Rooftop Gardening as A Need for Sustainable Urban Farming: A case of Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract

Rooftop gardening is one of the present needs for urban settlement for solving food security problems and promoting sustainable agriculture. To highlight the present status of rooftop gardening in Kathmandu a key informant survey was conducted where 52 respondents were selected where the majority of the rooftop garden maintainers were females (52.8%). All of the respondents have a positive response regarding rooftop gardening and was significant with a year of farming in roofs (χ²= 45, df= 9, P-value=0.000) and the area covered by rooftop farms range from 5-13%. There was a significant monetary value of the soft benefit from rooftop garden as food production ($3456.86), air quality ($11-19), stormwater retention ($20609), and carbon sequestration ($6-7) benefits. However, the traditional method was employed to maintain rooftop gardens with planting materials such as plastic bags, pots, and styrofoam carats. Since constraints were recorded in the study area regarding rooftop farming establishment and also is continuing, thus, there should be proper training for the individuals interested in rooftop gardening which enables them to manage and continue their farms more efficiently.
 Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 8(2): 241-246

Assessment of the linkage of urban green roofs, nutritional supply, and diversity status in Nepal

“…A semi-structured questionnaire was prepared (Thapa et al, 2020a(Thapa et al, , 2020b and pilot testing was done in both study areas with 10 respondents each to adjust the accuracy of the questionnaire and to collect the more precise information in the study area. The information collected during the pilot testing was not considered for analysis as the questionnaire was edited after pilot testing.…”

“…Lack of leisure time to maintain the home garden, roof damage, and lack of manpower to manage home gardens were also the contributing factors for affecting in extending and not the reason for longterm continuation of the rooftop garden. The constraints faced by the rooftop practitioners and nonpractitioners are almost similar but differ in terms of establishment and continuing (Thapa et al, 2020a(Thapa et al, , 2020b. The fear of roof damage is one of the major problems for both the rooftop growers and nonrooftop growers (Kumar et al, 2019;Walters & Midden, 2018).…”

“…Also, it can assist urban areas by reducing storm water management costs. The rainwater is captured through absorption by the vegetation in the garden reducing the overflowing impact on roads (Thapa et al, 2020b). Furthermore, rooftop garden indirectly lowers the carbon footprint caused by trucks used to transport food into the city (Rowe & Getter, 2006) It aids in reduction of air pollution, enhancement of noise muffling, provides acoustic insulation, carbon sequestration, replacement of displaced landscape, increment of biodiversity, provision of recreational and agricultural spaces, increased roof lifespan, retention and delay of storm water, energy savings, and mitigation of urban heat island (Whittinghill & Rowe, 2012).…”

Rooftop Hydroponics: Opportunity for Urban Agriculture in Godawari Municipality of Nepal

“…To solve food security problems and promote sustainable agriculture, roof-top gardening is necessary for present urban settlements (Thapa et al 2020). Roof-top farming in urban areas is generally practiced using hydroponics, aeroponics, green roofs or container gardens (Asad & Roy 2014).…”

“…With increasing urbanization in developing countries, roof-top farming helps to supply fresh and hygienic food, reduces household expenditure and improves air quality (Safayet et al 2017). However, even in the few available spaces, people have less time for practicing urban agriculture and do not like to do it traditionally (Thapa et al 2020). Hydroponics is a method of doing agriculture without soil and gaining popularity as a hobby (Butler & Oebker 1962).…”