by agro-climatic conditions fruits and
vegetables can be produced in the state itself. Kerala’s water
situation is also much better than that of many other states.
Individuals as well as self-help groups have started cultivating
on rooftops, balconies and backyards. The government of
Kerala initiated a Vegetable Development Project to augment
vegetable production in the state and the collective farming
projects implemented by the government of Kerala’s poverty
alleviation programme Kudumbashree brought considerable
fallow land back under cultivation financially empowering
thousands of women in the process. The production of
vegetables in Kerala increased from 8.25 lakh ton in 2011-12,
to 13.55 lakh ton in 2014-15 and is expected to increase
substantially in the next three years (Kerala State Planning
Board, 2015).

Thus it can be seen that there is potential and interest for

urban farming across India including the use of treated
wastewater for irrigation and the use of organic waste in the
production of fertilizer.

Problems in Urban Agriculture and possible solutions

We have talked about the need for urban farming in India and
the ways it can contribute to the economy and poverty
alleviation in the section “Need for Urban Agriculture in India”.
However urban farming is not without problems. Success of
urban farming depends on how well the issues regarding land,
water and environmental pollution are addressed.

The main issue with urban agriculture is the availability of land

for cultivation. In fast growing large cities where there is no
more free space available, setting aside land for agricultural
use is not feasible. Even where some free land is available the
price can be so high that it is not possible for people to acquire
the land for farming purposes. A study done on the
effectiveness of the green belt as an urban growth boundary in
Bengaluru found that there was no significant reduction in
prices of land within and outside the city limits. Successive
master plans have absorbed illegal and unplanned revenue
layouts, i.e., private layouts that are culled out from agricultural
land and converted for nonagricultural uses, into the city, often
illegally and without necessary approvals, ever since 1972
(Venkataraman, 2013).

On the outskirts of many cities agricultural land is either

converted for commercial purposes or bought and left fallow in
anticipation of a price rise. Price of farmland has increased
three to hundred fold in different parts of India. The Economic
Times reported in 2013 that an acre of farmland in Vadicherla
in Mehaboobnagar district of present day Telangana which is
not near any big city and which cost Rs 25000 in 2003 rose to
Rs 12 lakh by 2012. The increase was 100 fold in villages next
to Vijayawada. We found that the price at which the owners are
willing to sell an acre of farmland 30 km from the Hyderabad
airport is as high as Rs 3 crore and that for farmland 75 km
from the airport is Rs 10 lakh per acre. Around 98 million out of
total 120 million farm holdings in India belong to small and
marginal farmers. Consumption expenditure of marginal and
small farmers exceeds their estimated income by a substantial
margin and therefore there is a high level of poverty among
small farmers (Dev, 2012). The high price their land would fetch
on selling compared to the meagre amount they make from
farming makes them sell the land and exit agriculture. In the
process, the area under agriculture reduces. In many instances
farmers have become labourers and farmland has become
unaffordable to farmers in peri urban areas and even in
villages. Some of them have sold their land to builders and live
off rental income from apartments constructed on their land.
Hence, it is not possible to buy agricultural land in peri urban
areas and undertake farming as a profitable venture. Even the
farmers who continue with agriculture and the new entrants
would rather go in for high value cash crops than staples. This
is where the government can step in to ensure that some land
is set aside for farming purposes wherever feasible. Steps
should be taken to stop speculative buying and illegal
conversion of agricultural land. Strong enforcement of planning
norms in the urban and peri urban areas is needed to prevent
illegal conversion of agricultural land. It can also impose tax on
vacant plots and houses to prevent unproductive use of land.

Setting up schemes for leasing vacant plots for cultivation and

encouraging the use of roof tops and backyards of houses and
apartments as well as premises of schools and other
institutions for farming are some of the ways space can be
found for urban farming. Homeowners with space in their
backyards or rooftops where they want to farm but are unable
to do so themselves must be connected with people willing to
grow food there for a fee. For example in Canada the ‘Sharing
Backyards’ project connects homeowners who have a yard with
people who want to grow food but do not own any land (source:
Radio Canada).

Large water requirement for crop production is another major

hurdle for urban agriculture. Cities in India are struggling to
meet the fresh water requirements of its residents for human
needs. In many cities the utilities are able to provide only a
fraction of the water requirements of its residents. The balance
is met through wells drilled in the owners’ own premises or
purchased from private tanker water suppliers who charge a
large sum of money. Indiscriminate use of ground water for
farming will lead to falling water tables thereby undermining
the water security of the city. A majority of Indian cities are not
located in water abundant regions. Due to encroachment of
tanks and ponds and diversions of water most tanks and ponds
in these cities have already dried up. Others are heavily
polluted with waste and sewage and hence unusable. In many
urban areas around the world including humid regions aquifers
are getting depleted as pumping takes place within small
geographical areas creating "cones of depression"(Mukherjee,
Shah, and Kumar, 2010). For example, according to the Central
Ground Water Board, India (2011), groundwater development in
and around the Ahmedabad – Gandhinagar urban area has
reached a critical stage while in Bengaluru ground water is
being pumped at a rate higher than the recharge rate with
improper management of sewage causing nitrate pollution in
the ground water as well. Using grey water and treated waste
water for irrigation, a manifold increase in water productivity in
agriculture as well as using lower quality water unfit for
drinking for farming are the solutions to this problem. Farmers
in Chennai have already been buying treated waste water and
farmers along the Musi River in Hyderabad use the water from
the river which is mostly effluent let into it by apartments,
houses and industries. Given that 80% of the fresh water
supplied ends up as waste water, treating the waste water to a
level that makes it reusable for crop production, but will not
cause health hazards to the farmers and consumers, will help
close the loop in urban water management. Israel uses saline
water and recycled sewage water for agriculture and has been
conducting research on varieties and species of plants that are
salt-tolerant and resistant to soil pathogens and on using
grafted vegetable plants wherein a susceptible scion is grafted
onto a resistant root stock. For example, cultivars resistant to
Fusariumoxysporumf.spvasinfectum race 3 (FOV3), which
posed a threat to Pima cotton (Gossypiumbarbadense L), were
developed which are superior in yield and quality compared to
the susceptible ones, even in non-infested soil (Fishler et al.,
2007). Watermelons and cucumbers are grafted onto different
root stocks to prevent damage by soil borne diseases (Cohen et
al., 2007).
Improper and excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers in
farming can pollute the soil and water in urban areas. Organic
farming is the answer to this problem. The state of Sikkim has
been declared fully organic in 2016. Mizoram too is expected
to become a fully organic state soon while Orissa is taking to
organic farming in a big way.1The National Centre for Organic
Farming under the ministry of agriculture operates through six
regional centres. The Ministry has announced in February 2016
the setting up of the National Organic Farming Research
Institute (NOFRI) at Gangtok, Sikkim. Another point to be
mentioned is that organic farming is more successful where
there are a larger proportion of small scale farmers taking to it,
as large scale farmers are not willing in
The Chief Minister of Sikkim announced in the state legislative
assembly in 2003 that he was declaring Sikkim to be an
“Organic State” meaning the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides will be gradually phased out. By the end of 2015
Sikkim had converted its 75000 hectares of agricultural land
into organic farmlands with no use of chemical fertilizers,
pesticides or GMOs and all Sikkim’s farms were certified
organic by an independent certifying body. On January 18th
2016, Sikkim was declared completely organic. Mizoram passed
the Mizoram Organic Farming Act, 2004 on July 12, 2004.
Import and use of chemical inputs in agriculture in Mizoram is
very less now and it is expected that Mizoram too will become
fully organic in a couple of years. Only organic farming is
practiced in large areas of Orissa and there is tremendous
scope for organic cultivation in the state. The state has the
largest area of organic certified farms of 26,300 hectares in
India and its share in the global organic exports is expected to
be 2.5% by 2017.
Most cases to switch to organic farming. Though organic
farming produces food with minimum harm to the ecosystem,
animals and humans, critics have always argued that the yield
from organic farming is considerably less than that from
conventional farming. Though this difference has been shown
to be much less than it is believed to be and is highly
contextual (Seufert et al., 2012), it is very difficult to convince
large scale farmers to shift to organic farming. Also they have
been using chemical fertilisers and insecticides for far too long;
also doing mono cropping, to switch to organic farming easily.
It will also take a few years for the soil in such farms to be
detoxified and the products from the farms to be certified
organic. This makes it easier to push for organic farming in
urban areas.

Levels of pollution in cities are higher than in rural areas in the

soil, water and air. Emissions from factories and automobiles
lead to the presence of heavy metals and other toxic chemicals
in water, soil and air while untreated and partially treated
sewage lead to the presence of pathogens. This exposes the
people who work in the urban farms and to a lesser extent the
consumers of the produce to health risks. Suitable checks and
precautions need to be exercised to prevent diseases triggered
or produced by these pollutants.

In earlier days, houses used to have kitchen gardens and fruit

trees which at least catered partially to the needs of the family.
These days most houses and apartments in cities do not have
much free space around them. Even houses and housing
societies that have some cultivable land undertake landscaping
that involves non edible vegetation that emphasizes on beauty
rather than utility. Builders, housing societies and individual
owners must be encouraged and given technical support to
include edible plants and fruit trees as part of their
landscaping. Tax incentives can also be given to housing
colonies and apartments to undertake landscaping that
includes fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, etc.

Factors Contributing to Success of Urban Farming

The reasons why people engage in urban agriculture are varied.

For the urban poor it is a means of getting vegetables and fruits
which otherwise are beyond their reach and also making a
living selling the produce. For others it is a way to deal with the
fluctuating prices of vegetables, to consume fresh produce that
has not been refrigerated or transported over long distances or
to ensure that the food they eat is organic or pesticide free.
Then there are some urban farmers for whom horticulture is a
hobby.

Urban agriculture has been undertaken in cities with diverse

socio economic conditions and having varying degrees of
institutional support with different levels of success. While
necessity was the factor that made UA successful in Havana
the inability to procure pesticide free vegetables was what led
the people of Kerala to take to organic farming. In a very
densely populated city like Mumbai citizens are using
innovative methods to have access to fresh produce. Farming
in the slums of Cuttack, along the railway track in Mumbai and
on the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi and Musi in Hyderabad
helps the poor to meet their nutritional requirements and earn
some money too in the process. The Pune City Farming Project
initiated by the Pune Municipal Corporation did not take off and
interest in kitchen gardens has been slow to catch on. In Kerala
where production of organic vegetables has increased and
expected to grow further, about 60% of the 33,310 households
in Thiruvananthapuram who were given grow bags, seeds,
plants and instructions by the State Horticulture Mission
continued with rooftop farming (Down To Earth, 2015).
Residents of Hyderabad can avail a subsidy for rooftop farming
but the practice is not widespread.

In many cities the poor urban farmers are fighting against odds
to sustain their farming activities, relying on waste water like
along the Musi River in Hyderabad or farming without legal
sanction as on the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi. However, in
cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune there is institutional
support but the number of residents taking up rooftop farming
is less. The reasons can be varied including lack of space as in
an apartment, lack of time or interest or lack of water. For
example in a city like Bengaluru, many apartments buy water
supplied through tankers for their daily needs. In the same
cities where there is not much interest for roof top farming
there are the urban poor who farm in the fringes of the city,
Hyderabad and Chennai being examples. The farmers along
Musi may be selling their produce at local markets thereby
obviating the need for apartment dwellers to produce their own
on their terraces.

It can be seen that urban agriculture is most successful when

there is a need for and an interest in pursuing farming among a
large section of the inhabitants of a city and there is
institutional support for it. Institutional support is crucial for the
farmers to get access to necessary resources. UA became
extensively practiced in Havana because food availability
declined by as much as 60% and residents had to produce their
own food. More and more people started cultivating vegetables
on their roof tops in Kerala because that was the only way they
could ensure that the vegetables they ate were free from
pesticides. In Mumbai farming on terraces and balconies helps
recycle kitchen waste and provides fresh organic fruits and
vegetables. In all cities there are poor people for whom urban
farming is a means to feed the family and a source of income.

The Way Forward

Looking at the various cities in India where Urban Agriculture is
popular it can be seen that there are no regional trends or
pattern with regard to the practice of UA. Before undertaking
UA in any city a preliminary survey regarding the need and
interest for it among the residents has to be conducted. Once a
strong interest has been identified the availability of resources
including the need to set up waste water treatment facilities,
composting facilities, etc has to be looked into. Identifying the
sections of residents who are seriously interested in farming
and providing them with support will ensure the success of the
project. Availability of resources namely land, water for
irrigation and support services including garden supplies ,
expert advice and microcredit are the prerequisites for success
in urban agriculture.

In Cultivating Sustainable Cities: A Comparative Study of Urban

Agriculture in Mumbai, India and New York City, USA, Satterlee
(2015)observes that the urban farming communities in New
York and Mumbai felt that they were not able to reach out truly
to the communities in need. In Mumbai the farmers felt they
could concentrate either on food security or environmentalism
but not both. While the predominantly upper middleclass not
for profit farmer could concentrate on the quality of the
produce without worrying about food security or income, the
farmers along the railway line used drainage water, pesticides
and fertilizer so that they can grow maximum food in minimum
time. Different socio economic groups also had varying degrees
of access to resources for urban farming. According to Satterlee
(2015), governmental programs surrounding urban agriculture
act as equalizers distributing necessary resources to
communities that would not otherwise have access to them and
that the absence of such programmes in Mumbai leaves a large
gap between low-income farmers along the railway line and
their more wealthy counterparts on community gardens, with
regard to resources. In fact if residents who have access to and
have the money to pay for more potable water decide to use it
for agriculture they may be depriving other residents of water
to satisfy even their basic needs. This is where institutional
support and checks on urban agriculture become important.

As pointed out earlier, the availability of land and water are the
factors that are critical to the success of urban agriculture in a
city. The government can take steps to allot land for
community gardens and introduce measures to free up empty
plots for lease for urban farming and make them available for
landless farmers. The optimum utilization of land in a city
cannot be effective without help from the authorities. Projects
that bring together people who own land or have spacious
backyards with people willing to work on them are needed.
Landowners fearful of losing their land rights let their land lie
fallow rather than allow informal cultivation by landless
farmers. There should be proper legal framework to lease or
rent farmland. In an around cities agricultural land is being
indiscriminately converted into non- agricultural land
sometimes illegally without the permission of the revenue
department. Proper zoning laws for cities with legal protection
for areas earmarked for urban agriculture is necessary.

Most cities in India are struggling to provide water to its

citizens. In many cities the city water supply does not reach a
large percentage of residents who rely on ground water either
from their premises or brought in water tankers from other
parts of the city or suburbs. While almost 80% of the water
used by urban dwellers ends up as waste water, cities do not
have the facilities to treat the waste water and reuse it. In most
cases only a part of the waste water is treated and the
untreated and partially treated sewage enters the rivers and
lakes in the cities polluting them and making them unfit for use
for any purpose. Thus on the one hand there is a huge demand
for fresh water and on the other there is a large amount of
waste water which ends up polluting fresh water and also the
soil.

The problem with sewage treatment plants is that they are

expensive to set up and run and need space too. In most cases
due to space constraints it is not possible to locate them in
such places as would facilitate the productive use of the
treated water. There is urgent need to find ways of treating the
waste water in order to close the loop and also to meet the
cities’ water demands. While it may not be possible to use the
treated water for domestic consumption it can be used to
advantage in urban agriculture. If free of pathogens, heavy
metals and toxic chemicals the water with some nutrients left
in it is beneficial for growing crops. Considering the amount of
space and money needed to set up large scale centralized
sewage treatment plants, the possibilities for setting up small
decentralized sewage treatment plants need to be explored
and the necessary laws passed for implementing the same.
Grey water can be used without much treatment for irrigation.
This will also help reduce the load on sewage treatment plants.
The Centre for Science and Environment has reviewed and
documented select case studies that present innovative,
sustainable and affordable ways of treating the sewage locally
including reuse/recycle. It is mandatory for building sites over a
particular area to have their own sewage treatment plants in
some cities like Bengaluru. Finding ways of treating all the
sewage from the city and reusing the waste water including for
urban farming will help address the demand for water as well
as food in the urban areas. Micro irrigation techniques can also
be used to reduce the water demand for urban agriculture.

Once land and water are available, projects to convert bio

degradable waste from the city into compost for use as
fertilizer, making available good quality seeds and organic
insecticides, providing the necessary knowhow and expert
advice as well as provision for microcredit will lead to the
success of urban agriculture. India is presently the second
largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world according
to the National Horticulture Mission launched in 2005-06 as a
centrally sponsored scheme for the promotion of the
horticulture sector through area based regionally differentiated
strategies. In 2014-15 this scheme was made part of the
Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture or MIDH and
is implemented by the State Horticulture Missions in selected
districts of 18 states and 4 centrally administered territories.
During 2005-06 to 2014-15, area coverage under the NHM has
increased from 1.03 lakh hectares to 25 lakh hectares (MIDH,
2016). The MIDH provides assistance to farmers for a whole
range of farming activities like production of plant material,
setting up gardens including micro irrigation, setting up
precision farms, creation of water resources, organic farming
and certification, etc. Thus India already has an institutional
framework for the promotion of horticulture in addition to the
agriculture department. This has to be extended to provide
special attention to cities to increase their share in
agriculture/horticultural production.
Unplanned urbanization has led to serious problems in India.
For example T.V Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological
Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore cautions that
the unrealistic concentrated developmental activities in
Bengaluru would make the region GHG-rich, water-scarce, non-
resilient and unliveable, depriving the citydwellers of clean air,
water and environment. There has been a tenfold increase in
paved area, 88% reduction in vegetation, 79% decline in
wetlands, high increase in air pollution, huge increase in city
traffic and steep decline in the depth of the water table from
1973 to 2016 (Ramachandra and Aithal, 2016). The condition is
similar in most major cities in India. There is an urgent need to
reverse this trend to prevent our cities whose population is
increasing day by day from becoming dysfunctional.

Urban planning policies in India have traditionally focused on

development of infrastructure and land. It has mainly been
concerned with constructing buildings and roads without
incorporating the concepts of social justice or environmental
sustainability with the result that our cities have become
centres of urban poverty and environmental degradation. Our
urban planning policies should take a holistic approach towards
our cities. Steps towards recycling solid waste and waste water,
reducing pollution and increasing the green cover with an
emphasis on urban food production in our cities will help make
our cities more sustainable.

Conclusion
With increasing urbanisation of India’s population it is essential
that importance is given to urban agriculture to improve food
and nutritional security. At least partial self-sufficiency in food
will protect the urban poor from the uncertainties in food
availability brought about by climate variability, price
fluctuations, changes in oil price and the like. At present our
cities are faced with problems of water shortages, inadequate
systems to manage municipal waste and waste water, air, and
water and land pollution and urban poverty. These problems
will only get intensified as the urban population increases.
Changes in weather patterns like floods and droughts will add
to these woes. The Food and Agricultural Organisation has
emphasised the role of Urban Agriculture in achieving real
efficiencies by making productive use of underutilized
resources and intensified agricultural practices (FAO, 2001).

In addition to institutional support, there is a need to

incentivise farming in urban areas to make it attractive to the
urban citizens. With this in mind we have developed a matrix of
measures and mechanisms (see Table 1). The type of measures
for creating incentives fall under legal; institutional; policy;
technology and information and awareness. A survey of the
literature and organizations and government agencies in this
area makes it clear that there is no dearth of information or
institutional support with regard to farming in India. From the
detailed research and guidelines provided by the FAO to the
extensive institutional framework in India in the agricultural
and horticultural sector and the numerous NGOs who are active
in this field there are many factors that are favourable for the
success of UA in India. The available information and
infrastructure have to be streamlined towards making UA a
viable proposition in India. It is also necessary to weed out
inefficiencies and corrupt practices as is seen in the speculative
trading in land and illegal conversion of agricultural land for
other purposes and polluting our water bodies with untreated
sewage. Once this is done we foresee a very positive future for
urban agriculture in the country.

Urban Farming - A Sustainable Model for Indian Cities

SUCCESS STORIES IN URBAN FARMING
Urban Farming activities in urban and peri urban residential
areas are making significant contributions to sustaining and
distribution of knowledge within the community of practice.
There are also other benefits from them such as community
building, management of green spaces, ecosystem service
provision, including improvement of local climate Biodiversity
and cultural services .Let us study some of the very successful
urban farming initiatives taken up by learned persons in our
own cities with a view let their experiences guide us to
determine the key principles involved for success and
sustainability of Urban Farming. We have selected two
individual Farmers, two voluntary farming communities and two
groups of commercial farmers for our study.
A. Case study-1: Green terraces roof-top, Kerala Vegetable
farming by CLUSTERS of farmer land in Kerala remains water
logged for most of the year. Hence vegetable prices went high.
The Kerala state department of horticulture has taken initiative
of promoting roof-top cultivation of vegetables in urban as well
as Peri-urban areas. Vegetable initiatives for urban clusters:
they use growbags to cultivate cauliflower, tomato, bottle
gourd, bitter gourd etc. on terraces and on sticks, poles too.
The farmers receive training from the state department who
have taught them to grow vegetables on terraces, sticks and
poles too. They grow cowpea and cucumber too.
Two Farmer Interest Groups (FIG) having 25 members each in
peri-urban areas have registered under the companies act and
also under Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council of Kerala. The
VFPCK has set up a market and the urban farmers are able to
sell their produce for a good price. The peri-urban farmers are
happy with the scheme.
B. Case study-2: Networks of farmers, Kerala On a busy road,
amid high-rise buildings, in convent road of Ernakulum, Kerala,
grows the terrace farm (nurtured by 70-year old ARS Vadhyar,
a civil engineer). It has 3 coconut trees, 35 banana trees,
papaya, guava, chickoo, grapes, pumpkins, ash gourd, snake
gourd, bitter gourd, okra, tomato and many more vegetables.
All on just 1500 sq. ft. of terrace. Those who take up terrace
farming are not regular farmers, but professionals like
engineers, doctors, employees of public and private sectors.
Senior citizens, women home makers and even students.
“Each district in Kerala has a minimum of 20,000 roof-top
cultivators.” says K. Prathapan, Director, State Horticulture
Mission. The main reason for this trend is growing health
consciousness and fear of consuming contaminated foods. The
social media has played a crucial role in sustaining the organic
terrace farming movement. Groups such as Kitchen garden,
Krishi bhoomi etc. share knowledge among members. They got
together and organised a 3-day exhibition cum training
workshop on organic terrace farming. Such initiatives have
generated awareness among people also informed about
government subsidies, technology transfers and schemes.
C. Case study-3: Garden city Farmers Trust, Bengaluru. This is a
committed group of intellectuals leading a highly successful
movement in Bengaluru to encourage citizens to take up
organic terrace farming. The Trust is managed by a group of
nine people. Nearly 10,000 people have already turned farmers
in Bengaluru city. The group is now trying to raise the funds for
distributing of creepers in city slums, where people are
deprived of clean food and air. It hopes to bring back the green
standards that the city was known for before the IT sector
revolution. Dr. V. Kadur, founding father explains there is
nothing like 100% yield in agriculture. 15-20% is always lost to
insects and birds. We have to learn to live with insects and
other micro-organisms and go ORGANIC. Otherwise we may be
permanently damage the ecosystem. Motto-“Eat what you grow
and grow what you eat.” They have been motivating citizens to
convert all available spaces in and around their dwellings into
green, edible patches. The effort is slowly snow-balling, with
many such groups greening vacant plots in the city.
D. Case study-4: Roof Top Revolution in Sakthikulangara, Kerala
S.K., a sea-side local municipal corporation is a village famous
for fishing and fishery related activities. The soil there is highly
acidic and unfit for cultivation of any kind. Agriculture held no
promise. Now all this is a thing of past. The initiative of Anthony
john has transformed this barren area into a hub of a new
garden revolution. Each family is encouraged to produce fresh,
hygienic organic vegetables.
Anthony john’s formula: Growth medium: treated coir pith, bio-
char 95% & local soil 5%. Plantation of seeds in PVC channels
split length-wise in half, kept in stacks. Irrigation: drip method
using a timer automatic Compost: by converting his own
kitchen waste and other bio-waste for which he developed low
cost aerobic bio-composting unit. Ooze(activated compost tea):
the liquid which oozes one of the garbage is enriched with bio-
fertilizer and friendly microbes and the liquid is sprayed on the
plants. Also diluted sea water is used for providing essential
nutrients. He is highly successful in cultivating a variety of
vegetables, lettuce, kale, tomato, brinjal and cabbage etc. And
now he is a role model for terrace farming all over Kerala too. E.
Case study-5: Urban leaves in Mumbai blossoming on a
concrete backdrop Population in city of Mumbai has increased
12 times over in the past century. In such crowded conditions
u/a seems unlikely to be put into practice, since it must
compete with real estate developments for access to and use
of vacant lands. But dr. doshi’s city farming methods are
revolutionary. In his terrace of 1200 sq. ft., dr. doshi has grown
fruit such as mangos, guavas, figs etc. his method of using
sugarcane waste, compost and garden soil in poly bags, tires,
drums etc. his policy consumes the entire household waste and
makes his household self-sufficient in provision food 5kg. and
produced daily for 300days in year. Urban leaves is a
community empowerment programs of vidya vaardhi trust
which has come lovely way in developing skins and techniques
of urban farming. Preeti patil, has for many years, oversaw the
catering for thousands of employees at Mumbai port trust. The
massive wet-waste generated was being trucked away until dr.
r.t. dodhi inspired her to change the waste into a resource.
Putting to use the terrace above the kitchen, preeti has used
“amrit mitti” a nutrient rich soil along with pulverised kitchen
waste and produced an abundance of fruit, vegetables and
greens.
The movement, begun in 2009 has grown tremendously and
urban leaves now conducts learning sessions, encourages
growth of new similar community of urban farmers. Regularly
has sale of organic vegetables in different parts of the city.
“No one can force anyone to be part of this. You can transform
people only by example. When people see how much can be
achieved even in limited confines of balconies and windows,
they realize even they can do it.”, says Preeti.
F. Case study-6 Growing vegetables on garbage dumps in East
Calcutta, India, has some of the most outstanding waste-into-
farming systems in the world. At Calcutta’s main garbage
dumping site, the municipal corporation leases about 800
hectares of older dump plots with rich compost for intensive
farming. Small farmers and cooperatives produce 150 to 300
tons a day of up to 25 varieties of vegetables which fetch high
prices in Calcutta. The intensive farming generates
employment for about 20,000 youths, men and women. The
site consists of fingers of solid land jutting into a series of
lagoons east of the city. The fields are served by unpaved
roads. Farmers provide their own security by rotating night-
watch duty. The farming system is labour-intensive, including
hand-carried irrigation water. Inorganic materials are removed
from the garbage by an informal recycling industry before the
waste gets to the dump site. The remaining organic waste is
rich in nutrients, and no chemical inputs used. This traditional
farming produces safe food and is environmentally sustainable.
Sale of the produce is to middlemen at the farm gate and direct
sale at city centre markets. Rent is paid to thika tenants, or
landlords, who lease large tracts from the Calcutta Municipal
Council. The West Bengal State Department of Agriculture
provides monitoring and tests for food safety.
URBAN AGRICULTURE IN INDIA AND ITS CHALLENGES
CASE OF HYDERBAD
Urban agriculture is the new culture that is catching up in
Hyderabad city. More than 4000 households in the outskirts of
the city currently are self-reliant for the vegetable needs of the
family. This time Horticulture department for a change is giving
subsidy directly to the citizens instead of farmers who want to
grow of complete nutrients set of vegetables.
Horticulture department director K Devamuni Reddy said that
the initiative as part of urban farming is met with good
response since it was initiated two months back. "We give the
citizens who are ready to grow a cluster of vegetables at their
home a subsidy of Rs 360 and they have to spend another Rs
1200 from their pockets" he added. This subsidy kit involves
four silatin round beds, red earth, farmyard manures, 14 bags
and other essential things to grow a garden at home. Officials
said though the citizens have to spend additional Rs 400 to 500
for transporting, response has been more than good. Mostly
people in Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, LB nagar, Vanastalipuram who
have own houses have shown good interest with more than
4000 subsidy kits being distributed so far. Officials plan to
increase this number to another 1000 in next few months.
Challenges faced
On Paper, on reports, and on official projections, Official
records all seems to be attractive and successful, but the
realistic scene is completely opposite. The four areas
mentioned in the news report, UPPAL, Dilsukhnagar, L.B.Nagar
and Vanasthalipuram are so crowded, houses in these areas
have no space for gardening or for drying the clothes, houses
are built on 200 to 500 square yards have double or triple
storied buildings, as these areas fetch good rents, most of the
owners have rented out, tenants are not allowed to grow any
trees or vegetables, very few houses on the outskirts of the
city, say near Hayathnagar, Ghatkesar and others may have
purchased few kits, but the result may not have been
satisfactory.

CASE OF DELHI
The Yamuna River runs through the middle of Delhi -- India's
second largest metropolis and home to a population of over 18
million inhabitants. But very few of this city's residents or
visitors know that along the banks of the Yamuna live
thousands of urban farmers. Contrary to what one who learns
of them might assume, these urban farmers are not recent
migrants forcibly displaced from rural areas and only able to
find work in Delhi as agricultural laborers. Rather, they have
been cultivating vegetables along the banks of Yamuna for
several generations. Yet still, since they are without
government identification cards and do not own the property
on which they farm, these farmers are among the most
vulnerable population in urban Delhi -- not only unknown, but
also invisible. Despite having no access to government
services, living under constant threat of eviction, and having to
rebuild their houses each year after the river banks flood during
the monsoons, the Yamuna farmers speak enthusiastically
about farming vegetables in the Delhi city center in favor of
growing grain crops in the rural provinces as they did
generations ago. But with the recently opened metro stations
along the banks of the Yamuna and the likelihood of new
developments, the future of this vulnerable population is
uncertain.
From preliminary research, one comes under the impression
that there is little to no significant urban agriculture in Delhi.
But as one goes deep inside will find out that there is in fact
extensive urban agriculture in Delhi, and on a scale that far
exceeds that of the cities that typically come to mind on the
subject. Yet, urban agriculture in Delhi exists in such a way that
it is both intensively practiced and decidedly irrelevant.
International Journal of Environmental Science: Development
and Monitoring (IJESDM) ISSN No. 2231-1289, Volume 4 No. 2
(2013)
Challenges faced
The Yamuna farmers present a paradoxical situation. On the
one hand, they are a very significant subject for urban
agriculture globally in terms of the sheer scale of their
production. But at the same time, there is the imminent threat
of development and it is unlikely that the farmers will exist in
this capacity for much longer