Research & reports

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.

Bruce Frayne, Jane Battersby, Robert Fincham, Gareth Haysom · · South Africa

This study examines urban food security in South Africa, focusing on Cape Town, Msunduzi, and Johannesburg, and includes a critique of the City of Cape Town's urban agriculture policy. The abstract indicates that the policy was found to have significant shortcomings, particularly concerning local production and access to food. The research highlights various policy issues related to food access, dietary diversity, local production, and local markets within these urban contexts.

Sophie Graefe, Eva Schlecht, Andreas Buerkert · Outlook on Agriculture · Niger (Niamey)

Semi-structured interviews with 130 households in Niamey, Niger, characterized urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) and assessed resource use. The study found high use of livestock manure and indiscriminate use of nutrient-loaded wastewater for irrigation, leading to significant nutrient surpluses in UPA gardens. Initial calculations suggested large gaseous emissions of nitrogenous compounds and and leaching of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to groundwater.

Erastus K. Kang’ethe, Delia Grace, Thomas F. Randolph · East African Medical Journal · East Africa

This study synthesizes current knowledge on urban agriculture (UA) in East Africa, focusing on its human health impact. It identifies UA as an important source of food security, but notes that many zoonotic and food-borne diseases are associated with it, with a lack of evidence on human health impact and management. Major constraints include illegality and limited access to inputs and markets, indicating a need for more research to understand both positive and negative health impacts.

Anselm A. Enete, Anthonia Ifeyinwa Achike · Outlook on Agriculture · Nigeria (Ohafia)

A study comparing rural and urban farmers in Ohafia, southeast Nigeria, found that while urban farmers used significantly more purchased inputs than rural farmers, their output was significantly lower. This was attributed to urban farmers being poor and undercapitalized, preventing them from using adequate purchased inputs to maintain soil nutrients. The findings suggest that for urban agriculture to address urban food insecurity, the urban poor require sufficient financial empowerment.

Seyed Esmaeil Mahdavian, R. Somashekar · ePrints@Bangalore University (Bangalore University) · India (Bangalore)

A study in Bangalore city, India, showed that urban consumers are at greater risk of purchasing fresh fruits with high levels of heavy metals beyond the legally permissible limits defined by the Indian Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. These national norms are less strict than international food safety standards.

Nathan McClintock · · United States (California)

This paper uses urban political ecology to explore the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, where the city aims to source 30% of its food locally, partly from UA in "food deserts." The analysis argues that 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, leading to the creation of food deserts. Food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations.

Chris Hillbruner, Rebecca Egan · Food and Nutrition Bulletin · Bangladesh (Dinajpur)

A study in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, from 2002 to 2003, investigated the impact of seasonality on food security and nutritional status in approximately 600 low-income urban households. Data collected through surveys and child measurements revealed significantly higher rates of food insecurity, wasting, and inadequate growth during the monsoon season compared to the dry season. While dietary diversity and lost work due to weather were identified as pathways affecting food security, child illness was not found to be a significant mechanism contributing to seasonal nutritional declines.

Gary Paul Green, Michael L. Dougherty · Community Development · United States (Door County, Wisconsin)

This paper examined culinary tourism through a case study of the Kingdom So Delicious program in Door County, Wisconsin. The analysis was based on intensive interviews with owners/managers of four restaurants and surveys of 30 retailers and 40 farmers in the region. The most frequently cited concerns with producing for local establishments involved in culinary tourism were low prices and challenging logistics.

Nathan McClintock · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · United States (California)

This paper explores the rise of urban agriculture (UA) in Oakland, California, using an urban political ecology framework. A macro-level structural analysis of Oakland's history reveals how 20th-century industrial capital flows and racialized urban planning concentrated capital devaluation in the flatlands, ultimately giving rise to food deserts. The study suggests that food justice activists are mobilizing through UA to counter these uneven transformations, despite critiques that some urban garden programs are neoliberal, emphasizing self-betterment while filling state-left gaps.

Bernard Keraita, Pay Drechsel, Flemming Konradsen · Water Science & Technology · Ghana (Kumasi)

A study in Kumasi, Ghana, assessed the use of on-farm ponds to reduce microbial contamination in wastewater-contaminated irrigation water, analyzing over 300 samples. It found that while ponds are common, their potential for pathogen removal via sedimentation is not fully optimized. Helminth eggs reduced by about 70% with careful water collection, but thermotolerant coliforms took six days in the dry season to meet WHO guidelines, indicating suboptimal performance for some pathogens.

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.

R. Machiridza, Emmanuel Manzungu · University of Zimbabwe Institutional Repository (University of Zimbabwe) · Zimbabwe (Harare)

Perceptions of urban agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe, shifted from prohibition before 1980 due to environmental concerns to de facto government policy after independence due to increasing urban poverty. Land was initially allocated to co-operatives primarily for political support, creating tension between political patronage and environmental protection. Critics argue that authorities only accepted urban agriculture's reality two decades post-independence, driven by its potential for poverty reduction and economic development.

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.

Craig J. Thompson, Gökçen Coskuner-Balli · Journal of Consumer Research · Global

This paper argues that the corporatization of the organic food movement, typically seen as co-optation, can instead generate a countervailing market response. This response actively promotes the oppositional aspects of a counterculture that are attenuated by commercial mainstreaming. The study analyzes community-supported agriculture (CSA) as an example of this response to corporate co-optation.

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.

Y. Arocha, B. Piñol, B. Picornell, R. Almeida, P. Jones, E. Boa · Plant Pathology · Cuba

A 2005 survey in the 'Alamar' organoponic in Havana province, Cuba, observed typical phytoplasma-symptoms of little leaf and witches' broom in all basil (Ocimum basilicum) plants. DNA analysis of leaf samples from 27 symptomatic plants confirmed an association with a 16SrI group phytoplasma (Aster Yellows; 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris'). This report from Cuba is the first record of this new disease, for which the name basil little leaf is proposed.

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.

R. Robles · Revista Agraria · Mexico (Mexico City)

This paper provides an overview of urban agriculture in Mexico City and its conurban area, contrasting production models in developing and developed countries. It reviews the main urban, suburban, and peri-urban production systems and discusses public policies for promoting urban agriculture. The study concludes that no specific policy has been designed to promote urban agriculture in Mexico.

Nkawkaw Afriyie, Kofi Adziri, Yaw Asare, Amoako Gyamfi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana

A thematic analysis synthesized existing studies on community gardening impact measurement in Accra, Ghana, focusing on methodologies. While varied methods were reported, a notable theme emerged regarding the mixed results and challenges in accurately gauging the impact of community gardening on urban food security indicators, such as vegetable consumption rates among participants. This review underscores the importance of empirical data for understanding the effectiveness of urban agricultural interventions, but highlights methodological inconsistencies.

Anne C. Bellows · Food and Foodways · Poland

Polish allotment gardeners collectively represent the largest land managers in Poland, with a formalized urban allotment food production system dating back to 1997. This system, combining local and national government policy with NGO management and private use, provides a model for food security and urban open space. However, this arrangement also creates ongoing tension among stakeholders and a contentious debate regarding the private and public uses of urban land.

Brian Halweil · · Global

This book points out that the long-distance food system consumes staggering amounts of fuel, generates greenhouse gases, and compromises food security. Since 1961, the tonnage of food shipped between nations has grown fourfold, with food in the United States typically traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to plate. While this system often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, a local-foods movement is beginning to emerge globally.

Olufunke Cofie, R. van Veenhuizen, Pay Drechsel · · Sub-Saharan Africa

Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) significantly contributes to food supply, employment, livelihoods, and poverty alleviation in many Sub-Saharan African cities, providing diverse foods including perishable items. However, UPA production often carries health risks from polluted urban water and faces challenges due to limited semi-official recognition and support from city authorities, sometimes conflicting with planners regarding land tenure and water use. More data is needed for appropriate recognition of this sector.

Christopher M. Smith, Hilda E. Kurtz · Geographical Review · United States (New York City)

New York City community gardens have faced political contestation for thirty years, notably in 1999 when 114 gardens were slated for public auction and redevelopment. This article examines the controversy as a politics of scale, where garden advocates expanded the dispute beyond individual gardens and the city. The analysis highlights the significance of scale politics for grassroots organizations within a market-centric, neoliberal economic framework.

Joe Howe · Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning · United Kingdom

This article explores the neglect of research concerning food grown within urban areas and its land-use policy implications. It details findings from a UK study on land-use policy and urban agriculture, investigating land-use officials' attitudes and knowledge of urban food production and the regulatory framework used. The article concludes that despite extensive urban agriculture practice, its urban land-use policy implications require more attention from both land-use officials and researchers than previously given.