Every city dweller - a farmer

China maybe a rouge country but we need to give credit where it is due and sometimes, even try to learn and incorporate into our lives.

After USA, UK and Canada, hydroponic rooftop farming is catching up in China too. In this method of farming, as the name suggest, farming is done on rooftops or terraces and uses hydro or water. This type of farming uses no soil with each plant housed in plastic containers hovering above a tank, their stringy roots dangling into a circulating pool of nutrient-boosted tap water. What started off in the labs is now tried and tested in real life. In Guangzhou, China, on a 1,600-square-foot-rooftop, 14 hydroponic tanks produce hundreds of pounds of vegetables a year; they are touted to have the potential to generate profit to the tune of $6,000 per annum.  Hydroponic systems are more suited for leafy greens and tomatoes than for slow-growing, heavy crops like watermelons or rice. Leafy greens and tomatoes are ideal because of their fast growing times and large yield.

In cities of India, where rapid urbanization is eating away all land, this is a way to go ahead as cities grow vertically. Ample sunshine, terrace space and water – if all buildings adopt this way of farming, we can surely bring about a horticulture transformation.