URBAN FARMING VERSUS ORDINARY GARDENING

URBAN FARMING VERSUS ORDINARY GARDENING

Not all planting in the city is created equal. When we talk about growing food or plants in urban areas, we often mix up two distinct concepts: urban farming and ordinary gardening. While they may look the same at first glance—both involve soil, seeds, and sunlight—their purposes and outcomes are worlds apart.

Let’s make this clear: urban farming is a business, while ordinary gardening is a hobby. That simple distinction changes everything—from planning and investment to expectations and returns.

Ordinary gardening is typically recreational. You plant flowers, herbs, or even some vegetables in your backyard or balcony just for the joy of it. No business plan, no targets, no deadlines. You may not even harvest anything of significant value. It could be purely decorative or a source of relaxation. You don’t expect to earn anything from it—and that’s perfectly fine.

Urban farming, on the other hand, is serious business. It needs a real, detailed business plan. You must know your costs, your expected yield, your target market, and your potential profits. Otherwise, you’re just playing in the dirt. If there’s no profit, there’s no point in calling it a business. Urban farms can still be beautiful and even decorative, but that should always be secondary to income generation.

A well-run urban farm isn’t just about growing plants—it can also be part of a larger ecosystem. Waste recycling and composting are essential components. Food scraps and animal waste can be collected and converted into organic fertilizer, creating a circular economy that benefits both the environment and the enterprise. Imagine turning what was once thrown away into a product that feeds your crops, which in turn feed the community.

But here's where many efforts go wrong: people think that urban farming should always be charitable. That everything harvested must be given away. But if nobody pays for the produce, who will pay for the costs? Urban farmers must sell their harvests at a fair price—and communities must learn to support them, not expect freebies. This is the only way to make urban farming sustainable and scalable.

Urban farming is flexible and innovative. You can grow fruits and vegetables inside container vans, using hydroponics, aquaponics, or aeroponics. These technologies don’t even require soil—just water, nutrients, and precise climate control. You can also raise poultry, livestock, or even fish and crustaceans in these repurposed containers. By adjusting the temperature and salinity of water, even shrimps or crabs can be farmed in urban settings.

This approach—known as containerized agriculture—is gaining ground globally and could be a game-changer for the Philippines. A single container can replicate the productivity of a full hectare of farmland, but with 90% less water use and much greater protection against pests and extreme weather.

Urban farming can also make use of vacant lots, idle buildings, rooftops, and even riversides. Homeowner associations and cooperatives could spearhead these ventures, turning underutilized spaces into productive assets. Customers could even pre-order specialty crops, ensuring freshness and reducing waste.

And yes, urban farms can bring people together. They can build community, provide green jobs, and contribute to local food security. In Quezon City alone, over 1,000 urban farms are already operating—many on public land—and local ordinances support even more growth.

But to unlock their full potential, we must treat these efforts not as charity, but as entrepreneurial endeavors. That means investing in training, infrastructure, and marketing. It means teaching communities how to build and operate urban farms like businesses, not like hobbies.

There’s no reason why barangays can’t partner with national programs like the High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP) or climate adaptation initiatives like LAWA/BINHI to support urban farming. With the right partnerships, we could replicate the container farming model in every district, turning cities into sources of food—not just consumers of it.

So, the next time someone plants tomatoes in a plastic pot or raises tilapia in a tank, ask: Is this a hobby, or is this a business? Because that answer changes everything.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com

09-22-2025