Attitude, Perception And Consumer Behavior Research Of Indian Consumers Towards Vertical Farming : Can Vertical Farming Offer Sustainable Solution To India’s Booming Urban Population By 2050?

By the year 2050, the world population is expected to grow to 9.8 billion people and 70% of these people will live in cities. India will become the most populous country by 2023, overtaking China and about 53% of the Indian population is expected to live in cities by 2050, up from 35% in 2021 as per World Bank. However, in India, almost all the food production happens in rural areas and small towns. Transporting food from a farmer’s place to consumer’s neighborhood store results in ‘food miles’, and carbon emissions. Not to mention, food wasted during long journeys that gets dumped into landfills and end up contributing to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions. To minimize such pollution, emissions and waste, food can be alternatively grown in urban areas via Vertical Farming(VF). VF involves new age technologies like hydroponics, aeroponics or aquaponics. It is more efficient than traditional farming, offers higher yield, is free from chemicals and pesticides. This study measures consumers perception towards VF products and concludes that 80.7% of people care about sustainability, 85% are ready to pay premium and 63% would trust such products. ‘Climate-consciousness’ and ‘buying healthy and fresh food for family’ were the perceived benefits from family and friends. However more needs to be done to drive awareness, consideration, availability and affordability of vertical farm products. Only 57% of the respondents are aware about health benefits(chemical and pesticide-free) of VF products, 57.5% were aware about VF or hydroponics and in terms of purchase behavior, only 44.3% of respondents have bought a VF product. Vertical Farming is the future of modern agriculture and can be a panacea in feeding India’s burgeoning urban population, fighting food transportation-related pollution, reduce food miles, food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions.