Research & reports

Stephen R. Miller · · United States (Newark, New Jersey)

This article proposes a new approach to financing local food, viewing it as a finance problem similar to urban manufacturing, to scale up local food production. It explores the necessity of large-scale urban agriculture, focusing on vertical farms, and examines creative financing examples like AeroFarms in Newark, New Jersey. The paper suggests deploying existing and potential financing types, modeled on economic development agreements, to advance local food initiatives.

Sara Parme · Educational Media Reviews Online · Global

The documentary film "Plant This Movie" (2014, 83 min) explores our relationship with food and the wasted space and resource of the 21st-century lawn. This film, one of many similar documentaries on urban farming, proposes learning from and improving upon past mistakes of the Green Movement. It notes that many agricultural nonprofits, including one highlighted, fail due to lack of funding, and while it suggests sustainability efforts should be run like a business, only a fraction of the film is dedicated to this aspect.

Silene Maciel dos Santos, Samuel Ferreira da Fonseca, Luiz Andrei Gonçalves Pereira · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Brazil (Pirapora-MG)

This study analyzed the spatial distribution of urban agricultural activities in the Sagrada Família neighborhood, Pirapora-MG, Brazil, through a literature review. It examined urban agriculture practices, their socio-economic role, and the problems and challenges faced by urban agriculture actors in the neighborhood. The study concluded that the identified issues suggest urban agriculture as an emancipatory process.

Gabriel R. Valle · Aztlán A Journal of Chicano Studies · United States

This essay explores the self-valorization of work in community gardens to advance a grounded theory of time and value, which has been lacking in Chicana/o studies. Urban community gardens are pivotal to the environmental justice movement, with Chicana/os playing a central role. The essay proposes a revolutionary logic of labor through reframing time and value, aiming to reconnect community gardeners to the means of their own production and reproduction. By creating "gardens of sabotage," communities challenge capitalism by reclaiming the value of work and confronting orthodox notions of economy, work, citizenship, community, and time.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Song Pin · Anhui nongye kexue · Global

This paper examines the obstacles and forming factors in project financing for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), identifying problems such as imperfect investment entities, unclear financing objectives, and single investment methods and channels. Using a four-stakeholder model (project investors, national policy, CSA, and consumers), the study elaborates on the causes of these financing difficulties. It proposes solutions including strengthening CSA's brand and marketing to cultivate loyal customers, and leveraging government, financial institutions, and private capital to address financing challenges.

Evan Weissman · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (New York City)

This case study in Brooklyn, New York, used mixed qualitative research methods to investigate the political possibilities of urban agriculture for fostering food justice. Findings indicate that problematic contradictions rooted in the neoliberalization of urban agriculture limit the transformative possibilities of farming the city as currently practiced in Brooklyn. The study suggests that longstanding agrarian questions are informative for critically interrogating urban agriculture as a politicization of food.

Erin Silva, Fengxia Dong, Paul D. Mitchell, John Hendrickson · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States (Wisconsin)

A survey of Wisconsin-certified organic vegetable farmers investigated the relationships between farm characteristics, marketing strategies, and farmers' perceptions of profitability and quality of life. The data indicated that farmers selling into farmers' markets and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) were more likely to be dissatisfied with their profitability. Conversely, farmers selling into wholesale markets and restaurants/institutions were significantly more likely to be dissatisfied with their quality of life.

Salwa Tohmé Tawk, Mounir Abi Said, S.K. Hamadeh · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global

This study in the Middle East and North Africa region investigated the relationship between urban agriculture and food security in two peri-urban locations: Bebnine, Lebanon, and Wadi el Seer, Jordan. High food insecurity was prevalent in both locations, demonstrating that producers were more food insecure than non-producers. Food security was found to be strongly associated with poverty and the number of household members.

Daniel Haberman, Laura A. Gillies, Aryeh Canter, Valentine Rinner, Laetitia Pancrazi, Federico Martellozzo · ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information · Canada

This study used multiple land use scenarios to assess different spaces in Montréal, including residential gardens, industrial rooftops, and vacant land, that could be allocated to vegetable production. Results indicated that implementing hydroponics on industrial rooftops could easily satisfy Montréal's vegetable demand, though these operations are generally costly. Utilizing only vacant space also has the potential to meet the city's demand with lower operating costs.

Laura Oliven Silberfarb, Sonja Savre, Gayle Geber · Preventing Chronic Disease · United States (Hennepin County)

Hennepin County assessed the extent to which 41 cities were engaged in making policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes to increase residents' access to healthful food. Results revealed that some cities, particularly those with higher resident demand for healthful food, are making nationally recommended PSE changes, such as sponsoring farmers markets. However, cities moved more slowly to make changes in areas with perceived negative cost consequences or lesser public demand, such as parks and recreation vending.

Kizito K. Mwajombe · · Tanzania

This study investigated urban agriculture (UA) produce marketing in three Tanzanian municipalities. Findings showed UA farmers lacked pre-arranged contracts with buyers, limiting their marketing, and faced problems including poor packaging, bylaws, taxes, and difficulty meeting consumer preferences. Farmers also lacked direct links to retail and consumer units like supermarkets.

Y. Saleh, Amul M. Badr, F. El Banna, A. Shahata · Science World Journal · Nigeria

Using a combination of remote sensing and GIS, this study assessed the rate of agricultural land-use change in the Kaduna metropolis, Nigeria, between 1980 and 2012, classifying and comparing four satellite images (Landsat MSS 1980, Landsat TM 1990, Landsat ETM+ 2005, and Nigeria Sat X 2012). The study found a significant reduction in agricultural land and continued disappearance of farmland over the period, which it links to loss of livelihoods, reduced food supply, and increased poverty. It states that this has raised concerns about the sustainability of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) production in the study area, with small-scale farmers the most affected.

Leandro Pessoa Lucena, Francisco José Kliemann Neto, Fernanda Mariano Massuia, Leonardo Donizete Fanti · RAI revista de administração e inovação · Canada

Against the backdrop of demographic projections that global population will reach 9.4 billion within the next 50 years, requiring an additional area of fertile land roughly the size of Brazil that does not exist on the planet, this study evaluated the economic viability of a Canadian vertical farm model as a sustainable urban-rural food production alternative. Using the NCIC method via a participant-observer approach, the study reported the model as economically viable and sustainable, as well as innovative in flattening production chains.

Michela Felicetti · Advanced engineering forum · Italy

A paper examining whether the food hub concept can be applied to the Piana di Sibari area of Calabria, Italy, designated a Quality Agrifood District (DAQ) under regional law. After identifying features of the food hub concept within the area's largest cooperative, the paper argues that this arrangement represents an opportunity for small farmers to access conventional food supply chains from which they would otherwise be excluded. It frames food hubs as a hybrid of alternative and conventional food networks and, notably, as a way to address the economic viability problem faced by local food initiatives such as community-supported agriculture (CSA)—that is, the paper's premise is that CSA-type local food initiatives struggle to be economically viable on their own.

C.F.A. van Wesenbeeck, Valentijn Venus, M.A. Keyzer, B. Wesselman, D. Asare Kye · · Africa

This study examined two tomato production areas in Burkina Faso with potential for counter-seasonal production aimed at Ghanaian urban markets, identifying the main obstacles to developing a horticultural supply chain: the monopsony power of Ghanaian traders and insufficient road quality causing high mechanical-damage losses in transport. Using a spatial-temporal simulation model to assess transport effects on tomato quality, the study found refrigerated transport is not a necessary condition for successful trade, since climate conditions alone do not severely harm quality, and concluded that regional diversification of exports offers Burkina Faso producers the best opportunities for improving their position in the chain, given the persistent trader monopsony and infrastructure constraints.

Ryan E. Galt · Economic Geography · United States (California)

A study of 54 Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in California's Central Valley used qualitative and quantitative data to explain farmers' earnings. An ordinary least squares regression analysis revealed that farmers' age, number of employees, and CSA type strongly influence earnings. The study found that the moral economy of CSA often results in self-exploitation due to farmers' strong sense of obligation to members, despite allowing for economic rents.

Soraya Pourjavid, Hassan Sadighi, Hossein Shabanali Fami · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Iran (Tehran)

This study identified constraints affecting urban agriculture in Tehran, Iran, by surveying 320 city dwellers across 22 municipal districts. The most important constraints identified were "high start-up costs" and "lack of knowledge among managers and authorities." Factor analysis revealed seven factors explaining 67.36% of the variance, including financial-economic and technical aspects.

Wen-jiang Li, Linjun Li, Guoyu Qiu · Journal of Integrative Agriculture · China (Shenzhen)

Water and electricity-use patterns in Shenzhen, South China, were analyzed from 2001 to 2009. Water and electricity use per GDP in agriculture was the highest among sectors, indicating inefficiency. Traditional agriculture in Shenzhen will not be sustainable during urbanization and industrialization, except for high-tech intensive agriculture with low water and energy costs, and has been gradually substituted by industry, construction, residential life, and services.