Harvest Superfoods With These Urban Farmers

Growing urbanisation has pushed farms out of the towns to the peripheries. But a new breed of farmers is taking farming by storm by helping us harvest superfoods sans chemicals and pesticides in our kitchen. Meet some of the urban farmers from around the country who ensure that these tiny shoots or microgreens provide a palate full of health and goodness.

- Tahira Noor Khan

Hamsa V and Nithin Sagi broke away from their lucrative IT jobs to pursue their dreams. Sagi had earlier taken up food photography and later partnered with Hamsa to open Growing Greens, a business-to-business venture that sells microgreens, edible flowers, salad leaves, sprouts and herbs to five-star hotels, high-end restaurants and cafes in Bengaluru. “When we had started back in 2012, hotels would import microgreens from other countries due to the lack of local produce,” shares Hamsa.

These young, small-sized, approximately one to three inched, vegetable greens are said to have concentrated nutrient levels that can go 40 times higher than the normal size produce. Sagi and Hamsa did a thorough market research before starting Growing Greens. They interacted with various chefs to understand their requirements and, in the process, were introduced to microgreens. Hamsa recalls, “Chef Manu Chandra helped us immensely in our journey. He was also our first client.” Growing Greens has grown gradually over the years. Sagi shares, “Having started from a small terrace, today we are farming in four acres of land with plans to take it up to 10 acres in the next few years.”

SOIL-LESS CULTIVATION FOR URBAN DWELLERS

The impediment to farming in a city is the lack of availability of space. But technology has made farming possible in small spaces through urban vertical farming and hydroponics. Instead of soil, a nutrient-rich water solution is used to grow the plant in soil-less farming. Urban vertical farming is a method in which such hydroponic or other technology used planted plants are grown vertically, one over the other in a small space. As there is no soil, the weight on the wall or a roof is significantly reduced without any structural damage caused to the building.