§1What this business is

You buy portable farming units — UV-protected, leak-proof HDPE containers on a modular MS frame, a soil-less organic medium, a green net that lets 50% sunlight through, inline drip irrigation and sub-surface drainage — and sell and install them on rooftops, kitchen gardens and farmhouses. The report plans 30 units a month at ₹15,000 each, run as a franchise-style trading business; green walls are a related product.

Capacity: 30 units installed a month — ₹54 L of sales a year at that rate; year 1 sales are planned at ₹27.00 L.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

A salesperson or gardener in a city with many independent houses.

Who it is not for

Someone in a village or small town where rooftop gardening has little demand.

Advantages

  • Growing interest in home-grown, chemical-free vegetables in cities
  • No factory or heavy machinery
  • Extra income from refills, plants and service visits
  • Green walls open a second line for offices and buildings

Drawbacks

  • Needs a city market of house owners with usable rooftops
  • High marketing spend (₹7.20 L in the plan)
  • Depends on the kit supplier or franchisor
  • Customers drop off if the first crop fails

Skills you need

  • Selling to households and housing societies
  • Basic vegetable growing and drip irrigation
  • Installation and after-sales visits
  • Social media marketing

Why difficulty 3/5: No machines, but it is a pure selling business with high marketing spend.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Owners of independent houses with rooftops
  • Kitchen-garden and terrace-garden hobbyists
  • Farmhouse owners
  • Offices and buildings (green walls)

How it sells

  • Direct sales and demonstrations
  • Social media and local advertising
  • Leads from the franchisor

Good to know

  • Crops listed in the report include lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, brinjal, leafy greens, gourds, cucumber, radish, onion and beetroot.

§4Raw material & machinery

  • Portable farming units (HDPE containers, MS frame, organic medium, green net, drip and drainage system)sold at ₹15,000 a unit; first stock ₹5.42 L

From: PMEGP sample project report — Portable Rooftop Farming (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST
  3. Shop and establishment registration
  4. Written franchise agreement with the kit supplier

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

A sales-and-installation activity: PMEGP (service limit ₹20 L) — confirm with the bank that the activity is eligible; MUDRA for the ₹10 L limit; CGTMSE for collateral-free credit.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Need ₹15.62 L: first stock ₹5.42 L + franchise fee ₹2.00 L + pre-operative ₹1.00 L + marketing ₹7.20 L; less a 30% own margin of ₹4.69 L, the gap is ₹10.93 L and the report asks the bank for a ₹10 L working-capital limit. No machinery.

Working capital: The whole project is working capital — stock, franchise fee and marketing; bank limit ₹10 L.

Year not printed on the report — check current kit prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

A local sales-and-installation business; it has no goods of its own to export.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Slow sales against high marketing cost
  • Roof leakage complaints
  • Supplier closing or changing terms
  • Crop failure leading to bad word of mouth

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working rooftop farming kits (sale and installation) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Rooftop Farming Kits (Sale and Installation)?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Portable Rooftop Farming (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.