Urban Farming

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Urban farming is drawing more and more interest these days as city dwellers seek to harvest produce from their own mini gardens. Follow us to a site where you can experience urban farming first hand.

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This is a blueberry farm. People can take home ripe blueberries grown here or try their hands at making blueberry jam, among other interactive programs offered. At this site, participatory farm experience programs are held about ten times a year. A hundred participants are recruited each time. It's very popular and competitive as the slots fill up in an hour. Through the programs, citizens can harvest a variety of produce just in season. Starting with strawberries last year, cherries, grapes, dates and apples have been harvested. City dwellers savor the opportunity to experience farming while the farmers promote their local products and earn more income. It's a win-win that serves both sides. Another popular trend is creating mini gardens on leftover plots of land near home. The most prominent example is getting your own alloted garden plot at a weekend farm located in a city suburb to grow all the produce you want. There are also gardens at schools where education on gardening is also provided. Gardens on building rooftops are also emerging. The scale of urban farming has also expanded. The number of participants increased seven fold in 2014 compared to 2010. The total area of urban gardens has also shot up by more than six-fold. The popularity of urban farming is expected to continue due to its many positive effects such as the regeneration of the inner city and the educational and emotional effects on those who take part in the farming experience.