# Promoting Urban Farming for Creating Sustainable Cities in Nepal
## 1 Introduction
The traditional agricultural sector has become a polluting, water-intense, and ecologically damaging industry. Urban agriculture (or farming) could help to offset some of these problems by shifting at least part of the agricultural production to the urban farms. Urban farmers must comprehend how plants grow. This involves being aware of how light, temperature, and water affect plant growth [7] and knowing how to spot and deal with pests and diseases that could harm plants. Moreover, it is important to know how using nutrient-rich water instead of soil, as with hydroponics, can help plants grow. This method is particularly helpful in urban settings with limited space for farming and generally poor soil conditions. Understanding plant nutrient needs, water chemistry, and environmental controls is necessary for hydroponic farming systems. To limit their production within smaller spaces, urban farmers frequently adopt clever methods such as vertical farming,rooftops, balconies, and communal gardens. To create the optimum plant-growing conditions, farmers need to amend the soil with fertilizers, check for impurities, and keep an eye on the pH (potential for hydrogen) level of the soil. Urban farmers need to control pests without resorting to hazardous chemicals that could endanger either human health or the environment. This could entail utilizing organic pest management techniques, such as companion planting, or the introduction of beneficial insects. Urban agriculture (UA), sometimes also known as urban farming, is the practice of growing food within urban areas for personal consumption or small-scale commercial purposes. It consists of growing fruits and vegetables and sometimes raising small animals on-site in residential units and sites for household consumption and for supply into the local markets. Urban agriculture (UA) is an old practice that has existed since the birth of cities. However, more recently, in the dense and often high-rise-filled modern cities, urban agriculture has not found many practitioners. With the environmental concerns related to transporting foods over long distances, often with their freshness compromised, and after the experience of pandemics such as COVID-19, urban dwellers are increasingly realizing that handy access to freshly grown food on-site is an important backup for food supply in the urban areas. [PERSON], [PERSON], and [PERSON] (2011) [8] define urban agriculture as entailing the following:  
\"... the production of food for personal consumption, education, donation, or sale and includes associated physical and organizational infrastructure, policies, and programs within urban, suburban, and rural built environments. From community and school gardens in small rural towns and commercial farms in first-ring suburbs to rooftop gardens and bee-keeping operations in built-out cities, urban agriculture exists in multiple forms and for multiple purposes (p. 2).\"  
Urban agriculture implies the growing and marketing (when applicable) of food in urban areas. Urban agriculture often takes place in community gardens, building balconies and rooftops, residential yards, and sometimes in vertical structures. This is seen as supporting food security and promoting individual productivity, community building, and environmental and economic sustainability. Urban farming may take the form of traditional agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, vertical farming, and animal raising in space-efficient systems. Urban agriculture production is typically located on rooftops; balconies; windowsills; indoors; or in the front, back, and side yards of residential units. The production techniques may include normal planting, vase planting, hydroponics, aeroponics, and vertical farms that produce fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meat from small animals. It includes private edible gardens and community and institutional gardens, as well as edible landscapes in public areas such as on parks, road medians, sidewalks, and plazas.