KAU’s new centre gives a fresh push to urban agriculture

In rapidly urbanising Kerala, what is the future of agriculture? At a time when a clear answer to the question remains problematic, the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, a constituent institution of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), is attempting to offer a solution through its newly-established Centre for Urban Agriculture.

The Centre, which functions under the college’s Centre for Agricultural Innovations and Technology Transfer (CAITT), is promoting urban farming as a practical and sustainable solution for growing cities in limited urban spaces.

As a first step, the Centre for Urban Agriculture is piloting a programme in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation wards with plans to scale it up and expand to more municipal corporations. “We are conducting ‘field days’ in the wards to encourage citizen participation in urban farming. These field days provide hands-on exposure to practical technologies such as rooftop cultivation, balcony gardens, hydroponics, waste management, pest and disease management and other scientific methods for producing food in limited urban spaces,” G.S. Sreedaya, Professor and Head, CAITT, and Associate Director of Extension, told The Hindu.

For helping out urban growers, the Centre has launched an e-commerce platform, www.urbanagri.coav.in, and a ‘Handbook on Urban Agriculture.’ Farmers can register on the e-commerce platform, upload photographs of their produce, indicate prices and market the harvest directly. It also serves as a diagnostic support service, enabling them to upload crop problems and receive expert advice.

Further, KAU is also set to launch a Masters programme in Urban Agriculture at the College of Agriculture this year.

The college, which stood first in ‘Agriculture and allied sectors’ in the latest Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework (KIRF),’ is providing a fresh push to urban agriculture when the pandemic-time craze for rooftop farming in Kerala has been on the wane.

Urban farming nevertheless gains importance in an age when feeding growing urban populations entirely through village-produced food transported over long distances is becoming unsustainable, notes the college.

The Economic Review 2025 has observed that while the 2011 Census placed 47.72% of Kerala’s population in urban areas, projections suggest that by 2036, about 96% of the population “may be urban, reflecting a rapid shift.”

In January this year, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s Policy Address to the Kerala Legislative Assembly also posited a vision of Kerala’s future growth into the ‘largest city in the world’ and ‘a well-connected, State-wide urban region.’

As urban agriculture is emerging as an essential strategy for food and climate resilience, KAU is planning its programme as a continuous process, Jacob John, Dean, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, said. “Now, there are few support systems for urban farming although the technology is there. In that sense, our programme will act as a bridge for providing support to urban growers,” Dr. Jacob John said.

The College of Agriculture observes that urban farming, apart from providing home-grown food, helps cool urban spaces, improves biodiversity and reduces stormwater runoff, making cities more greener and liveable.