The Delhi government has begun training women from underprivileged communities and differently abled people in hydroponics, a soilless agriculture system, to grow exotic vegetables such as lettuce, bok choy, parsley, rocket leaves, and fruits, among others, which are in high demand in fine-dining establishments in the Capital.
The training is currently being conducted by the Delhi transport department at a hydroponics horticulture training facility at Lodhi Road's Kushak Nallah cluster bus depot, and the learners will receive diplomas from the Agriculture Skill Council of India. On February 4, 2022, transport minister Kailash Gahlot presented certificates to the first group of 20 trainees.
The training has given Daryaganj resident Kavita Kashyap (47), who lost her job as an office assistant during the pandemic, a light of optimism. Kavita said, "I came to know about the hydroponics training through a common friend. I completed the training and have been selected as a trainer. I want to develop my own hydroponics setup in future and become an entrepreneur." Kavita's spouse works as a daily wage labourer, and they have two children together.
Kajal (20), an IGNOU first-year B.Sc. (zoology) student, said she took the course because she wanted to establish her own business. Kajal, who resides in Paharganj, stated, "I come from a humble background and my father works in a private factory. Currently there are very few people in the market to fulfil the growing demands of exotic vegetables and organic products."
On March 5, 12 of the 20 trained women began training children in grades 9 and 11 from 136 Delhi government schools as part of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). According to officials, each batch will consist of 50 pupils (25 from each class 9 and 11), and the agency has set a goal of training roughly 6,800 children. According to a representative from the Department of Education, "The main objective is to create self-reliance and entrepreneurial skills in students."
According to government officials, the programme will open doors for women. Ashish Kundra, the transport department's principal secretary, said, "It will help create more end-to-end employment solutions for women and persons with disabilities and create more women entrepreneurs. The facility includes a training, production and harvesting centre, and trains women and differently abled persons in commercial utilisation of these crops as livelihood generators. DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System) has taken a commendable step through corporate social responsibility in empowering women."
Gahlot, who visited the centre last month, described it as a "one-of-a-kind project" by the Delhi government, emphasising "the need to adapt to smart farming methods in the wake of reducing land cover and depleting resources".
According to Meera Chetan Bhatia, CEO of the Sai Swayam Society, which is in charge of the hydroponics training project, "We have already started harvesting all leafy vegetables such as iceberg lettuce, bok choy, parsley, rocket leafs, and this is expected to give a total harvest of 200kg."
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