India: Fruits of labour: Urban farming plan gets nod in Delhi
Under the initiative, the Delhi government will train citizens for growing fruits and vegetables for both self-consumption and as an entrepreneurial venture.
By Atul Mathur
TNN
Jun 30, 2022
Excerpt:
NEW DELHI: To promote ‘green jobs’ in Delhi, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal-led cabinet approved a smart urban farming initiative on Wednesday.
Under the initiative, the Delhi government will train citizens for growing fruits and vegetables for both self-consumption and as an entrepreneurial venture. The move, said Kejriwal, will emerge as a unique solution to generate employment in the city.
The initiative was announced by the Delhi government in the Rozgar budget earlier this year. While presenting the budget, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had said that the initiative had the potential of generating 25,000 jobs in the next five years. Under the budget, the AAP government had envisioned creation of 20 lakh new job opportunities in Delhi in five years.
Delhi will witness a sharp rise in its green cover under the urban farming initiative and public participation will help take the movement forward, Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting.
“Urban farming is a unique project where people from all walks of life can start small-scale farming of fruits and vegetables within the confines of their balconies and terraces. The Delhi government will train citizens to grow these crops in the urban setting. To promote the scheme, we will support urban farmers with seeds and other essentials,” the chief minister said.
The initiative will comprise urban farming training workshops and entrepreneurship training programmes.
