The concept of rooftop farming is not new, existing from perhaps as far back as 500 BC
—the hanging gardens of Babylon. In the present context there have been many experimental rooftop farms too, a very successful one being the Brooklyn Grange in midst of the bustling New York City. India too is not far behind, with organic farms on rooftops been experimentally successful in many Indian homes panning Jaipur to Bangalore. What is however missing is a well-focused programme that provides near-doorstep outlets for organic farming technologies, inputs and training for ‘farm-at-leisure to food’.
The discourse in the following section attempts to address the felt need of our citizens—to enable access to food free of a cocktail of chemical residues. An easy option to grow chemical free produce for self consumption ensured through state-sponsored training programme/yojana will instil a sustained interest in organic farming at home. This farm-at-leisure programme will make every individual self-sustaining by providing them the opportunity to acquire a new set of skills. Experiments show that intensive rooftop or kitchen garden can provide good results at minimal cost. A step by step guide of how everyone may be mobilized to get into action, eat healthy and stay fit at the same time, with organic rooftop farming helping to shape up, has been put together.
To turn tiller
Step 1: To begin with, the scientific fraternity of India needs to put together an organic farming kit from ‘conception to culmination’. The start-up kit may include a bag of treated chemical free soil and a planting pot, organic seeds, organic manure and basic implements. An illustrated book/poster should be provided to show which crops/vegetables may be easily grown sans weedicide/pesticide and chemical fertilisers. The kit should also include information about required restructuring in case the ‘new’ farmer intends to qualify from one pot status to full terrace farm. The cost of the start-up kit may be subsidised by the state to provide an impetus to rooftop organic farming.
Step 2: India has a very fine meshwork of farming outlets manned by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO), Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IIFCO), etc., which may be used in rural areas, while in the urban areas the government’s milk and vegetable dissemination outlets may be utilised.
Step 3: Once the kit is disseminated the ‘new’ farmer may be provided training during the establishment of the start-up kit. The involvement of the ‘new’ farmer is essential as he/she will maintain the organic farming momentum thereafter. This constitutes the support and training phase.
Step 4: To understand the strengths and weaknesses of the programme, record keeping must be imbued during the training period. Each kit will need at least one crop cycle support to induct the ‘new’ farmers into the vocation. A computerised data system will prove the efficacy of the system and ascertain the number of users.
Step 5: Long term support in terms of pest control and manure to enrich the rooftop soil must be ensured. This can be stepped up to the building of rooftop farms congruent with the building norms.
Step 6: With diffusion of innovation this experiment would extend into farmlands ensuring a healthier produce for the country. The Swajaivik Farming Scheme has an enormous potential and can change the way we live, making ‘grow to eat’ the catch phrase of tomorrow.
Endnote
It is without a doubt that everyone in this country laments that their food is contaminated. Given an opportunity every individual would try to atleast augment part of his/her diet into organic produce grown before their eyes. Thus the scheme would be very successful as most Indians are either vegetarian or near-vegetarian (considering that most of us don’t eat meat or fish on a daily basis). It goes without saying that a pilot project may be launched in any mega-city for initial year (or atleast two vegetable cycles) to test the scheme before an all-India launch.
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- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.