17 Jun Urban farm produce – methods and advantages

Introduction

Agriculture has historically served as the primary provider of sustenance for humanity. With the capacity to alleviate global hunger and stimulate the economies of developing countries, it holds immense potential. Moreover, as an indispensable industry, it will continue to play a central role in human affairs for generations to come. Nevertheless, the current agricultural practices are far from sustainable, as they exert mounting pressure on our planet’s limited resources.

For this, expansion of agriculture is very important but equally difficult.  Urban agriculture (UA), which was practiced since quite some time, captured attention as a potential solution. According to Smit et al. (1996), UA can be defined as “an industry that produces, process and markets food and fuel, largely in response to the daily demand of consumers within a town, city or metropolis, on land and water dispersed throughout the urban and peri-urban area, applying intensive production methods, using and reusing natural resources and urban wastes, to yield a diversity of crops and livestock.”

Let us take an example of ‘war gardens’ in the United States. Faced with having to feed an expanded military and a hungry population, the US government introduced the idea of War Gardens. The idea was to grow and consume fresh fruits and vegetables in community gardens which would help save families and institutions on food and give urban dwellers an opportunity to do farming in times of financial hardship. This freed up big agricultural spaces and vastly reduced packaging, transportation and also resulted in individuals consuming better and nutritious food.

Urban farming is rapidly transforming our cities, bringing fresh, local produce to urban dwellers while fostering community engagement and environmental sustainability. Urban farms provide a unique solution, merging agriculture with the urban landscape to create greener, more self-sufficient cities.

What exactly is urban farming?

It includes a variety of agricultural practices within the city. The options can be community gardens, rooftop farms, and vertical farming systems to hydroponics and aquaponics setups. The difference between urban and rural farming is that the former integrates food production into the urban fabric which makes fresh agricultural produce easily accessible to city dwellers.

Advantages and Benefits

1. Freshness – As the produce doesn’t have to travel a long distance, the time between harvest and consumption greatly reduces and thus helping in retaining the flavour colour and nutrition of fresh fruits and vegetables. It also reduces the carbon footprint generated during transport from rural areas to urban.
2. Job creation – This can create multiple jobs from farmers and gardeners to delivery persons.
3. Community engagement – This provides a healthy and conducive environment for people of all age groups to learn about agriculture, sustainability and healthy eating.
4. Food security – In adverse times, urban farming helps greatly in food security as its very important in food deserts where everything has to be brought in.

Various methods of urban farming

1. Rooftop garden – This is one of the most common method of farming. This type of farming uses the unused space atop the big commercial buildings and can vary in size and complexity.
2. Vertical farming — Vertical farming involves growing crops in stacked layers, often using controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology. This method maximizes space usage and can produce high yields in urban settings.
3. Hydroponics and aquaponics – Hydroponics involves growing plants without soil, using nutrient-rich water solutions. Aquaponics combines hydroponics with aquaculture, raising fish and plants together in a symbiotic environment. Both methods are highly efficient and suitable for urban areas with limited space.

There are many successful examples in the Western world where urban farming has taken place like Brooklyn Grange, New York, Lufa Farms, Montreal, The Plant, Chicago

Possible challenges

While urban farming offers many benefits, it also faces challenges such as limited space, high initial costs, and regulatory hurdles. However, with technological advancements and growing public interest in sustainable living, the future of urban farming looks promising. Continued innovation and support from local governments and communities will be crucial in overcoming these obstacles and expanding the reach of urban agriculture.

Conclusion

Urban farming, which initially started off as a trend is on track to become an essential way of living in urban areas where there is lack of space, knowledge to grow products and need of high quality varieties of fruits and vegetables.