This document discusses various approaches to urban farming that can help address climate action and food security. It provides background on the growth of urban populations and importance of urban agriculture. It then highlights several innovative urban farming initiatives around the world, including vertical farms, rooftop gardens, and mobile apps connecting urban farmers and consumers. These approaches aim to improve access to fresh, local produce while reducing environmental impacts.

1. Environmental sustainability
Best Urban farming approaches for
Climate action and food security
Prepared by:
Bhukya Bhaskar
Indian fisheries
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
GOALS(SDG)
2. ZERO HUNGER
3. GOOD HEALTH & WELL-
BEING
10. REDUCED
INEQUALITIES
11. SUSTAINABLE CITIES &
COMMUNITIES
13. CLIMATE ACTION
As of 1 January 2022, the population of
the world was estimated to
be 7,948,118,521.
This is an increase of 1.23 %
(96,954,665 people) compared to
population of 7,851,163,856 the year
before.
Indian total population for 2020 was
138 crores. India urban population for
2020 was 481,980,332

2. Introduction
• 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.
• 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.

3. • 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.

4. • Agriculture can help reduce poverty for 75% of
the world's poor, who live in rural areas and
work mainly in farming.
• An estimated 2.5 billion subsistence farmers
worked in 2018, cultivating about 60% of the
earth's arable land. Intensive farming is
cultivation to maximise productivity, with a low
fallow ratio and a high use of inputs (water,
fertilizer, pesticide and automation). It is
practiced mainly in developed countries.

5. Introduction
• The United Nations estimates that nearly 10 billion
people will be living in cities by 2050.
• According to a recent publication by the Barilla Center
for Food & Nutrition, urban eaters consume most of
the food produced globally and maintain more
resource-intensive diets including increased animal-
source and processed foods—rich in salt, sugar, and
fats.
• At present some 11 percent (1.5 billion ha) of the
globe's land surface (13.4 billion ha) is used in crop
production (arable land and land under permanent
crops).
• This area represents slightly over a third (36 percent) of
the land estimated to be to some degree suitable for
crop production.

6. Growing Greener Cities: Urban Agriculture
and the Impact on SDG 11
 To achieve SDG target 11.3, governments should
integrate urban agriculture into their established and
growing cities.
 A modest increase in urban agriculture could reduce the
urgency of increasing rural agricultural yields.
 Best practices must take into account possible adverse
impacts and help mitigate climate change.

7. • Cities currently house over 54% of the world’s
population – a number that is expected to increase
to approximately 59% by 2030.
• The UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGS) have highlighted the importance of
agriculture and sustainable cities in SDG target
11.3, “countries should aim to work to enhance
inclusive and sustainable urbanization for
participatory, integrated, and sustainable human
settlement planning and management in all
countries.”
• We argue that to achieve this target, in the spirit of
the SDGs, governments should integrate urban
agriculture into their established and growing
cities.

8. sustainable cities involves a multi-pronged approach
• The road to sustainable cities involves a multi-pronged
approach that strengthens social capital, creates innovative
agricultural technologies, and allows public and private
partners to participate.
• Innovative methods of urban agriculture take the form
of community and rooftop gardens, greenhouses, indoor
and vertical farms, and edible green walls.
• Though these techniques likely won’t feed our largest
cities, research indicates that urban farming techniques
could produce enough vegetables for each person’s
recommended daily consumption using less than 10% of
city land.
• A modest increase in urban agriculture could reduce the
urgency of increasing rural agricultural yields.
• Urban agriculture structures will not replace rural farming;
however, they can produce different varieties of crops that
rural areas are less able to produce.

9. Some of the initiatives taken up towards urban
farming around the world
• 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.

10. • In Mexico City, the organization CultiCiudad built the Huerto
Tlatelolco, an edible forest with 45 tree varieties, a seed
bank, and plots for biointensive gardening.
• In the United States, City Growers uses New York City’s
urban farms as a learning laboratory for children to
reconnect with nature.
• And in the Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya, urban
agriculture represents a tool for empowerment by improving
food security, nutrition, and self-sufficiency among refugees.
• From high-tech indoor farms in France and Singapore to
mobile apps connecting urban growers and eaters in India
and the U.S., Food Tank highlights 16 initiatives using tech,
entrepreneurship, and social innovation to change urban
agriculture.

11. 1) AeroFarms, Newark (United States)
• The company uses aeroponics to grow leafy greens
without sun or soil in a fully controlled environment.
• The technology enables year-round production while,
they say, using 95 percent less water than field farming,
resulting in yields 400 times higher per square foot
annually.
• Since its foundation in 2004, AeroFarms aims to disrupt
conventional food supply chains by building farms
along major distribution routes and in urban areas.
• The company also won multiple awards, including
the 2018 Global SDG Award, for its environmentally
responsible practices and leadership in agriculture.

12. 2. Agricool, Paris (France)
• Agricool is a start-up that grows strawberries in containers
spread throughout urban areas.
• The company retrofits old, unused containers to
accommodate both an LED-lights and aeroponics system
making it possible to grow strawberries year-round.
• The Cooltainers are powered by clean energy and use 90
percent less water than conventional farming.
• Agricool also works on building a network of urban
farmers through the Cooltivators training program, aiming
to open up job opportunities for city residents to work in
the agricultural sector.
• The start-up now works on expanding operations to other
cities, an effort made possible by the replicability of the
container’s design.

13. 3. BIGH Farms, Brussels (Belgium)
• BIGH (Building Integrated Greenhouses) Farms, a start-up
based in Brussels, works on building a network of urban
farms in Europe to promote the role urban agriculture can
play in the circular economy.
• BIGH’s designs integrate aquaponics with existing buildings
to reduce a site’s environmental impact.
• The first pilot—located above the historic Abattoir in
Brussel’s city center—includes a fish farm, a greenhouse,
and over 2,000 square meters of outdoor vegetable gardens.
• They started in 2018 producing microgreens, herbs,
tomatoes, and striped bass.
• BIGH Farms also partners with local businesses and growers
to make sure the farm’s production is complementary to the
existing food community.

14. 4. Bites, Phoenix (United States)
• Bites is a mobile platform working to help connect urban
farmers, chefs, and eaters in Phoenix through farm-to-table
dining experiences.
• Eaters and chefs sign up and meet through the app to
organize an in-home dining event. Chefs gather the
ingredients from urban growers registered on the platform
in an effort to promote local, small businesses.
• Bites was launched in 2017 by Roza Derfowsmakan,
founder of Warehouse Apps, to improve accessibility to
farm-to-table experiences and support urban farmers.
• By using technology to build culinary communities, Bites
aims to change consumer choices from shipped-in,
trucked-in produce to locally sourced food—involving
people in the solution itself.

15. 5. BitGrange, Multiple Locations (North America)
• BitGrange is an urban farming tool and learning platform
working to help educate children on food and agriculture.
• The BitGrange device, a hydroponics and Internet of Things-
based system, produces edible plants with little water and
energy.
• BitGrange’s software evaluates environmental variables in
real-time and notifies growers through a smartphone app
to take necessary actions, such as adding more water or
plant food.
• Founded in 2015 according to their philosophy, Plant-
Connect-Sync-Play, BitGrange aims to inspire youth to
engage in farming by gamifying agriculture.
• The nano-farm’s design is available for download at
BitGrange’s website for potential growers to 3D print the
device in their own location.

16. 6. Bowery Farming, New York Metro Area (United States)
• Bowery Farming, an indoor farming start-up, uses
software and robotics to grow produce inside
warehouses located in and around cities.
• By controlling every aspect of the growing process, the
start-up is able to produce leafy greens and herbs
using a minimal amount of water and energy per
square foot.
• The technology also makes it possible to grow
customized products for chefs and restaurants, such as
softer kale and more peppery arugula.
• Since its establishment in 2017, Bowery Farming is
now expanding operations beyond its warehouse in
New Jersey to build vertical farms in other cities and,
ultimately, bring efficient food production closer to
consumers.

17. 7. Farmizen, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat (India)
• Farmizen is a mobile-based platform renting farmland to city
residents to grow locally grown, organic produce.
• The app allocates its users a 600 square foot mini-farm in a
community nearby.
• Users can visit the farm anytime to grow and harvest
chemical-free produce.
• Farmworkers look after the plots when the users return to the
city, making a fixed and stable income—up to three times
more than that of conventional farming.
• The app is live in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat with 1,500
subscribers and 40 acres of land under cultivation.
• Farmizen was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Gitanjali
Rajamani, driven by the need to create stable livelihoods for
farmers and reconnect city-dwellers to agriculture and
nature.

18. 8. Fresh Direct, Abuja (Nigeria)
• Fresh Direct is an impact-driven start-up using vertical
farming and hydroponics to promote locally grown
produce and the involvement of youth in agriculture.
• When young entrepreneur Angel Adelaja started
engaging in eco-friendly farming, she faced multiple
challenges with conventional farming practices,
including access to land, water, and technology.
• As a response, Adelaja founded Fresh Direct in 2014 to
make urban agriculture more accessible to everyone,
especially youth.
• Fresh Direct installs stackable container farms in the
city, growing organic produce closer to the market.
• In the future, Adelaja aims to eradicate the notion
among young professionals that agriculture is a line of
work for the older generations.

19. 9. Gotham Greens, Multiple Locations (USA)
• Gotham Greens builds and operates data-driven, climate-
controlled greenhouses in cities across the United States.
• The greenhouses, powered by wind and solar energy, use
hydroponics to grow salad greens and herbs year-round using
fewer resources than conventional farming.
• In addition to its goal of sustainable food production, Gotham
Greens also partners with local organizations, schools,
community gardens, and businesses to support urban renewal
and community development projects.
• Gotham Greens is also the company behind the country’s first
commercial rooftop greenhouse, a partnership with Whole
Foods Market to operate the greenhouse located above their
flagship store in Brooklyn, New York.

20. 10. GrowUp Urban Farms, London (United
Kingdom)
• GrowUp Urban Farms works on developing commercial
scale, Controlled Environment Production (CEP)
solutions to grow fresh food in communities across
London.
• The CEP farms use aquaponics to farm fish and grow
leafy greens in a soil-less system, turning previously
unused brownfield sites into productive areas. The
GrowUp Box—a community farm developed together
with sister organization GrowUp Community Farms—
produces over 400kg of salads and 150kg of fish each
year. Over the long run, the company aims to replicate
the aquaponics system to build urban farms in other
cities, opening employment opportunities for youth,
and using agriculture as a means to make communities
more self-sustaining.

21. 11. InFarm, Multiple Locations (Europe)
• InFarm, a Berlin-based start-up, develops modular indoor
farming systems to bring agriculture into cities.
• Designed to combat the long distances food travels, the
InFarms produce leafy greens and herbs using 95 percent less
water than traditional farms and no pesticides.
• The technology, the company claims, can reduce food
transportation up to 90 percent.
• In 2013, the company pioneered the modular system in
restaurants, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers.
• Operations have now expanded to distribute portable farms
in neighborhoods and supermarkets across Germany,
Denmark, France, and Switzerland.
• The expansion, AgFunder reports, can be attributed to
InFarm’s decentralized, data-driven model.

22. 12. Liv Up, São Paulo (Brazil)
• Liv Up works to deliver healthy meals and snack kits
prepared with locally grown food to residents of the
Greater São Paulo region.
• The start-up sources organic ingredients from family
farmers in peri-urban areas, in an effort to shorten value
chains and better connect small producers to the urban
market.
• A team of chefs and nutritionists prepares the meals,
which are later deep frozen to maintain the food’s integrity
and extend its shelf life.
• Liv Up was founded in 2016 by a trio of young
entrepreneurs driven by the lack of access to healthy foods
in São Paulo.
• The start-up now operates in seven municipalities of the
metropolitan area, rotating its menu every two weeks.

23. 13. Pasona Urban Ranch, Tokyo (Japan)
• Pasona Urban Ranch, an initiative of the Pasona Group,
is a mix of office space and animal farm located in the
heart of Tokyo’s busy Ōtemachi district.
• The initiative aims to raise interest in agriculture and
dairy farming among city residents by bringing them in
close contact with farm animals.
• The ranch houses eight animal species, including
cattle, goats, and an alpaca, which are cared for by
specialized staff.
• Visitors and employees of the building can attend
seminars on dietary education and dairy farming.
Previously, the Pasona Group gained worldwide
acknowledgment for Pasona O2—an underground
office farm built by Kono Designs in 2010 growing 100
regional crops in downtown Tokyo.

24. 14. RotterZwam, Rotterdam (The
Netherlands)
• RotterZwam, an urban mushroom farm, raises awareness on
the potential of the circular economy for addressing
environmental issues.
• The farm’s closed-loop system works with used coffee
grounds—collected from local businesses—to turn residual
flows into food.
• The mushroom nursery, built out of old containers, uses
solar paneling to power the farm’s operations and the e-
vehicles used for product delivery.
• The farm’s team offers tours to educate citizens on circular
systems and trains entrepreneurs wishing to start a
mushroom farm.
• RotterZwam’s second location in the Schiehaven area
opened in mid-2019 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign to
bring back the farm after a devastating fire in 2017.

25. 15. Sustenir Agriculture (Singapore)
• Sustenir Agriculture is a vertical farm working to
promote high quality, locally grown, and safe food
with the lowest possible footprint.
• The farm—located in the heart of Singapore—
uses the latest technology in hydroponics and
smart indoor farming to produce leafy greens,
tomatoes, strawberries, and fresh herbs.
• Starting as a basement project in 2012, Sustenir
now produces 1 ton of kale and 3.2 tons of lettuce
per month in an area of 54 square meters.

26. 16. Urban Bees, London (United Kingdom)
• Urban Bees is a social enterprise working with communities
and businesses in London to help bees thrive in the city.
• Through education and training, the initiative raises
awareness on how to create bee-friendly communities and on
how to become responsible beekeepers.
• The first training apiary was established together with the Co-
op Plan Bee in Battersea, South London.
• The enterprise also advises urban gardening initiatives,
including Lush’s rooftop garden, to ensure that green areas
install the right forage and create healthy bee habitats.
• Co-founder Alison Benjamin says that city residents often
suffer from nature-deficit disorder and urban beekeeping is
one path to reconnect with nature in the city.

27. Urban fish farming potential methods
based water resource availability
• Re-circulatory Aquaculture system
• Race ways
• Cage culture
• Pen culture
• Sea wage fish farming
• Integrated fish Aquaculture
• Biofloack culture

28. Benefits of urban agriculture
• concentrate around its ability to increase social capital and civic
engagement in low income communities.
• The sharing of knowledge and cultural values and skills gained through
gardening serve as a social bridge, helping to maintain the traditions
associated with food.
• These benefits are especially important in developing countries where
agriculture is a big part of culture.
• Conversely, urban agriculture has shown mixed reviews in the developed
world. Efforts to “improve” neighborhoods are often conducted by
outsiders creating scenarios where urban agriculture does not benefit the
community that surrounds it.
• Additionally, research suggests that property values increase in the vicinity
of community gardens, which can displace long-time residents while doing
very little to stop other injustices these communities face.
• Implementation strategies should directly address the concerns of
neighborhood residents, and all stakeholders should work towards an
equitable arrangement in which the neighborhood receives the majority of
the benefits from their labor, and where negative impacts are mitigated as
best as possible.

29. • Based on case studies, the development of urban food
policies must overcome a few barriers before they
find their place in the sustainable development
scheme.
• First, rural and urban governments, along with the
private sector, must collaborate to adopt policies that
benefit both communities (SDG 11.A).
• Polices aimed at improving green infrastructure,
increasing access to loans, and creating local job
opportunities in urban agriculture will have to be
enacted on multiple levels of government.
• As urban agriculture becomes integrated within
cities, it is important to implement a multi-stakeholder
initiative for continual monitoring and management of
the food systems that serve these communities.

30. • Second, urban agriculture must prove that it can
address health and economic disparities that stem from
food access (SDG 10).
• Urban agriculture provides access to fresh fruits and
vegetables, which can lead to an overall increase in
nutrition. It allows for physical activity, especially for
the elderly, as well as benefits in mental health.
• In the current food system, the urban farmer plays
little to no role in the food supply chain.
• By getting urban farmers more involved in food
transactions, they are able to reap health benefits
while simultaneously generating income through the
sale of high value crops such as fruits and vegetables.

31. Third, best practices must help mitigate climate change.
• Third, best practices must help mitigate climate
change.
• Although urban farmers have found innovative ways
to produce crops through vertical farms,
greenhouses, and hydroponics, these technologies
can be far more energy intensive than more
traditional forms of agriculture.
• Unfortunately, energy intensive facilities may
undercut the gains made by greenhouse gas
reduction initiatives.
• If properly engaged, urban agriculture could
contribute to the overarching goal of reducing
human impacts on the climate and building food
system resilience (SDGs 11.6 and 13.2).

32. • With a concerted effort from various stakeholders,
urban agriculture can begin to play a central role in
communities by supplementing the local food supply,
creating spaces for community building, and
advancing larger community health and sustainability
goals.
• Despite the negative reputation and the many hurdles
that must be overcome, urban agriculture offers a
promising solution for sustainable development.
• Urban agriculture has the capacity to aid in
successfully meeting several targets housed under
SDG 11.
• This includes SDG target 11.7, providing inclusive
green and public spaces especially for women and
children, and SDG target 11.6, aiding in the
improvement of air quality and waste management.

33. Summary on world Meat production
 The world now produces more than three times the quantity of meat as it did
fifty years ago. In 2018, production was around 340 million tonnes.
 Pigmeat is the most popular meat globally, but the production of poultry is
increasing most rapidly.
 80 billion animals are slaughtered each year for meat.
 The average person in the world consumed around 43 kilograms of meat in
2014. This ranges from over 100kg in the US and Australia to only 5kg in
India.
 Meat consumption increases as the world is getting richer.
 The world now produces around 800 million tonnes of milk each year –
more than double the amount fifty years ago.
 Richer countries tend to consume more milk per person.
 The amount of meat produced for a given animal varies significantly across
the world based on production systems.
 Livestock production has large environmental impacts on greenhouse gas
emissions, land and water use. Beef and lamb have much larger
environmental impact than pigmeat and poultry.

34. Which countries eat the most meat?
 Global population has undergone rapid growth, especially in the second half of the 20th
century; we may therefore also expect the rapid growth in total meat production as
explored in the sections above. But how has meat consumption changed on a per capita
basis?
 In the chart we see a global map of per capita meat (excluding seafood and fish)
consumption, measured in kilograms per person per year. These trends can also be
viewed as a time-series in the “chart” tab. As a global average, per capita meat
consumption has increased approximately 20 kilograms since 1961; the average person
consumed around 43 kilograms of meat in 2014. This increase in per capita meat trends
means total meat production has been growing at a much faster than the rate of
population growth.
 The direction and rate of change across countries has highly variable. Growth in per
capita meat consumption has been most marked in countries who have underwent a
strong economic transition – per capita consumption in China has grown approximately
15-fold since 1961; rates in Brazil have nearly quadrupled. The major exception to this
pattern has been India: dominant lactovegetarian preferences mean per capita meat
consumption in 2013 was almost exactly the same as in 1961 at less than 4 kilograms per
person.1
 Meat consumption is highest across high-income countries (with the largest meat-eaters
in Australia, consuming around 116 kilograms per person in 2013). The average
European and North American consumes nearly 80 kilograms and more than 110
kilograms, respectively. However, changes in consumption in high-income countries
have been much slower – with most stagnating or even decreasing over the last 50 years.
 Consumption trends across Africa are varied; some countries consume as low as 10
kilograms per person, around half of the continental average. Higher-income nations
such as South Africa consume between 60-70 kilograms per person.

35. Number of animals slaughtered
• The visualization details the total number of
livestock animals slaughtered for meat in the given
year.
• This is shown across various types of livestock.
Here these figures represent the total
number slaughtered for meat production (which
does not include those use primarily for dairy or
egg production which are not eventually used for
meat).
• In 2018, an estimated 69 billion chickens; 1.5
billion pigs; 656 million turkeys; 574 million
sheep; 479 million goats; and 302 million cattle
were killed for meat production.

36. Need for Urban Agriculture in India
• Indian total population for 2020 was 138 crores.
• India urban population for 2020 was 481,980,332, a 2.32% increase from 2019.
India urban population for 2019 was 471,031,529, a 2.33% increase from 2018.
• The urban population in India which stands at 377 million (World Urbanisation
Prospects, 2014).
• 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).
• 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).
• 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.

37. Innovative Ways to Make Urban Farming
More Sustainable
• 5 Innovative Ways to Make Urban Farming
More Sustainable
• Rooftop Farming. One literally 'top' trend in urban
agriculture is rooftop farming.
• Vertical farming. Vertical farms produce crops in
vertical layers in a controlled environment.
• Shipping Container Farming.
• Hydroponic Systems.
• Using Aquaponic Systems.

38. Urban major constrains to be minimized in our Country
• 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 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.

39. suggested legal and institutional interventions and market
instruments for promotion of Urban agriculture
• : 1] ‘zoning’ of land for urban agriculture in urban
development master plans;
• 2] promotion of urban land market, through
enabling laws;
• 3] imposing tax for vacant plots;
• 4] technology extension services through soil and
water testing laboratories;
• 5] volumetric water pricing by urban water utilities;
• 6] tax incentives for housing societies which take up
UA; and,
• 7] subsidies for precision farming systems.

40. References
• https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-production
• Meera Sahasranaman, 2016. Future of urban
agriculture in india.
http://irapindia.org/images/irap-Occasional-
Paper/IRAP-Occasionalpaper-10.pdf
• https://foodtank.com/news/2019/12/16-
initiatives-changing-urban-agriculture-through-
tech-and-innovation/

41. Thank you for attention have a responsible role with a step forward for sustainable Natural resources
responsible utilization for agricultural production, processing and management for a sustainable
world- B