With the rising population and depleting resources, it is important that all cities become self-sustainable. Delhi with a population of 30.5 million and cropped area of 347.5 ha is not able to cater to this huge population. Fruits and vegetables brought in from neighbouring cities lead to the wastage of humans and nonhuman resources. The above circumstances call for a “grow what you eat and eat what you grow” approach through innovative urban farming design and solutions in a very limited space.
Shahri Bagwani (Urban Farming) refers to the cultivation, processing and distribution of agricultural products in urban and suburban settings, including things like vertical production, warehouse farms, community gardens, rooftop farms, hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic facilities, and other innovations. Urban farming will further ensure food and nutrition security, bolster social and political inclusion, sustainability and environment, economic progress and educational awareness on nutrition and food systems.
Further, Delhi Government is keen on increasing the green spaces by utilising every possible space in Delhi for mitigating the air pollution in Delhi. Hence, the scheme has been envisioned.
Under Shahri Bagwani (Urban Farming), residents can grow fruits, vegetables, and plants on their terraces if there is enough sunlight available. It would help citizens in avoiding pesticides and harmful chemicals in the food products that they consume on a day-to-day basis, while also increasing the green cover in the city and promoting community living.
Department of Environment and Forest, GNCTD in partnership with Mahatma Gandhi Institute for combating climate change (MGICCC) has taken initiative to implement Delhi Government's Mukhyamantri Urban Farming Initiative.
Mahatma Gandhi Institute for combating climate change MGICCC will support Department of Forest and Wildlife, GNCTD in conducting awareness workshops all over Delhi on urban farming across different socio-economic groups in the city of Delhi through master trainers followed by online support by experts on a weekly basis. These will include
To keep the citizens motivated, after the workshop, support will be provided through weekly online sessions to clarify the doubts and discuss the queries of the citizens. 40 master trainers and 10,000 citizens will be trained under this initiative. Department of Forest and Wildlife, GNCTD will also ensure follow-up initiatives for continued citizen to systematically connect people to this campaign, make them aware and monitor their training.
MGICCC will be conducting training of trainers through a two-day long training. These Master trainers will then conduct trainings across the city. Training program for the master trainers shall be organized for 40 master trainers. Two-day training programme consisting of total 8 training sessions will be conducted. Master trainers will be taught : Master trainers shall be selected under the following criteria:- a) The master trainer shall have minimum bachelor’s degree or equivalent. b) The master trainer may have relevant background in farming/horticulture/hydroponics/agriculture etc. c) Candidate may have prior experience in conducting a workshop. d) Candidate may have interest in the field of farming or related fields. e) The master trainer should have good communication skills. Application for getting trained as master trainer can be submitted here.
Workshops are to be held across the city as per a schedule to be decided by all parties after signing of the formal agreement by the trained master trainers. 25 participants will be trained per workshop. A comprehensive workshop comprising class for manure and soil preparation, seed selection, garden maintenance, site section for plant species, etc. will be taught in these workshops. Each participant will receive a kit including seasonal vegetable and flower seeds. There will be follow up sessions for supporting the trainees on application of training.
Application for participating in the workshops can be submitted here.
Department of Environment and Forest, GNCTD in collaboration with various industry partners will also conduct the entrepreneurship training programme. 600 workshops of 25 participants each shall be conducted across Delhi aimed at Urban Farming Cluster Development. 15,000 training workshops will be conducted on a cluster basis. This training will be given with a view to raising citizen awareness of urban farming and boosting the creation of green jobs by training youth and women in the field of urban farming, maintenance of urban farming infrastructure, marketing etc. The Mukhyamantri shahri bagwani yojana will play a vital role in transforming the urban landscape of Delhi. Delhi will witness a sharp rise in its green cover and public participation will help take the movement forward. The programme aims to raise citizen awareness of urban farming and to boost the creation of green jobs in Delhi.
This will be taken up after trainings in first phase is completed.
