Research & reports

Claudia Marani, A. Lighezzolo, C. Bisio, Beatriz Giobellina, Diego Pons · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Argentina

This report, part of the SAT-CV-CBA Project, aims to inform provincial authorities and the community about the estimation of horticultural areas affected by extreme weather events in Córdoba, Argentina, at the end of January 2021. It estimates the number of farms, crop losses based on vulnerability, and storm intensity. The information is expected to be useful for supporting affected producers.

Mary Njoki Mwaura, Sabina Mukoya-Wangia, Japheth Ododa Origa, O.L.E. Mbatia, Evans Chimoita · Journal of Agricultural Extension · Kenya

A study of 149 respondents in Nairobi County examined urban and peri-urban agricultural practices, finding composting and open field farming popular but not the most profitable. More profitable practices like cattle rearing and mushroom farming were unpopular due to expensive inputs and specialized skills. The study indicates that popular practices are less profitable, highlighting a need for transformation towards controlled environment agriculture with policy support.

Seema Purushothaman, Sheetal Patil, Raghvendra S. Vanjari, A. R. Shwetha · · India (Bengaluru)

A participatory assessment in Byramangala, Bengaluru, explored farmers' perspectives on using wastewater (domestic sewage with industrial effluents) for irrigation. The study found that farmers were adapting to a heavily polluted environment, which resulted in restricted crop choices, lower produce prices, health impacts, and socio-cultural consequences. Despite concerns about water quality, farmers prioritized health-imparting agriculture and were keen to continue farming, but their preference for treated wastewater was overshadowed by its potential diversion for urban use.

Martin MASSOUANGUI-KIFOUALA · International journal of innovation and applied studies · Republic of Congo (Pointe-Noire)

This article analyzed precipitation data in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, using agronomic criteria and frequencies to understand rainy season behavior for agricultural planning. The study found that Pointe-Noire has a bimodal rainfall regime, allowing for two cultivation periods annually. However, the rainy seasons are very random, with increasingly late starts, early endings, and shortening durations over the years.

Camille Dumat · Aspects in Mining & Mineral Science · Global

This paper discusses the negative environmental and health impacts of mining, such as air and soil pollution, despite its socio-economic benefits. It highlights that urban agriculture, particularly in areas near former mining sites, faces challenges regarding soil quality and the production of unpolluted vegetables due to public concerns about contamination.

Dong BaoCheng, Wei Li, Wenyong Xu · Antibiotics · China

A field experiment in peri-urban agricultural soil in China investigated the effects of partially substituting chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizers like pig manure and sewage sludge on soil quality and antibiotic residues. Organic substitution significantly increased residual antibiotic levels in agricultural soil, with antibiotic sequestration rising by 138.1~332.5%. This indicated that organic fertilizers can promote antibiotic persistence in soil by modifying soil quality, demonstrating a contamination risk.

Solomon Tulu Tadesse, O. Oenema, Christy van Beek, Fikre Lemessa Ocho · Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering · Ethiopia

This study in Jimma, Ethiopia, from 2015-2050, used an N mass flow model and field experiments to explore manure recycling from urban livestock farms under four scenarios. It found that livestock manures are the main organic wastes in urban areas, and manure production in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is projected to increase 3 to 10 times. Critically, only 13% to 38% of manure nitrogen will be recycled in croplands, and intensification of urban livestock production greatly increased nitrogen surpluses, indicating a significant environmental tradeoff.

Zachary Burt, C. Shambu Prasad, Pay Drechsel, Isha Ray · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · India (Karnataka)

A preference-ranking model was developed to understand the acceptance of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) in Karnataka, India, by modeling farmowners and farmworkers separately. The study found that farmers willing to use FSF prefer to conceal its origins from workers and their caste group, especially caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners. Workers were open to FSF if it resembled cow manure, revealing that the waste economy in rural India is shaped by unacknowledged caste hierarchies and practices.

Maria Elena Peralta-Culcay, Hugo Alberto Cedillo-Tapia, Alfonso Suárez-Tapia · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Ecuador (Cuenca)

This research characterized the technological use among small (500-1000 m2) and medium (1000-3000 m2) peri-urban horticultural producers in San Joaquín, Baños, and Sayausí, Cuenca, Ecuador, using a survey. The survey found that most production is sold in local markets, following an ancestral system with some additional technology. The identified technological efficiency was at a medium level (3 on a scale of 1 to 5), indicating a technological deficit.

Xingjia Wang, Wenbo Li, Dongyan Wang, Songze Wu, Zhuoran Yan, Jiaqi Han · Ecological Indicators · China

A 'trinity' assessment method was developed to evaluate heavy-metal contamination in peri-urban soil–crop systems in Northeast China, covering total, available, and accumulated heavy metals. While traditional methods indicated less contamination, the trinity method revealed spatial clustering of heavy-metal contamination in cultivated lands caused by urbanization and industrialization, and a decreasing urban–rural trend in contaminated areas, particularly in transition zones.

Juliana Ojochide Olori, Ogechi Cordelia Nwahia, F. Siewe · Agricultural Social Economic Journal · Nigeria (Abuja)

A study analyzed savings mobilization for poverty alleviation among 185 peri-urban farming households in Kwali and Bwari Area Councils, Abuja, Nigeria, using cross-sectional primary data. The analysis revealed a poverty incidence of 49%, a poverty depth of 28%, and a poverty severity of 56% among the households. Findings indicated that primary occupation and education reduced the likelihood of not being poor but increased the likelihood of being very poor.

Pratik Mishra, Sumit Vij · · India (Gurugram)

Ethnographic research in Budhera, a peri-urban village bordering Gurugram city in Haryana, India, investigated the juxtaposition of urbanization processes and climate variability impacts on peri-urban agriculture. Results showed that dimensions of agrarian livelihoods, such as cropping choices, irrigation cycles, sharecropping arrangements, declining common property resources, and land use changes to non-agricultural uses, were influenced by urbanization processes. It was concluded that changes in land and water use reshape agricultural practices and can cascade upon climate variability impacts, making agriculture more precarious for peri-urban farmers.

Samuel Ziem Bonye, Gordon Yenglier Yiridomoh, Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile · International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development · Africa

A mixed-methods study in Wa Municipality, Ghana, examined how peri-urban agricultural land use change affected farmers' food security, surveying 235 smallholder farmers with questionnaires, interviews and GIS-based historical data. Over the past three decades, peri-urban agricultural land was drastically lost to residential and infrastructural development, and this land use change resulted in food insecurity, with most smallholder farmers unable to meet their food needs over the past decade.

Carolina Baldini, Mariana Edith Marasas, Andrea Alejandra Drozd · Journal of Environmental Planning and Management · Colombia

A land-cover change study (Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2021) applied a supervised classification of Landsat satellite imagery from 1986, 1996, 2005, and 2015 to Argentina's largest peri-urban horticultural region in South America. Between 1986 and 2015, open-field horticulture extent decreased by 51.47%, while greenhouse area increased by 2652.83%, high-density urbanization expanded by 111.58%, and low-density urbanization increased only between 1986 and 2005—expansion that came at the expense of natural grassland, herbaceous parks, and livestock land. The authors conclude this reflects a regional process of urban growth and productive intensification that has caused losses of open-field horticultural areas and produced a non-equitable distribution of remaining semi-natural areas, and they call for territorial planning that prioritizes ecologically resilient, semi-natural land cover.

Shrabana Mazumder, Joydeep Saha, Gouranga Nandi, Mrinmoyee Naskar, Jibananda Gayen, Debajit Datta · SN Applied Sciences · India

A study of the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, India, used free and open-source geospatial software and multi-temporal databases to assess land use/land cover change from 1990 to 2020, focusing on the transformation of urban and peri-urban agricultural land, and projected cropland change to 2030 using an artificial neural network module (MOLUSCE). Built-up areas persistently expanded into croplands, wetlands, vegetation, and water bodies throughout the period, with an estimated loss of 181.11 sq km of cropland between 1990 and 2020, concentrated in the northern, eastern, and south-eastern parts of the study area. The 2030 projection indicates a further loss of 15.46 sq km, bringing the cumulative cropland loss to 37.39% of its 1990 extent under current socio-economic and administrative conditions.

Laura Wynne, Laure‐Elise Ruoso, Dana Cordell, Brent Jacobs · Australian Geographer · Australia (Sydney)

This paper investigates metropolitan-level strategic planning documents in Sydney, Australia, using a Foucauldian governmentality approach, to understand how they relate to peri-urban agriculture. The analysis reveals that prevailing rationalities, including the global city, compact city, and sustainability agenda, frame the urbanization of peri-urban agricultural lands as necessary and inevitable. Consequently, peri-urban areas are not considered to have unique planning needs but are instead imagined as latent spaces for future housing and job development, integrating agriculture only when it aligns with the 'global city' narrative.

Paule Olivia Akotto, Dorothée Boccanfuso, Marie-Ève Yergeau · Cahiers de recherche · Global

This exploratory review synthesizes 35 reports and articles published between 1980 and 2019 to assess the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) to build resilience against poverty, food insecurity, and environmental challenges in developing countries. The review found that UPA creates one job for every 50 to 100 individuals, but these jobs are generally seasonal, and market access remains a significant constraint for farmers.

Tanmoy Roy Tusher, Md. Eusuf Sarker, Sumaya Nasrin, Tapos Kormoker, Ram Proshad, Md. Saiful Islam, Shamim Al Mamun, A. R. M. Tareq · Toxin Reviews · Bangladesh

This study investigated toxic metal and PAH contamination in rooftop soils and vegetables (red amaranth, spinach) in urban and peri-urban Bangladesh. Urban rooftop soil and vegetables were highly contaminated with toxic metals and PAHs compared to peri-urban samples. Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in urban vegetables exceeded safe limits. However, health risk indices indicated that the levels of toxic metals and PAHs in urban rooftop vegetables would not pose carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic health risks for adults and children, deeming them safe for consumption.

Idris Mohammed, Abdella Kosa, Nuredin Juhar · Agricultural and Food Economics · Ethiopia

This study assessed the economic linkage between urban development and the livelihood of peri-urban farming communities in Ethiopia, focusing on current practices and policies. Data was collected from 30 municipal officials and 200 evicted peri-urban farmers across five municipalities in the Amara regional state. Findings indicate that the continuous eviction of peri-urban farmers from their indigenous land for redevelopment negatively affects their livelihood, highlighting significant equity issues. Factors contributing to urban expansion include economic policy reform, private investor incentives, and public sector projects, further exacerbated by policy limitations and lack of municipal intervention.

Thomas Gilardi · Geography Notebooks · Argentina

In the Bonearense region, urban expansion is encroaching on fertile plains, impacting territorial characteristics. While urban and peri-urban agriculture contributes to food sustenance for the AMBA population, it has not been sufficiently recognized for green area recovery, organic waste recycling, and wastewater management. Regional authorities have begun to acknowledge urban agriculture's role in combating urban poverty, but local economic development faces challenges in mediating food security and recreational services amidst pressures from urban real estate and agro-industrial production.

Razzaq Ahmed, Shaukat Khan, Khalida Mahmood, Ahsanullah · Irrigation and Drainage · Pakistan (Karachi)

Agricultural activities in the Gadap Basin, Karachi, Pakistan, showed a declining trend over two decades from 1997 to 2016. Analysis of 13 irrigation water samples revealed that water quality had severely degraded, with sodium concentration substantially increasing, especially near sand and gravel excavation sites. While 100% of samples were suitable for irrigation in 1997, this dropped to almost 50% by 2016, and SAR also decreased, indicating irrigation water quality degradation. Satellite imagery further showed a 60% decline and degradation of agricultural land in the basin during the same period.

Mila Siti Fatimah, M.S Ir. Eko Hanudin, Ph. D. Toru Watanabe · · Vietnam

This study investigated heavy metal contamination in soils, vegetables, and irrigation water in peri-urban agricultural areas of Hue, Vietnam, from May 2018 to January 2019. Samples from three sites revealed that while irrigation water and agricultural soils were not seriously contaminated, 14% of vegetables were contaminated by Cr, 76% by Cd, and 47% by Pb. The consumption of vegetables was categorized as a tolerable health risk.

Esther Sanyé‐Mengual, Kathrin Specht, Jan Vávra, Martina Artmann, Francesco Orsini, Giorgio Gianquinto · Sustainability · Italy (Bologna)

This study compared perceptions of urban agriculture (UA) ecosystem services (ESs) among different societal groups in Bologna, Italy, namely UA project leaders, stakeholders, and the general public, with 406 individuals evaluating 25 ESs via a standardized Likert-scale survey. Statistical analysis indicated that the general public and UA stakeholders agreed on the high relevance of socio-cultural ESs, while provisioning ESs were considered less significant. This study reveals a lower perception of provisioning ESs from urban agriculture.

F. Waswa, M. Mwamburi, I. I. C. Wakindiki, Roseline Chemutai · Journal of applied science and environmental management · Kenya

This study focused on soil physicochemical properties and fertility management in Ruiru Sub County, a peri-urban area in Kiambu County, Kenya. Soil samples from ten small contact farms (~0.1 ha) were analyzed, revealing that most farmers were tenants growing leafy vegetables, maintaining soil fertility with organic manures, and performing tillage by hand. These practices signal limitations imposed by small farm size and lack of land ownership, with soil fertility primarily limited by the interaction of soil pH, K, and Ca.

Fatiha Hakimi, Mohamed Brech · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Morocco

This study assessed the practices, potentials, and constraints of peri-urban agriculture (PUA) in Rabat Metropolis, Morocco, using field observation, interviews, and surveys with 50 randomly selected farmers. While PUA contributes to economic development, employment, and food supply, the study found significant legal constraints, including the absence of regulating laws and the obligation for some farmers to pay housing taxes. Technical constraints such as insufficient workforce, high labor costs, difficult access to irrigation water, and lack of training also hinder PUA growth.