Smart Urban Farming Expo

The expo is being organised with the futuristic vision of bringing a new revolution of urban farming in Delhi so that it reaches every rooftop and balcony in Delhi. The adoption of urban farming is the need of the hour to ensure food quality and security and to ensure every person can experience the joy of farming from their homes. Every person’s life is led through agriculture so we are all ‘Krishijeevi’ in that sense. In villages, agriculture and social media co-exist but in urban areas, people are more dependent on social media and tend to forget the role of farmers in sustaining us throughout the year. One of the drawbacks of our education systems has been that the role of the producers has not been adequately emphasised. Demeaning the value of work done by farmers has led to many challenges like food insecurity and food quality crisis and adopting urban farming can help city-dwellers better appreciate the intensity of work and care it takes to grow food at a larger scale. Around 400 - 500 orientation workshops will be organised in various areas of Delhi over the next few months in partnership with Delhi Government, and those interested can be inducted for a week-long training where they will be further made aware of the outlook, technology and latest trends in urban farming.

Urban farming has emerged as a booming industry in cities like London, Singapore etc. and in some countries like Cuba, around 60% of vegetables are produced by urban and peri-urban farms. Despite curiosity for the same, urban farming in India has remained an elite concept limited to the segment of trading farmers and has still not gained enough prominence among the common people. As the policy think tank of the Delhi Government, the Dialogue and Development Commission is committed to making Delhi the innovation capital of the country. When Hon’ble Chief Minister Sh. Arvind Kejriwal decided to distribute Pusa bio-decomposer, a highly effective microbial solution for stubble management, among Delhi farmers free of cost, he set an example of the things that can be achieved if governments and research institute partner and work together. As an urban farmer, the biggest gap I have personally identified is the access to knowledge regarding the same for common people in urban areas. The government’s motivation is that the expo does not just serve the purpose of knowledge exchange among professionals to bring world-class innovations to Delhi but the two-day deliberations at the expo should be able to simplify the process and increase its reach. Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister’s presence today is a marker of the Delhi Government’s commitment to making urban farming a mass movement.

The expo is dedicated to discussing urban farming which has emerged as a great alternative in the context of population increase, urbanisation, reduction in agricultural land area and decline in quality of natural resources. Building systematic urban farming projects should be integral to urban planning for smart cities. Seed varieties need to be bred and developed for the particular circumstances of urban farming and Pusa Institute has pioneered the technology for vertical farming, aeroponics, hydroponics, protected cultivation etc. We will readily extend research support for the training of farmers in the same.

Through Delhi, the message is for the country that smart urban farming is a need for people in urban areas to grow their own nutritious food and avoid residual fertilisers. Working with nature and a healthy diet will lead to a stronger, disease-free citizenry who can build a healthy and strong country.