U

rban farming is not a peculiar thing for a concrete jungle such as Jakarta, as many of its residents have made use of their small space to grow various plants.

The Jakarta administration also considers it a potential way to deal with rising prices during peak seasons, such as ahead of Idul Fitri.

Officials are drafting a long-term policy design on urban farming in the hope that it will serve as a way to ensure food security in the capital, said Oswar Muadzin Mungkasa, assistant to the Jakarta governor for spatial planning and the environment.

“We often see rising chili prices. It means that our supply is insufficient,” Oswar said. “If we can encourage all people to plant chilies, prices will decrease.”

With the policy, he added, officials hope that by 2030, Jakartans will be able to produce vegetables and fruits for their own consumption.

“We have yet to set our target in numbers. However, we aim to reduce our dependency on food supplies from other cities,” Oswar said. “Aside from that, we can increase area coverage for emission absorption, in addition to existing green spaces.”

He further said the administration had started familiarizing residents with urban farming, such as hydroponic or vertical gardens.

“Our challenge is that many residents do not know about urban farming,” said Oswar. “Thus, with the kickoff of urban farming familiarization, [...] it is hoped to be a mass movement.”

Echoing Oswar, Diah Meidiantie, the agriculture division head of the Jakarta Fisheries, Agriculture and Food Security Agency, said although urban farming was not new in the city, few residents understood it.

“Many people still think urban farming is like conventional agriculture, which is more difficult and requires land,” Mei said.

Different from conventional farming, which is land-based, urban farming is more space-based, she explained. It means that residents can make use even narrow indoor spaces to grow vegetables, fruit or medicinal plants.

“They basically can grow anything with urban farming, but our priority is to encourage them to plant vegetables and in-pot fruit they usually consume, like spinach and lychee,” said Mei, adding that more than just chilies could be grown in pots.

To familiarize people with urban farming, her agency has been revitalizing spaces in buildings, setting up vertical gardens consisting of vegetables, potted fruits and medicinal plants.

The agency established 150 green spaces in all municipalities, as well as the Thousand Islands regency, spending Rp 3 billion (US$225,615).

This year, it has allocated Rp 5 billion to revitalize 75 spaces.

“However, this year, we will not establish the green spaces in the Thousand Islands regency again, as the locals are struggling to take care of the existing ones,” Mei said, explaining the difficulty was caused by a lack of clean water in the archipelagic regency.