Indian cities and urban settlements depend a lot on produce brought in from far off places across the country and therefore a large amount of resources is consumed with the logistics of such an exercise. Given the prevalent practice of open and intensive farming coupled with the climatic variations owing to the country’s unique geography, it is necessary for the economy in general. However, a lot of fresh leafy greens and fruits can be grown in situ at the site of consumption if the urban society is ready to experiment with hydroponic agriculture on a community basis.

Hydroponics is the way of growing plants without soil, using nutrient solutions with water as solvent. It is currently ahead of its time in India. The cost of agricultural produce out of a hydroponic unit currently is much higher than the cost of one out of traditional farming units. As such the market for such produce is limited largely to metropolitan cities and a few tier 1 and 2 cities for the given time.

Meanwhile, due to innovation and adoption of newer techniques of agriculture, the cost difference is coming down. So, we are seeing progressive cultivators accepting the technologies at a relatively quicker pace in coming years. A welcome trend has been the influx of people from highly corporate sectors like Information Technology and Banking leave their cushy jobs to invest themselves in vertical farming.

 Still, the major part of agriculture in India will continue to be traditional due to capital considerations and technology barriers. Given that most of time when people talk about hydroponic cultivation, they think or plan of growing microgreens. The grow units currently in prevalence cannot grow staples like wheat, rice or barley, etc. Think about it, just how many lettuce sandwiches you can have? And if one could have many, one will still need that bread made of grains for the sandwich which the hydroponic growers would not grow due to higher investment involved.

So, in the near future adoption of vertical hydroponics will increase near big cities, but large part of agriculture will continue to be traditional. But a lot of land resources in and around the cities are not suitable for traditional farming due to various factors like soil conditions and water availability.

Hydroponic system requires the cultivator to grow quality, higher yield of those crops which are exotic or situated in areas where soil has problems in growing certain types of crops. If we take a closer look at the pressure on natural resources such as land, air, water and sunshine due to rapid urbanization and higher demand for round the year for food and nutrition, vertical hydroponic farming has potential to be a good solution for cultivation of food in areas not thought of before conventionally.

With the expansion of education, science & technology coupled with higher purchasing parity, etc. there is a change in lifestyle and food habits. Therefore, hydroponics provides an option for vertical farming and at the same time grow crops where conventionally it’s not possible. Imagine residential towers growing their own requirement of fresh leafy greens, communities pooling in resources to grow fresh produce in areas of common usage. Looking at the world around us the way it is shaping up to be, the future of hydroponic farming is not far from reality in India. Government of India has already taken note of it and providing financial assistance for hydroponic farming.

Hydroponic agriculture can have a great scope in India only if it's known, understood and valued by the Indians. In coming years India really needs such farming methods as

It produces higher output than the traditional soil-based agriculture per unit area.
Can be oriented vertically and hence suitable for high rise complex and apartment housings which have little area to spare.
Growth mediums can be recycled hence water savings are achieved.
Can grow crops offseason if done in a controlled environment (polyhouse) and thus round the year cultivation can be achieved.
Hydroponic plants have a higher pest resistance which eliminates the higher use of chemical agents for pesticides.
The produce tastes at par and in some cases better than soil-based produce and the nutritional value is also greater.
It allows food to be grown in areas that are not supportive of crops in the soil.
It is eco-friendly as it reduces soil erosion as well as air and water pollution.
              This method of food production is much needed to support our growing population. Population of India is fast rising. Urbanization is on an increase along with rapid growth in the middle class with increased incomes. Rise in the middle class means not only the taste of such persons would change, they would have money to spend on fruits and vegetables implying a very high demand from cities.

Rural agriculture might not be only unable to meet the elevated demand but also there are high transport costs involved. If the production of food can happen in unused areas within the urban environment then quality standards and cost can be maintained while also reducing emissions.

Urban agriculture can best be done with hydroponics. Not only is it technically feasible but also viable commercially to produce high-quality fruits and vegetables. The acceptability of the process overseas also means that India would be able to respond to demands of food from its East Asian neighborhood and Gulf Cooperation Countries. So, having centers of production within reach of major shipping and transport hubs will add to the value of business to be generated.

Hydroponic cultivation needs to be looked at from the point of view type of crops, market channels, price/kg realization, etc. There are different methods of hydroponic, it could be soil-less media or NFT. Investment in such project is done looking at returns over a period of time. Considering all these options today growers/professionals have been adopting the hydroponic system to grow crops but still, it's at a nascent stage. Areas that have really high soil salinity can really benefit as in such places anyone can try to grow crops in (hydroponic) system. Technology always helps to provide possible solutions looking at certain situations. Many cities are home to such soil conditions within them and around their periphery. 

If one considers a 6-layer hydroponic (NFT) unit along with hi-tech (Fan & Pad) playhouse costs for 1000 sqm, maybe per sqm the costs would be 6800 INR. In such unit one can grow lettuce 5 times in a year. One may add another 1500 INR per sqm as operative expenses for growing lettuce. Considering total investment per sqm, the return on an avg. of lettuce would be 8000–10000 INR per sqm/year. Hence the investment made for such capital-intensive technology may break even in about 18–24 months’ time. Today in metro cities, the avg. sale price of lettuce is in the range of 150–200 INR / kg. 

Thus, selection of crops, markets, seasonality, arrive early & continue late in market, etc. are some of the significant factors that would help to make your return on investment positive. However, if done on a community basis it has the potential to develop into a major cultural movement. If basic input costs are to be borne by the social communities along with voluntary upkeep which is minimal then the benefits of the system can be realized quickly.

Urban farming should not be associated with growing food to eat it should also be seen as a way of increasing the diversity of plants and animals in the city, bringing people from different backgrounds and age groups together, improving mental and physical health and regenerating derelict neighborhoods.

Many new urban farming projects will struggle to find suitable green spaces within the city. But people overseas have found inventive solutions to such problems growing food in skips or on rooftops, on sites that are only temporarily free, or on raised beds in abandoned industrial yards. It all comes down to making the most out of the unoccupied spaces. The government should also come up with policies regarding providing space to urban farmers which is otherwise unoccupied or falls within the wasteland category.

The government should also provide incentives to community housing s who are willing to implement such projects on their land. The implementation of such projects will also increase the overall green cover of the city and will be indeed a smart way to tackle the food procurement and associated problems within the urban areas. The landscape of the city and its urban settlements will become more pleasing and beautiful as a result of the diversity that can be brought about. 

The process can be greatly catalyzed if the government can initiate a policy for such urban farming activity which does not put pressure on land resources and the ecosystem. In terms of urban design, it will lead to a better, greener and smarter city.