Research & reports

Guo Xiao-ha · Anhui nongye kexue · Global

A discussion of the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in China. While CSA has advantages over traditional agricultural production and sales models, the paper identifies limitations including heavy demands on labor and material resources, higher prices for agricultural products, difficulty building trust between producers and consumers, and loss of membership.

Ricardo da Silva Claudio, Souto de Sousa J uacute nior Francisco, Ismael de Souza Francisco, da Silva Dias Nildo, Nogueira de Sousa Neto Osvaldo, Cruz Portela Jeane, Cl aacute udia Medeiros Souza Ana, Christina Nascimento Porto Vania · African Journal of Agricultural Research · Brazil

A participatory action-research project in a community garden in Bom Jesus, Campo Grande, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, tested irrigating organic vegetables (coriander, chive, tomato, rocket) with reject brine from a water desalination/treatment station. All species irrigated with the saline waste water showed yield losses of 25.30% to 26.7% compared with conventional fresh-water irrigation, though some biomass was still produced, and the project changed residents' views on disposing of and reusing the saline waste.

National Audit Office · National Audit Office (NAO) · United Kingdom

An investigation published by the UK National Audit Office on 29 October 2015. The children's charity Kids Company received at least £46 million of public funding over fifteen years, £28 million of it from the Department for Education. In 2008 it took 20 per cent of the funding available under one programme, and in 2011 it received over twice the amount given to any other grant recipient. Officials raised sustainability concerns in six separate briefings between 2002 and 2015, yet funding continued outside competitive processes; the charity closed insolvent on 5 August 2015 and around 1,900 cases were passed to local authorities.

Georgia Graham · Channel 4 News · United Kingdom

A fact-check on Kids Company, the charity founded in 1996 that operated in London and Bristol. It claimed to reach 36,000 children by 2015 and had received £46 million of public money over fifteen years — £44 million from central government, £28 million of that from the Department for Education. Its 2013 annual income was £23 million, 20 per cent from government and 77 per cent from private donations. The piece notes that government oversight relied on the charity's own self-assessments, with no independent verification of outcomes or beneficiary numbers.

Emily Gustafsson-Wright, Sophie Gardiner, Vidya Putcha · Brookings Institution · Global

A Brookings Institution report published on 9 July 2015 examining the 38 impact bond deals in existence as of 1 March 2015, with six more contracted by July. It defines impact bond structures, inventories existing deals, sets out policy frameworks and the motivations of each type of stakeholder, and tests the claims made for impact bonds. The authors express cautious optimism while stressing that the field remains nascent and needs greater transparency and continued research.

Chiara Tornaghi · Progress in Human Geography · Global

This paper defines the scope and an initial agenda for a critical geography of urban agriculture, noting that despite growing interest across disciplines, it remains a marginal field in human geography. Beyond rhetoric, urban agriculture raises questions for critical geographers, particularly regarding its role in reshaping urban landscapes and experimenting with alternatives to capitalist urban organization. The paper highlights that urban agriculture is sometimes establishing embryonic forms of recreating the Commons.

Melissa N. Poulsen, Marie L. Spiker, Peter J. Winch · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States (Baltimore)

This study explored the perceived importance of community buy-in for urban farming, along with its barriers, facilitators, and strategies, through participant observation at urban farms and interviews with urban farmers, neighborhood leaders, residents, and key stakeholders in Baltimore, Maryland. Findings revealed that residents' unfamiliarity with urban farming, concerns about negative neighborhood impacts, and perceptions of urban farms as "outsider projects" were barriers to buy-in. Strategies for gaining buy-in were shown to follow three main phases: gaining entry into a neighborhood, introducing the urban farm idea, and engaging the neighborhood.

Harry Kasumba, Tabukeli Musigi Ruhiiga · Journal of Human Ecology · Global

This literature review explored the potential of Structural Path Analysis (SPA) for investigating urban agriculture. The review found that urban agriculture has not yet attracted scholarship using the SPA technique. It also identified that smaller geographical areas often lack applicable databases for SPA, and a critical requirement for SPA is a developed system of continuous record-keeping by participants, which is often absent.

Suleiman Mkwela Hawa · Journal of Geography and Regional Planning · Tanzania (Dar Es Salaam)

This study assessed the governance of urban agriculture (UA) in Kinondoni Municipality, Dar Es Salaam City, Tanzania, through the perceptions of 24 local leaders. Unstructured interviews focused on leadership quality, infrastructure provision, and farmers' land rights. The leaders generally perceived limited efforts and plans to support UA in the municipality based on these criteria.

Zogo Ndomo, Yannick Emmanuel · Bulletin of animal health and production in Africa · Global

Urban agriculture in developing countries is a vital asset in the livelihood strategies of urban households, having expanded rapidly over the last two decades and contributing to income generation for unqualified workforces. However, the illegal status of urban agriculture has created a governance vacuum, necessitating policy formulation and institutionalized management to secure land for the urban poor and improve food security and the environment. Political leaders have a role in regulating this sector.

Rafaela Soto Ortíz, Michael Peña Smith, Idia Concepción, Islay García Hernández · Revista Científica Agroecosistemas · Cuba (Cienfuegos)

In Cienfuegos province, Cuba, limiting factors and seed production quality were identified through a non-experimental, longitudinal study from 2001 to 2012. The investigation revealed a decreasing trend in seed production levels and genetic erosion at the Company of Several Seeds in Cienfuegos, with basic seed categories declining and producers lacking necessary knowledge. Productive infrastructure, resource availability, climate change impacts, and insufficient knowledge were identified as key limiting factors.

Rachel Surls, Gail Feenstra, Sheila Golden, Ryan E. Galt, Shermain Hardesty, Claire Napawan, Cheryl Wilen · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (California)

Urban agriculture (UA) in California has been slower to gain momentum compared to other urban states, partly due to limited availability of relevant information and technical assistance for urban farmers and municipal decision-makers. A University of California Cooperative Extension project is developing web-based educational resources based on a needs assessment, which includes a literature review, an internal survey of personnel, and community interviews. Preliminary findings indicate challenges in supporting urban farming due to resource constraints and information gaps.

Dorottya Szabó, Szabó, Dorottya · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Hungary

This study examines the situation of short supply chains (SSC) in Hungary. It highlights that developing SSC in Hungary is not an easy task, as small farmers typically have weak cooperation and lobbying skills. While traditional direct marketing is common, innovative forms of SSC are rare.

Prem José Vazhacharickal, Sumita Gupta Gangopadhyay · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · India

This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in India, focusing on wastewater irrigation and its associated human health risks. The study identifies potential health hazards for farmers, laborers, and consumers, including microbial pathogens and helminth (intestinal parasites). While UPA is presented as an option to address urban food demand, the paper emphasizes that "good practice UPA" requires integrated approaches and suitable risk reduction mechanisms to improve safety.

Chen Ao Nan · 农民致富之友 · China (Wudang District)

A field survey conducted on agricultural parks in Wudang District, Guizhou Province, China, studied the development status, progress, and existing problems of the Wudang District Cherry Modern High-Efficiency Agricultural Demonstration Park. The findings indicated that while the park's construction progressed rapidly and orderly with some innovations in its operating mechanism, it also faced many problems and difficulties.

Margot J. Pollans · Pace Digital Repository (Pace University) · United States

This article examines the various roles law plays in the cultivation of urban agriculture. It argues that despite growing enthusiasm for urban agriculture, serious equity and ecological concerns exist within the forms of modern urban agriculture, recommending that careful strategic planning should align the implementation of available legal tools to address these concerns.

Duncan Hilchey · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

A study in the late 1990s investigated small-scale grower cooperatives in the northeastern United States, which had annual sales of US$5 million or less. It found many barriers to growth, including managers' difficulties in balancing diverse member interests, meeting buyer standards, and operating in a high-cost, low-price business. The Northeast Federation of Family-Farm Cooperatives (NEFFCO), a proposed support group, did not last beyond its grant period, indicating challenges in sustaining such initiatives.

Pay Drechsel, Andrew Adam‐Bradford, Liqa Raschid-Sally, Drechsel, Pay, Adam-Bradford, A., Raschid-Sally, Liqa · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Ghana

This chapter introduces urbanization in West Africa, particularly Ghana, the general role of urban agriculture, and the common use of polluted irrigation water. It focuses on irrigated smallholder vegetable production, reflecting on the key challenges, dynamics, and resilience of this farming system.

H.W. Kamwele, George Mark Onyango, George G. Wagah, Maria Nyström · Chalmers Publication Library (Chalmers University of Technology) · Kenya

This paper examines the legal and policy framework affecting urban agriculture development in Eldoret Municipality, Kenya, through a case study involving interviews with government officials and review of various acts and bylaws. It found that while national legislation allows for urban agriculture, there is no specific policy for it, and Eldoret Municipality tolerates the practice despite its illegality. The study concludes that the awareness of urban farming's importance has not translated into formal recognition in bylaws and ordinances.

Taibat Lawanson, Olabode Orelaja, Michael Simire · African Journal of Science Technology Innovation and Development · Nigeria (Lagos)

This case study investigated the effects of climate change on agricultural activities in the Igbe Farming Community, Lagos, Nigeria, by surveying 161 farmers. The study found that most migrant farmers leased plots annually or biennially and made marginal profits of $200 to $350 per farming cycle. Erratic weather patterns and aggressive urban growth were major challenges, leading 48% of respondents to engage in informal enterprises.

Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · Espaces et sociétés · Global

This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three Southern cities, despite its limited consideration in urban planning policies. In Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), farmers secure access to productive resources through social relations. In Metro Manila (Philippines), local actor networks ensure the sustainability of practices. In Saint-Louis (Senegal), farmers' self-initiated organizations enable them to assert their interests with urban authorities, highlighting the challenge of urban agriculture not being adequately integrated into planning policies.

Tim Cashion, I. Forbes, Irena Knežević · · Canada

This preliminary study in Nova Scotia, Canada, explored the initiation and sustainability of community food initiatives through in-depth interviews with coordinators. The research identified that these initiatives are in a precarious state due to reliance on volunteers, land ownership issues, and a lack of consistent funding. Despite these challenges, they persist through community support and coordinator dedication.

Luke Drake · Urban Geography · Global

This study analyzed six case studies of community gardens, categorized by grassroots, externally-organized, and active nonprofit management, to examine how "community" definitions influence participation or resistance in urban food production. The analysis highlights specific organizational and management moments that affect engagement, scrutinizing community gardens as sites of governmentality that produce neoliberal subjects.

Andrew Zitcer · Antipode · United States (Philadelphia)

This article explored the paradox of exclusivity in consumer food cooperatives in the United States, focusing on two food co-ops in Philadelphia, PA. The study found that exclusivity manifests in the co-ops' sales, business practices, and marketing, inadvertently excluding certain practices and people. This paradox hinders co-ops from fully realizing their transformative social and economic potential.

Julia Laidlaw, Liam Magee · Local Environment · Global

This paper explores stakeholder experiences of community-based urban aquaponics enterprises in Milwaukee and Melbourne using a comparative case study methodology and in-depth interviews. It aims to understand the internal and external factors impacting their success or failure. The study highlights challenges in establishing these enterprises.