Exploring the Feasibility of Turmeric Cultivation in Vertical Farms: An Indian Context

Abstract

Turmeric is a high-value spice with growing global demand due to its medicinal, culinary, and industrial applications. Traditional cultivation in India faces challenges such as climate dependency, soil degradation, and inconsistent quality. Vertical farming, an innovative soilless cultivation method, offers potential solutions by optimizing resource use, enhancing yield, and ensuring year-round production. This paper evaluates the economic viability of turmeric vertical farming compared to traditional methods in India, analyzing cost structures, yield differentials, market positioning, and policy support. Findings suggest that while vertical farming entails higher initial investments, it provides superior returns through premium pricing, reduced post-harvest losses, and export-oriented high-curcumin produce. The study concludes with recommendations for scaling vertical turmeric farming through technological advancements and public-private partnerships.

Introduction

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a key spice for India, which produces about 78% of the world’s supply. Traditional turmeric farming faces challenges including heavy reliance on monsoon rains, soil degradation, pests, yield inconsistency (8–10 tons/acre), and high post-harvest losses. These issues threaten farmers’ livelihoods and national supply stability.

Vertical farming emerges as a promising alternative by using controlled environments, hydroponics, and aeroponics to enable year-round cultivation with significantly higher yields (up to 80–100 tons/acre) and enhanced curcumin content (around 5.9% vs. 2.5–4% traditionally). It also saves up to 90% water and produces cleaner, pesticide-free crops suited for premium pharmaceutical and export markets.

Despite the benefits, vertical farming requires substantial initial investment (?10 lakh–?1 crore per acre) and has high operational energy costs. Innovations like renewable energy integration, AI/IoT management, and policy support are crucial to improve economic viability and accessibility, especially for smallholders.

The study emphasizes a complementary approach: traditional farming will remain vital for rural livelihoods and domestic supply, while vertical farming can target niche, high-value urban and export markets. Policy frameworks and cooperative models can help bridge the two systems, fostering sustainable, climate-resilient turmeric production aligned with India’s evolving agricultural and urban landscape.

Conclusion

This study reviewed and compared traditional and vertical farming approaches in turmeric cultivation in India, with a focus on economic viability, technological feasibility, and sustainability. Traditional farming, while deeply rooted in rural livelihoods, continues to face limitations such as monsoon dependency, low curcumin content, high post-harvest losses, and declining profitability for smallholder farmers. Despite its low initial investment, it remains vulnerable to environmental and market fluctuations. On the other hand, vertical farming presents a high-potential innovation that offers significant gains in yield, resource efficiency, and quality. Case studies and pilot data suggest that vertical turmeric farming can produce up to ten times more yield per acre, reduce water usage by over 90%, and deliver premium-grade turmeric with curcumin content exceeding 5.5%. However, high setup costs, energy dependency, and scalability remain critical challenges. The review highlights that vertical farming should not be viewed as a replacement for traditional methods but as a complementary solution, especially in urban areas, or where export-oriented production is viable. Policymakers and researchers must focus on building cost-effective models, encouraging public-private partnerships, and expanding region-specific studies to validate the performance and economics of vertical turmeric farming at scale. With the right support, vertical farming could significantly contribute to a more resilient, high-value turmeric sector in India. Furthermore, the discussion must consider the socio-economic structural impacts of each system. Traditional turmeric farming is deeply embedded in the rural agrarian economy, providing seasonal employment and supporting a vast network of local traders, processors, and transporters. A shift towards capital-intensive vertical farming, often located in or near urban centers, could disrupt these established rural value chains and livelihoods. However, vertical farming creates new, high-skill employment opportunities in areas such as system maintenance, climate control management, data analysis, and technological support, potentially attracting a younger, tech-savvy workforce to the agricultural sector and fostering a new era of \"green-collar\" jobs in urban agri-tech hubs. Finally, the scalability and replicability of each model present distinct challenges. Traditional farming practices are easily replicated by farmers using local knowledge and resources, but scaling up production is constrained by the availability of arable land and water. Vertical farming, in theory, offers immense scalability within a small physical footprint. However, its replication is hindered not just by cost, but by the need for highly specific technical expertise and reliable infrastructure, including uninterrupted electricity and internet connectivity. This creates a significant adoption barrier in regions with infrastructural deficits, potentially limiting its benefits to developed urban corridors and excluding more remote agricultural regions that could benefit from increased productivity.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Amey Pingale, Sanket Gharat. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.