- Residents of India’s urban areas are cultivating crops on rooftops, balconies, and vacant lots, which is quietly leading to an urban farming movement.
- Research shows that urban agriculture on a small scale can alleviate environmental issues such as air pollution and the urban heat island effect.
- To protect their plants from extreme temperatures, urban farmers are experimenting with shade netting and drip irrigation.
On Divya Lakshmi’s rooftop, tomato vines spill over her balcony rails, herbs flourish in makeshift pots and leafy greens stretch toward the sun. She carefully kneels beside a row of tomato plants on her rooftop, tenderly watering the seedlings that have transformed her urban terrace into a green sanctuary. This garden, brimming with chilies, leafy greens, and flowers, stands out as an oasis in the south Indian city of Bengaluru in Karnataka, which is known more for its high-rises and road traffic.
But for Lakshmi, the 34-year-old IT professional, who started gardening eight years ago, this rooftop haven is more than a personal escape. It is her way of “reclaiming a piece of nature” in the city.
“I wanted to grow something myself, something real and alive,” Lakshmi says. “At first, it was just for fun, but soon it became part of who I am.”
Lakshmi is one of many women and urban residents in India who are cultivating urban farms on rooftops, balconies, and vacant lots. Across metropolises such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, this is quietly leading to an urban farming movement that goes beyond beautifying the concrete jungle. These small farms help in providing organic food, tackling air pollution, building community connections, and promoting a sustainable way of life.
Research by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) suggests that urban agriculture, even on a small scale, can alleviate environmental issues like air pollution and the urban heat island effect — all while reducing food miles and encouraging healthier eating habits.
Lakshmi’s gardening journey began with a single plant in her Pune apartment, a nostalgic homage to her childhood in Himachal Pradesh, where her grandmother cultivated a small kitchen garden. Over time, her rooftop space in Bengaluru has become a productive green patch yielding vegetables that feed her family and also neighbours.
“I did not know much at first I bought a few plants, and they thrived. Then, during COVID-19, I realised that gardening kept me centered. I wanted to grow vegetables, to understand the process from soil to food,” she tells Mongabay India.
Soon, her interest in edible gardening led her to launch a page on social media, Indian Green Dreams, where she started connecting with fellow urban gardeners across India. It is a space where she shares tips on everything, from pest control to composting, and also shares photos of her terrace garden. “The popularity of the page suggests that there is a lot of interest in urban gardening among people,” she adds.
For Ravneet Kaur, another urban farmer from Ludhiana, Punjab, the journey into gardening was born out of necessity. She began looking for organic vegetables for an ailing family member, a pursuit that ultimately led her to start a garden of her own. Her terrace is now filled with a mix of flowering plants and vegetable crops like beetroot, radishes, and cauliflower.
“When I saw my first crop growing, I realised I could rely on myself for clean food,” Kaur tells Mongabay India. “It is not just about organic produce, it’s about a sense of fulfilment. In this crowded world, I feel at peace here.”
Kaur’s terrace is a year-round project where companion plants like marigolds and calendula attract pollinators, sustaining her garden’s health. Her setup reflects the traditional farming practices of her childhood but adapted for an urban environment. “It is incredible what you can grow with just a few bags of soil and some recycled pots,” she says.
A habitat for dwindling pollinators
According to Kaur, urban farming is also an answer to rising food prices and concerns over pesticide-laden produce. “These rooftop plots and balcony gardens allow families to access fresh, organic food without relying on market prices or large-scale distributors,” she adds.
Neha Sinha, a conservation biologist and an urban farmer from New Delhi asserts that urban agriculture not only supports local ecosystems, but also encourages community involvement.
“Urban farms can mitigate environmental challenges like temperature regulation and air quality while also creating green corridors that connect fragmented city neighborhoods,” she tells Mongabay India. “These green patches, often maintained collectively, offer a glimpse into a more sustainable urban future,” Sinha adds.
Sinha’s terrace garden is designed with pollinators in mind, serving as a sanctuary for bees, butterflies, and insects whose habitats have dwindled with urban expansion. Instead of focusing solely on edible plants, Sinha’s garden features native flowers and foliage that attract and support local wildlife. “I grow Patharchatta (Kalanchoe pinnata) for red pierrot butterflies and let caterpillars feed on my plants,” Sinha shares. “I don’t see them as pests, they are part of the ecosystem. We need to create these habitats for insects that are struggling to survive in cities.”
As India’s cities expand, pollinators face mounting threats from pesticides, habitat loss, and pollution. Small urban gardens like that of Sinha’s provide critical habitats that help sustain urban biodiversity, creating pockets of greenery that help cities breathe a little easier.
Read more: What do bees see? Developing urban gardens to attract pollinators
Garnering community resilience
For Sheetal Patil, Lead – Academics and Research at IIHS, who specialises in sustainable agriculture, urban farming is a lifeline for urban resilience and a potential model for future city planning. At IIHS, Patil has studied urban agriculture for nearly a decade, observing how these spaces are changing life in India’s largest cities. She emphasises that urban farms are not only about food production but also bring environmental, social, and economic benefits.
“Urban farming serves a dual purpose,” Patil explains. “For some, it is about having fresh, safe food. For others, it is also about creating livelihoods. In cities like Mumbai and Delhi, where space is tight, urban farming can offer low-income communities a way to earn sustainably.”
In their research, Patil and her team have documented dozens of case studies highlighting urban agriculture’s impact across Indian cities. From low-income families growing vegetables along railway tracks in Mumbai to larger vegetable plots on Delhi’s riverbanks, these spaces often provide both food and income. “These areas—railway tracks, riverbanks, and wetlands—are underutilised,” Patil says. “Communities who cultivate them are not just growing food, they are creating local food systems that reduce dependency on long supply chains.”
One of the case studies in the project was focused on contribution of roof-top farms in indoor temperature regulation. In six wards of Bengaluru using geospatial modelling with seven scenarios of types of roof-top farming, they simulated the temperature regulation effects that showed the difference in the range of 2-8°C. “We found that even modest green spaces on rooftops could reduce indoor temperatures,” she reveals. “The cumulative effect, if adopted widely, could cool entire neighbourhoods.”
Patil also believes that urban farms also foster community. “They are often spaces where neighbours come together, share resources, and build resilience. Urban farming is not just a personal endeavour,” she said. “It builds stronger, more connected communities, which is essential in a rapidly urbanising India.”
In Patil’s view, the future of urban farming lies in partnerships between governments and local communities, who can work together to identify and utilise spaces for farming.
Challenges posed by high temperatures
Even as urban farming is rapidly gaining popularity in the country, farmers face unique challenges. For instance, scorching summer heat often takes a toll on rooftop gardens. For Kaur, the unusually high temperatures this past summer in Ludhiana meant watching several of her plants wither under the relentless sun.
“This year was especially difficult,” Kaur shares. “Crops like bottle gourd and cucumber just couldn’t handle the heat. They dried up before they could bear fruit.”
However, like many urban farmers, Kaur has also learned to work with seasonal cycles, focusing her efforts on crops that can withstand intense summer temperatures and thrive during the monsoon season. She grows karela, or bitter gourd, and leafy greens during the rains, a practice she hopes will yield a steady harvest despite unpredictable weather.
To adapt to these changing conditions, some gardeners are also experimenting with shade netting and water-efficient practices, such as drip irrigation, to keep their plants hydrated. In the face of more severe and frequent heat waves, maintaining an urban farm has become as much about resilience as it is about growing food. “It needs more than work. It needs a sense of passion too,” says Kaur.
Read more: The role of urban foraging in building climate-resilient food systems
Banner image: Rooftop organic farming in West Bengal. Image by Sudipto Das via Climate Visuals (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
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