Rising demand for sustainable, pesticide-free, and locally grown produce is fueling interest in hydroponics in India and globally, says Julian Nachtigal, VP of Partnerships & Sales at Urban Kissan, an integrated hydroponic farming company headquartered in Hyderabad, South India. "When we started operations in 2018, our mission was to create clean, sustainable food without pesticides, combining agriculture with molecular biology."
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Urban Kisaan, which began with launching home farming kits has since expanded into commercial vertical farms. It later shifted focus from innovating seeds to building smart farms, leveraging its proprietary FarmOS.ai platform. Nachtigal explains, "This agricultural intelligence system optimizes plant growth, disease resistance, and yields in seeds while minimizing resource use."
According to Nachtigal, a significant innovation is their GeneRush™ technology, which drastically reduces seed development time. "Traditionally, developing new commercial seed varieties to combat pests or climate change takes a staggering 7 to 10 years, a timeline too slow to modern agricultural needs. However, our proprietary GeneRush™ uses artificial intelligence to develop new seed varieties in just 2 years."
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Nachtigal highlights a client base spanning governments and private partners worldwide. He mentions a flagship project in the Bahamas undertaken by Urban Kisaan to develop 25 acres of hydroponic farms across five islands: "This is a USD 30 million public-private partnership aimed at reducing agricultural imports by up to 10%, strengthening food security, and generating new local jobs."
Nachtigal furthers hares how heir technology is made accessible to growers across India. "We offer lease models for our GrowRush™ container farms, which act as nurseries for farmers and Farmer Producer Organizations. This allows them to access superior genetics and improve crop success rates without heavy capital expenditure."
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Urban Kisaan produce seeds for over 100 hydroponic crop varieties, including tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, okra, and zucchini, Nachitgal adds, pointing to energy-efficient lighting as another research focus. "We are experimenting with light recipes to maximize plant performance with minimal energy use."
"People often see our farms and think we are a hydroponic grower. But we are fundamentally a technology company, creating and integrating the seeds, software and systems that make agriculture more resilient, sustainable and profitable for everyone," Nachtigal concludes.
For more information
Julian Nachtigal
Urban Kissan
Tel: +1 20 25 492 273
Email: [email protected]
www.urbankisaan.com
