Research & reports

K P Emeraldi, Dwinita Larasati · Product Design · Indonesia (Bandung)

This study analyzed the means of activity within the household-scale urban agriculture popularization system in Bandung City. The analysis results indicate that the means of activity used in the urban agriculture popularization system do not yet support the purpose of the activity itself. This is attributed to a lack of understanding within the community regarding studies that influence contemporary society's life, such as lifestyle studies.

Johanna F. Lindahl · · Vietnam

The circulation of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in pigs and mosquitoes was investigated around Can Tho city in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Of 315 sows, 60% were JEV seropositive, and seropositivity was associated with more stillborn piglets in sows under 1.5 years old. Among 7885 mosquitoes collected in and around Can Tho city, seven pools collected near pigs tested positive for JEV, indicating co-circulation of JEV genotypes I and III. All 43 pigs sampled within Can Tho city were JEV seropositive, demonstrating that JEV can be a public health issue in urban areas.

Minjae Kong, Kwang-Lai Park, Jin-Kwan Son, Ji-Hoon Shin · Journal of the Korea Society of Environmental Restoration Technology · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the characteristics of rooftop gardens (farms) in 40 areas in Seoul, Korea. Cabbage, lettuce, pepper, and mini-tomatoes were the most preferred vegetables and fruits. Problems observed in rooftop gardens during cultivation included drainage systems, soil management, the cost or quality of planting mats, and diseases and insects.

Hee-Jeong Yun, Mi-Kyoung Cho · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea

This study critically considers the new paradigm of urban parks, noting that despite progress, urban parks face increased criticism. Criticisms include long development periods for tree growth, limitations in general and cultural ecology, and a lack of economic validity. The study proposes urban agricultural parks as an alternative, connecting them to sustainable regional development and low-carbon society.

Huang Xue-qun · · China (Tianjin)

This paper analyzed the development status of Tianjin urban fishery, finding it to be in an early stage. Problems identified included a low level of industrial development, an unscientific development mode, and weak innovation capability. The study proposed development paths and measures for industrial transformation and upgrading.

Qing Tian · · China (Beijing)

Based on Agricultural Location Theory, 23 matched soil-wheat sample sets were collected from Beijing's central city, suburban plain and exurban plain zones to analyze the accumulation, chemical forms and bioavailability of lead under differing intensities of human activity. Urban soil showed lead contamination with an average concentration of 35.59 mg/kg above the limit, likely from traffic and industrial emissions, and suburban agricultural soil also showed localized lead contamination from long-term sewage irrigation, with lead more mobile in urban agricultural soil than in suburban soil and least mobile in exurban agricultural soil. The average bioconcentration factor of lead in wheat seeds was a low 0.0044, but some lead concentrations in wheat seeds grown in urban and suburban agricultural soil exceeded the standard limit, indicating a potential health risk to residents in those areas.

김혁수, 김영남, 김진원, 김계훈 · 한국토양비료학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the physicochemical properties and heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) contents in 21 urban agricultural soils in Seoul. The total heavy metal concentrations in these soils were found to be lower than the warning levels specified by the Soil Environmental Conservation Act of Korea for area 1. Phytoavailable concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn were also reported.

胡永林 · 浙江现代农业 · China (Yuhang)

This paper examines the development of modern urban agriculture in Yuhang District, China, driven by an urbanization strategy. It notes that the provincial initiative in 2010 to establish "two zones" (modern agricultural demonstration zones and grain production functional zones) provides a clear direction and strong framework for advancing modern urban agriculture, necessitating in-depth research and practical implementation.

Hyuck-Soo Kim, Young‐Nam Kim, Jin‐Won Kim, Kye-Hoon Kim · 한국토양비료학회지 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the properties and total and phytoavailable contents of heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn) in 21 urban agricultural soils in Seoul, South Korea. The total heavy metal concentrations in the examined urban agricultural soils were found to be lower than the warning levels for area 1 according to the Soil Environmental Conservation Act of Korea. Phytoavailable-Cu, -Pb, and -Zn concentrations were also reported as 0.02-0.28, N.D-0.09, and 0.01-0.43 mg/kg, respectively.

Liu Xiang, Na Fu, Liu, Xiang, Fu, Na · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · China

This study analyzed the current situation of rural industrialization in the process of rural-urban integration in Binhai New Area using reference and field research methods. It identified problems such as difficulties in breaking the dual economic structure in urban and rural areas, imbalanced economic development, and inadequate development of the third industry. Countermeasures proposed include optimizing agricultural industrial structure to form an urban agricultural model focusing on facility, park, and high-end agriculture to achieve intensive agricultural growth.

Senthot Sudirman, Irham Irham, Slamet Hartono, Azwar Maas · · Indonesia (Yogyakarta)

This study analyzed agricultural land use changes in peri-urban Yogyakarta from 1996-2007, covering 922.17 ha in Sleman, 1,888.60 ha in Bantul, and 1,082.79 ha across 47 villages. Factors like agricultural production exchange value, irrigated land, built area percentage, population density, education, and land price significantly influenced land change rates, which negatively correlated with distance from the city. However, agricultural land percentage to village area, land tax, and dummy variables for Bantul and Kulon Progo did not significantly influence these rates, and the changes negatively impacted regional food loss, availability, and farming sustainability prospects.

Zhou Pei · · China (Shanghai)

A study conducted in Orchard Village, Nanhui District, Shanghai, from July to September 2009, investigated the effects of phosphorus non-point source pollution on groundwater in an urban agricultural region. Total phosphorus concentrations averaged 1.31 mg/L and phosphate concentrations averaged 0.42 mg/L, with phosphate significantly exceeding the V class surface water standard (0.4 mg/L), rendering the water unsuitable for drinking. Phosphorus non-point source transport was linked to land-use types, with phosphorus content near orchards changing with increased rainfall, and farmland phosphorus loss accelerating with runoff, fertilization, and water leach.

Zhou Pei · · China (Shanghai)

A study from July to September 2009 in an orchard village, Nanhui District, Shanghai, investigated the characteristics of non-point source nitrogen pollution in groundwater. Total nitrogen and its three forms (NO3-N, NH4-N, NO2-N) were monitored, revealing NO3-N as the main form (average 1.43-13.71 mg/L). Nitrogen pollution in groundwater depended on land use, with NH4-N pollution most serious under residential areas (average 0.074-0.457 mg/L). Total nitrogen pollution near the river and orchard (average 33.67-62.57 mg/L and 33.05-65.04 mg/L) was more severe than under residential areas.

沈建华, 储健 · 江苏农村经济 · China (Nanjing)

In recent years, Nanjing, China, has promoted the development of urban agriculture amidst rapid urbanization, contributing to increased farmer income and enriched urban life. However, the urban-rural divide remains relatively obvious. A key challenge is how to narrow this urban-rural gap and accelerate integrated development during the "12th Five-Year Plan" period.

김태곤, 박문호, 허주녕 · 한국농촌경제연구원 기본연구보고서 · South Korea

This study aims to identify the current status and challenges of urban agriculture and propose solutions. Urban agriculture faces chronic problems including securing farming land due to rising land prices, management insecurity resulting from farmland diversion or lease, and increased production costs due to environmental regulations. These issues restrict the range of agricultural management.

杨卫丽, 李同昇, 陈波 · 经济导刊 · China (Xi'an)

The promotion of integration in China's Xi'an-Xianyang metropolitan area, while bringing urban economic prosperity, has also created unprecedented pressure on the ecological environment and social problems. Specifically, the "urban-rural dual structure" and "three rural issues" are the biggest bottlenecks encountered during the urbanization process.

FU Li-hua · 自然资源学报 · China (Shanghai)

A study of Shanghai, China, building an evaluation index system reflecting the characteristics of sustainable urban agricultural development, using a combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the information entropy method to determine index weights, and applying it to time-series data from 1993 onward to produce a quantitative, comprehensive appraisal. The results comprise three findings. First, the population subsystem progressively became a main obstructive factor for sustainable urban agricultural development, the economic subsystem gradually became a main contributing factor, and the social subsystem grew more important in raising development capability, while cultivated land resources became increasingly scarce and continued to decrease, constraining improvement, and the heavy burden of agricultural production's self-pollution had a negative effect on the overall upgrade of development capability. Second, the resource (R-D) composite index was not high and declined significantly, averaging 1.9090 over 1993-2006 and falling 6.00% per year from 2.5336 in 1993 to 0.5541 in 2006, indicating growing resource pressure; the environmental (E-D) composite index was smaller and changed little, remaining around 1.0000 in most years, with environmental pressure staying high but stable. Third, after earlier wave-like fluctuations, the overall composite evaluation index entered a sustained, steady climb, with a significant increasing trend in development capability.

Xiaona Li · Nongye huanjing kexue xuebao · China

A study measuring dioxin-like compound (PCDD/Fs) concentrations in 23 surface soil samples collected from different areas of Baiyin City, China, using HRGC/HRMS (high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry). The concentration range of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs was 0.42-8.56 pg I-TEQ/g, averaging 2.28 pg I-TEQ/g. By land-use type, concentrations averaged 3.37 pg I-TEQ/g in industrial areas, 1.31 in urban areas, 1.01 in agricultural areas, and 0.85 in background areas, following the order industrial > urban > agricultural > background. Higher-chlorinated isomers were the dominant contributors to total toxic equivalency (TEQ) in most samples.

Zhigang Wei · Journal of Qingdao Agricultural University · China

A comprehensive survey of agricultural structure and layout in Qingdao, China. It states the sector has achieved transformation and upgrading, with growing agricultural industrialization and increasingly optimized layout of agricultural areas approaching cluster-scale planting and breeding industries. However, it reports that further adjustment of planting structure faces major bottlenecks due to limits on arable land and food security: the traditional small-scale fish-farming model seriously restricts further development of animal husbandry and aquaculture, and fluctuating agricultural product markets combined with a lack of competitiveness are affecting the agricultural industry's layout. It concludes that crop structure needs further adjustment, that production should be scaled up, specialized and standardized, and that urban agriculture should be emphasized to expand agricultural functions.

Chandra Sen · Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics · India

This study estimated the impact of air pollution on crop yields in peri-urban areas of Varanasi, India. Phytotoxic gases are known to cause major yield reductions in important crops in developing countries, and in this study all major crops grown in peri-urban Varanasi — paddy, pigeon pea, maize, wheat, and potato — showed yield reductions attributable to air pollution. Air pollution was found to reduce both the yield and the nutritional quality of the produce, and the study calls for similar validation studies in other cities and for efforts to reduce air pollution in the city to improve crop yield and quality.

W.-L. Rao, Z.-K. Zhang, Runzhong Li · Plant Disease · China (Kunming)

In June 2007, sweet cherry trees with mottling and mosaic symptoms were observed in a private garden near Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Twenty-four samples from sweet cherry, sour cherry, flowering cherry, and peach trees in private and community gardens were tested for eight viruses by RT-PCR. Cherry virus A (CVA) was detected in two symptomatic sweet cherry trees, marking the first report of CVA in sweet cherry in China.

Mattia Celio, Christopher A. Scott, Mark Giordano · Geographical Journal · India (Hyderabad)

A study in Hyderabad, India, examined urban water capture and its impacts on pre-existing claims, particularly agriculture. Urban water appropriation often leads to conflict with existing water uses. The findings indicate that the magnitude and direction of impacts from urban water transfer on agriculture vary spatially and temporally, depending on location-specific rainfall patterns, existing water infrastructure and institutions, and farmers' adaptive capacities, including recourse to groundwater.

Liang Wei · Anhui nongye kexue · China (Dingxi)

This study analyzed the advantages, disadvantages, and existing problems in the development of urban agriculture in Dingxi City, China. Strategic concepts and countermeasures were proposed to provide consultation for urban agriculture development in Dingxi City and similar regions.

XU Hua-me · Technoeconomics & Management Research · China

This article evaluates the level of Urban Agriculture Modernization in China's major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. It finds that modern urban agriculture has developed rapidly based on urbanization and agricultural modernization, but disparate development is obvious in China. The article analyzes the reasons for this disparity and various factors for Urban Agriculture Modernization, revealing the mechanism and path for its realization.

P. S. Datta, Shipra Tyagi · · India

Peri-urban agriculture in the Delhi-NCR area is highly dependent on groundwater availability amid rapid urbanization. This study integrates dynamic δ18O isotopic composition data on groundwater with static data such as elevation of recharge sites to delineate potential recharge zones and hydrodynamic aquifer zones. Significant δ18O-elevation relationships were found (r² = 0.808 to 0.982), with recharge-site elevation resolutions of about 20m in the northwest and 75m in the southwest, identifying potential recharge zones at elevations of 210-230m in the northwest and above 260m in the south. However, variation in groundwater isotopic composition over time indicates that the corresponding aquifers are relatively small and of low productivity, and points to the likely presence of many low-permeability zones in the northwestern recharge areas — a constraint on the groundwater resources that sustain peri-urban agriculture there.