Millet Urban Farming for Climate Resilience: A Soilless Rooftop Solution in Japan

Abstract

As climate change threatens global food security, climate-resilient crops like Ragi and Pearl Millet offer a sustainable solution, especially in space-constrained countries like Japan. This paper proposes a soilless rooftop urban farming model using these millets grown in grow bags, coupled with rainwater harvesting, QR-based traceability, and biofortifiedmicrogreens. The model integrates recent epigenetic findings that link environmental stress to heritable gene expression, improving stress tolerance without genetic modification. The approach is youth-friendly, scalable, and aligns with organic farming principles.

Introduction

Overview:
Climate change poses major challenges to agriculture, especially in densely populated, land-scarce regions like Japan. This paper proposes a sustainable rooftop farming model using climate-resilient millets—Ragi (Eleusine coracana) and Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum)—integrating epigenetics, urban farming, and youth engagement.

Key Highlights:

1. Why Millets?

• Drought- and salinity-tolerant; require low inputs.

• Highly nutritious: rich in calcium, iron, fiber, and protein.

• Well-suited for urban farming due to short growth cycles and hardiness.

2. Role of Epigenetics:

• Epigenetics enables plants to adapt to stress (e.g., heat, salinity) via heritable gene expression changes.

• Research from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) supports the use of non-GMO crops with improved stress resilience through epigenetic memory.

3. Rooftop Farming Model:

• Utilizes soilless grow bags with cocopeat and compost.

• Includes drip irrigation from harvested rainwater.

• Adaptable for schools, homes, and community rooftops.

• Reduces water use, urban heat, and land dependency.

4. Japan-India Integration:

• Japan’s urban climate supports millet cultivation.

• Biofortified Indian millet varieties (via ICAR) can be piloted in Japanese cities.

• Rooftop trials proposed in Osaka, Yokohama, etc.

5. Youth & Education:

• Involving students through grow bag projects, QR-tracked plant care, and hackathons.

• Integrates sustainability and agriculture into school curricula.

• Supported by global platforms like UN Youth Envoy, FAO’s WFF, and 4-H.

6. Tech & Traceability:

• QR-code dashboards provide crop-specific data (e.g., water use, nutrition, harvest date).

• Enhances transparency and public engagement in urban farming.

7. Future Scope:

• Collaborations with OIST for advanced research.

• Expansion to other Asian cities (e.g., Seoul, Taipei).

• Mobile millet units using solar-powered hydroponics for awareness.

8. Indo-Japan Collaboration:

• Potential to combine Indian millet expertise with Japan’s vertical farming technology.

• Shared vision for climate-resilient, urban food systems.

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates how integrating climate-resilient millets, rooftop farming, and epigenetics can support sustainable agriculture in Japan. The model is practical, scalable, and inclusive. It empowers youth, strengthens food systems, and aligns with Japan’s environmental and nutritional goals.

References

[1] Zhang, H., Lang, Z., & Zhu, J. K. (2018). Dynamics and function of DNA methylation in plants. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 19(8), 489–506. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-018-0016-z [2] Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). (n.d.). Plant Epigenetics Unit – Prof. Hidetoshi Saze. https://groups.oist.jp/pe [3] Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). (2020). Climate resilient crops and technologies for India. ICAR Publications. [4] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2021). The state of the world’s biodiversity for food and agriculture. FAO. https://www.fao.org/3/CA3129EN/CA3129EN.pdf [5] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2021). Youth and urban agriculture: Growing innovation for a green future. FAO. https://www.fao.org/youth-urban-agriculture

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 V J Valli Sri. 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.