Research & reports

Diana Lee-Smith, L. J. A. Mougeot, Michael Levenston, Peter Mann, Katherine Brown, Jerry Kaufman · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · Global

This reflection on the urban agriculture movement notes that 19th and early 20th-century urban reforms, including urban gardens, aimed to improve living conditions in industrial cities. However, these initiatives also shifted the burden of sustenance from industrialists and fair-wage policies onto urbanizing families, particularly women. Despite this, garden spaces provided nourishment and retreats in densely populated areas.

Mark Matsa, Thomas Marambanyika · Journal of Environmental Extension · Africa

A study assessing concentration levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and sulphides (SO2) within and around Gweru's sole official waste dumpsite in Zimbabwe. Harsh economic conditions in the city have driven further expansion of urban agriculture on open spaces, with residents growing staple food crops such as maize and sweet potatoes for subsistence on numerous plots surrounding the dumpsite; the study states that ingesting crops grown near the dumpsite is likely to put residents' lives at risk. Soil sampling points along transects on and around the dumpsite were randomly selected using ArcView GIS, with sulphide concentrations measured by Leco machine and lead and cadmium by atomic absorption spectrometer. Independent t-test results showed the concentration levels of the three pollutants were significantly elevated from one sampling point to the next, within and around the dumpsite.

Alec Thornton · Development in Practice · Fiji

This article examines the impact of Fiji's squatter-resettlement scheme on the livelihoods of 'farming squatters' engaged in urban agriculture. Interviews with key informants and squatter residents revealed contrasting attitudes and approaches, indicating that the scheme threatens these livelihoods. The article suggests a more participatory process to address the needs of 'farming squatters'.

W. Van Averbeke · Water SA · South Africa (Pretoria)

This study in five informal settlements of Atteridgeville, Pretoria, South Africa, used a pilot study, household survey, and multiple case studies to assess urban farming's contribution to food security and household income. While over half of households participated in urban farming, its contribution to total household income and food security was generally modest. Main constraints included lack of space and limited access to irrigation water.

Kwesi Acheampong, Amoako Mensah, Boatemaa Boateng · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana

A survey conducted from January to March across five favelas in Accra, Ghana, investigated the impact of community gardening workshops on food security. While participants gained knowledge on sustainable gardening techniques, 45% of respondents still lacked access to necessary resources like seeds and tools. The study concluded that workshops improved awareness but further support is needed to address practical implementation barriers.

Lei Yan-hua · · Australia

This paper discusses the state of therapeutic horticulture in Australia, describing the field as largely project-driven with little government or philanthropic funding to sustain long-term growth. It notes that recent initiatives in community gardens, school and children's gardens, and horticultural therapy services have expanded the scope of activity and, while still small compared with many other countries, are high-profile, community-led, and have secured significant government funding. However, the paper states that this needs to be balanced against numerous barriers facing the sector: insufficient research, limited organization and representation, few education and training opportunities, and a lack of outreach and community services.

Adedeji Adedeji, H Oludare, Ademiluyi · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Nigeria

This discussion of urban agriculture and urban land use planning in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria, frames urban agriculture as a crisis response and survival strategy for the urban poor that contributes to food security, while stating that urban agriculture production systems can pose risks to public health and the environment through inappropriate or excessive use of agricultural inputs — including pesticides, nitrogen, and raw organic matter containing heavy metal residues. It recommends that urban land use planners promote multifunctional land use and greater community participation in managing urban open spaces.

Friedhelm Streiffeler, Elsamawal Khalil Makki, Ali Ayoub · Econstor (Econstor) · Sudan (Khartoum)

This research in Greater Khartoum, Sudan, investigated urban and peri-urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy for internally displaced persons. While urban agriculture significantly reduces absolute poverty, its implementation faces many problems due to natural, economic, and social differences in the new environment, resulting in a low degree of agricultural development. Migrants with smaller fields and lower agricultural development showed a greater desire to return to their homeland, and social integration also influenced the decision to stay or return.

Dick Foeken · · Africa

This study analyzed the relationship between urban policy and the practice of urban agriculture by the poor, based on two studies in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya, and Morogoro and Mbeya Municipalities, Tanzania. The legal and policy setting in these towns was found to be confusing, and the poor generally do not benefit from policy measures, if policies exist at all.

Anne‐Marie Hamelin, Céline Mercier, Annie Bédard · Public Health Nutrition · Canada (Quebec City)

A study in Quebec City, Canada, interviewed 55 food-insecure households and 59 stakeholders to compare perceptions of food security needs and community programs. While both groups agreed on the need for better financial resources, households reported that food quality and access were neglected, and that existing programs, even combined, were insufficient to meet their needs. Stakeholders, however, largely perceived households as satisfied with programs and believed their primary need was a basic amount of food. The study concluded that community programs alone cannot bring about the social change needed to prevent food insecurity.

Alex Thornton, Etienne Nel · Africanus Journal of Development Studies · South Africa (Peddie)

This study investigated the significance of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as a livelihoods strategy in Peddie, Eastern Cape province, South Africa, based on a PhD study. The findings indicate that UPA is not as significant or widely practiced as often assumed, despite its potential to address food insecurity and generate income. Its development has been slowed by various structural historical and socioeconomic barriers, limiting its current impact.

Alice J. Hovorka, Damell Smith, R. van Veenhuizen · · Global

This article argues that a gendered perspective on urban food security is essential to understand dynamics shaping food production and marketing in urban centers. It highlights that failing to explore women's distinct roles risks leaving gender inequities and food supply hindrances unaddressed, countering the invisibility of women's work often assumed as automatic domestic duties. The article emphasizes women's significant role in domestic food supply, even in societies with minimal household food production, citing examples like Latin American women organizing to address urban hunger.

Patricia Allen, Julie Guthman, Amy Wilson Morris · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

A research brief examining whether alternative food initiatives (AFIs) such as community supported agriculture (CSA) and farmers' markets can meet the food security needs of low-income consumers, based on interviews and surveys of farmers' market and CSA managers throughout California. The authors conclude that AFIs are not, and cannot be, substitutes for state entitlements in meeting the food security needs of low-income people.

Juliana Portela do Rego Monteiro, Maria do Socorro Lira Monteiro · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Brazil

A study of 43 urban gardens in Teresina, Piauí state, Brazil, analyzed via primary data collection and field research whether the gardens function as a means of generating work and income and improving socioeconomic conditions without degrading the environment. Most gardeners were women over 45 with incomplete elementary education, earning up to one minimum wage, originally from the state's interior, who had worked in agriculture before joining the gardens and worked them as a family. Most had not participated in training since entering the program, used their own resources for production, concentrated 70.08% of output on cilantro, chives and lettuce, and sold produce mainly on-site; soil amendment relied mostly on manure with limited chemical fertilizer, and only 36.81% of gardeners used pesticides. The study concludes that low remuneration, stemming from limited crop diversity, poor organization and lack of financing, led some family members to seek alternative income.

Prebus, Olivia · Occidental College Scholar (Occidental College) · United States (Los Angeles)

This work addresses the gross inequity of food access in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles, such as MacArthur Park, where grocery stores are scarce. The author's internship at the Center for Food and Justice involved projects like a Community Food Assessment and organizing a community garden, all focused on empowering communities to tackle complex food access issues. The abstract highlights the severe problem of limited healthy food options leading to simultaneous obesity and malnutrition.

F.P. Huibers, O. Moscoso, Álvaro Ocampo Durán, J.B. van Lier · CABI Publishing eBooks · Bolivia

A study examining wastewater use in urban and peri-urban agriculture in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Both vegetable and fodder crops are irrigated with polluted water — diluted or partly treated municipal and industrial sewage — containing high concentrations of pathogens, heavy metals, and salts. In the downstream La Mayca area, where farmers have an agreement with the municipal water and sewerage company, soil degradation has forced them to increasingly replace vegetable crops with more salt-tolerant fodder crops. In other areas around the city, cultivators deny using wastewater and point to nearby wells as their water source, but many of these wells are likely also polluted and do not yield enough water for the irrigated area they serve. Farmers report no specific health problems related to using polluted water, which contradicts reports from local health workers. Because surface water flow and rainfall are low while industrial pollution is high and wastewater treatment capacity is limited, most of the water available to farmers is of poor quality. Options identified for improvement include reducing industrial pollution, increasing treatment capacity, and adopting integrated water management that blends good-quality groundwater with wastewater — but strong traditional water rights, lack of urban planning, and weak institutions are cited as constraints on improving wastewater management in Cochabamba.

C. Clare Hinrichs, Kathy S. Kremer · Journal of Poverty · United States

This 1997 case study examined a Midwest community supported agriculture (CSA) project that aimed to increase low-income participation through financial subsidies, using a telephone survey of 41 member-households. The study found that while subsidized households had lower incomes, the overall CSA sample was more advantaged in income, occupation, and education compared to local populations. The project inadvertently served the "advantaged" poor, indicating that social inclusion efforts in local food systems may not effectively reach the most vulnerable.

Rachel Slater · Development Southern Africa · South Africa

This study examined urban agriculture (UA) in Cape Town, South Africa, focusing on its contribution to low-income households. It found that UA's contribution to income generation and expenditure substitution is limited. However, UA is important to women in low-income households in ways less directly related to monetary gain, being used for empowerment, establishing social networks, symbolizing a sense of security, and encouraging community development.

Melford Mj W. Gunderson · UND Scholarly Commons (University of North Dakota) · United States

A study of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation and the community of Elbowoods, North Dakota (2001) describes the social disorganization and community upheaval inflicted on Native Americans by the 1954 construction of the Garrison Dam by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Flooding of thousands of acres stripped Elbowoods residents of farmland, natural shelter for people and cattle, family structure, community gardens, and a way of life that had existed for thousands of years. Drawing primarily on interviews with ten former Elbowoods residents, supplemented by newspapers, published reports, photographs, video, and congressional records, and framed through social disorganization and community theory, the study documents that the dam's construction and the resulting relocation devastated the community and forced residents to cope with and adapt to a "loss of community."

Simon Clarke, Elena Varshavskaya, Сергей Алашеев, Marina Karelina · Work Employment and Society · Russia

This paper examines the "myth of the urban peasant" in Russia, which suggests urban households survive economic collapse through subsistence agriculture. Based on official and survey data analysis, it shows that while many urban households grow food, those with low incomes are least likely to do so, and subsistence production complements rather than replaces paid employment. Furthermore, those who grow their own food work long hours for little return, spending no less on purchased food than those who grow nothing.

Donna Armstrong · The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care · United States

This study aimed to design a culturally appropriate diabetes education program for a Northwest American Indian tribe. A community-based intervention, including workshops on health themes and a community garden, was designed to address multiple barriers to diabetes care. However, prior to the implementation of the community workshops and evaluations, the tribal government chose to discontinue receiving federal funding for this project.

Godfrey D. Mudimu · Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography · Zimbabwe (Harare)

This study examines the role of women in urban agriculture and perceptions of urban space use for agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe. Despite its utility in meeting household food needs, urban agriculture is not planned for or supported by urban planners and managers as a legitimate urban land use. The activities of women, who are the main participants in urban agriculture, directly conflict with planning provisions for urban space. The study offers empirical insight on perceptions of space use for agriculture in an urban tropical environment, where conflicts can arise from different perceptions and alternative uses.

A. Mboganie-Mwangi, Dick Foeken · Leiden Repository (Leiden University) · Kenya (Nairobi)

A 1996 study in Nairobi, Kenya, compared the food security and nutritional status of low-income households engaged in urban agriculture with those not farming. It found that urban farmers primarily produced for home consumption and faced theft as a major problem. While the Undugu Society Urban Agriculture Project (USUAP) group showed better food situations and higher energy and protein intakes than other groups, all three groups had inadequate energy intake on average. The long-term beneficial effect of urban agriculture on nutritional status was negligible.

Beacon Mbiba · · Zimbabwe (Harare)

This paper addresses the implications of urban agriculture for urban management and poverty in Zimbabwe, covering various aspects such as off-plot cultivation in Harare, urban cultivation at home, urban maize markets, and institutional responses to uncontrolled urban cultivation. Evidence from Harare suggests that urban agriculture can be a counterproductive activity, highlighting challenges and conflicts in urban management.

David Drakakis‐Smith · Geografiska Annaler Series B Human Geography · Africa

This paper focused on the impact of structural adjustment programs on the urban poor in Africa, specifically examining the urban food system in Harare, Zimbabwe. In Harare, food retailing is largely structured through supermarkets, which keeps costs high for the poor. While the informal sector has expanded, it remains relatively restricted and unorganized compared to Asian cities. Consequently, urban agriculture has grown extensively in house-gardens and illegally in the urban periphery, yet there is little coordinated or positive policy response from urban authorities.