Urban rooftop organic farming initiative launched in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: Urban rooftop organic farming, a skill building initiative, was rolled out in Gomti Nagar here on Saturday.

“Innovation in farming is the need of the hour. Urban rooftop farming can increase the green cover in cities where trees are being felled everyday to make room for high-rises,” said FICCI Ladies’ Organisation (FLO) Lucknow-Kanpur chapter chairperson Renuka Tandon.

She, in collaboration with social worker, entrepreneur and founder general secretary of the NGO ‘Ehsaas’ Shachi Singh, inaugurated the initiative near the Judicial Research Institute

Tandon said that while good ideas could change the world, they should be workable too. “We are most enthused about the employment possibilities it brings for women, if we teach them how to maintain portable farming systems,” she said.

Shachi Singh, who helms this project in partnership with a skill development initiative of FLO, said, “This project will empower 30 women by training them in urban terrace farming in the first phase.”

These women are also beneficiaries of the UP Food Bank -- an initiative of ‘Ehsaas’ that aims at ending hunger by providing ration to underprivileged families and providing them access to livelihood opportunities, health services and education.

Talking about the concept, Ayush Bisht of The Living Greens -- a Jaipur-based firm that introduced FLO members to organic farming -- said, “There are several avenues through which women can be provided employment. But, urban organic rooftop farming brings together many causes that can benefit the society. One, we are growing organic fruits and vegetables, for which there is a huge demand in the market . Two, we are helping spread greenery in the concrete jungle that our city has become by setting up rooftop farms.”