Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
135 results(4 / 6)
Vegetable production and nematodes infestation: Impacts on small-scale farming communities of South Africa
2020Oso Adeola Abiola · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · South Africa
This review discusses vegetable production in South Africa, focusing on the impacts of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne species) on small-scale farming communities. The review highlights that these nematodes are a primary pest, causing delayed crop maturity, reduced yields, poor quality produce, and escalating production costs. This leads to substantial income losses for farmers and the abandonment of community gardens, intensifying challenges for vegetable production and food security.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceOrganic cycleROOFTOP FARMING: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL FARMING FOR URBAN SUSTAINABILITY
2019Jha Ritesh Kumar, Bhattarai Natasha, KC Suraj, Shrestha Arjun Kumar, Kadariya Manahar · Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Agricultural · Nepal
This research inspected existing practices and obstacles in rooftop farming in Nagdhungha and Birauta, Nepal. Two practitioners were interviewed and 60 non-practitioners were surveyed. Results show that rooftop farming can benefit the environment by reducing atmospheric carbon and assist urban areas by reducing stormwater management costs, with a high willingness to practice rooftop farming among urban dwellers.
Economic viabilityDIYCommunityBiodiversityClimate changeUrban agriculture: boon or bust?
2019Martin Stuchtey, Tilmann Vahle · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Global
This paper discusses different types of urban agriculture (UA) to assess its potential for future food production. Conventional open-air farming is found to be rarely commercially viable for meaningful food production, though it offers community, educational, psychological, and environmental benefits. High-yielding Controlled Environment Farming (CEF), while potentially contributing substantially to food output, is highly capital and knowledge-intensive and likely to develop at city fringes due to economic considerations.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityFood educationClimate change도시농업에 대한 참여 동기와 태도, 장애요인으로 분석한 일자리 창출: 대구 청년농부를 중심으로
2019오익근, 서정아, 장승옥 · 한국지역개발학회지 · South Korea
A focus group interview with young urban farmers in Daegu, South Korea, explored job creation through urban farming. Participants perceived farming as physically demanding and unrewarding, despite seeing urban farming as a promising industry for job creation. They also noted a lack of national support policies and difficulties in participation. A contradiction was identified between the young farmers' desire to adopt labor-saving new technologies and the goal of creating jobs through traditional farming.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyDigital agricultureCommunityTECHNICAL-PRODUCTIVE AND SOCIOECONOMIC LIMITATIONS TO THE ADOPTION OF URBAN AGRICULTURE. THE CASE OF THE URBAN AND PERI-URBAN AGRICULTURE NETWORK OF XALAPA, VERACRUZ
2019Guadalupe Del Ángel-Lozano, Martha Elena Nava-Tablada · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Mexico
This study analyzed technical-productive and socioeconomic limitations to urban agriculture adoption within the Urban and Periurban Agriculture Network (RAUP) in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Based on 25 questionnaires from active members and 10 from sporadic participants, both groups agreed that the main constraints are socioeconomic, such as lack of space and limited free time, which are linked to urban lifestyles. Technical-productive limitations were not considered relevant.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceLIMITANTES TÉCNICO-PRODUCTIVAS Y SOCIOECONÓMICAS PARA LA ADOPCIÓN DE LA AGRICULTURA URBANA. EL CASO DE LA RED DE AGRICULTURA URBANA Y PERIURBANA DE XALAPA, VERACRUZ
2019Guadalupe Del Ángel-Lozano, Martha Elena Nava-Tablada · Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems · Mexico (Xalapa)
This study analyzed technical-productive and socioeconomic limitations to urban agriculture adoption among members of the Network of Urban and Periurban Agriculture (RAUP) in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Researchers applied 25 questionnaires to active members and 10 to non-practicing participants. Both groups of RAUP participants identified socioeconomic factors, such as lack of space and limited free time due to urban lifestyles, as the main constraints, while technical-productive limitations were not considered relevant.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsPeri-urban agricultureThe potential of urban agriculture towards a more sustainable urban food system in food-insecure neighbourhoods in Cape Town and Maputo
2019Nicole Paganini, Stefanie Lemke, Inês Raimundo · ECONOMIA AGRO-ALIMENTARE · Sub-Saharan Africa
This research explored the potential of urban agriculture in Cape Town, South Africa, and Maputo, Mozambique, through two baseline surveys among urban farmers and home gardeners, as well as qualitative in-depth interviews. Findings indicated that urban farmers and home gardeners add nutrients and diversity to their diets and can partly contribute to their income. However, in Cape Town, main challenges included access to local and external markets, fair pricing, and sovereignty in production.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsCommunityRe-conceptualizing urban agriculture: an exploration of farming along the banks of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India
2019Jessica Cook, Kate Oviatt, Deborah S. Main, Harpreet Kaur, John Brett · · India (Delhi)
This paper explores market-oriented urban agriculture along the Yamuna River in Delhi, India, from the farmers' perspective. Using a multi-method Rapid Assessment Process, the study investigates how urban agriculture is practiced and what factors influence farmers' livelihood decisions. The research argues against assuming the sustainability of urban agriculture, emphasizing the need to understand city-level conditions and their impact on farmers' economic viability.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageOn the Path to a Resilient Urban Food System in a Rural State: A Mixed-Method Needs Assessment of Urban Producers and County Extension Agents in Arkansas
2019Catherine Dobbins · Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science · United States (Arkansas)
This mixed-method needs assessment in Arkansas investigated urban agriculture, using interviews with 16 urban farmers and a quantitative survey of County Extension Agents (CEAs) with a 57% response rate. Farmers expressed varied needs, and while they viewed the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) positively, CES lacked specific resources for small-scale sustainable farming. The survey revealed that 70.2% of CEAs reported low or nonexistent concentrations of urban farming in their counties, indicating potential barriers for agents to work with urban farmers.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageThe Role of Urban Agriculture in Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability in Africa
2019Lemi Gonfa · · Africa
This paper reviewed the role of urban agriculture in socio-economic and environmental sustainability in Africa, drawing on theoretical and empirical literature. While urban agriculture is recognized for job creation, improved diet, and environmental benefits like urban greenery and biodiversity, challenges such as difficult land access, lack of experience, financial support, training, and credit facilities, as well as low land productivity, animal grazing, and theft, were identified. These factors present potential negative externalities and hinder the development of urban agriculture.
Economic viabilityEconomicsHealthCommunityPolicySustainability of Urban Agriculture: Vegetable Production on Green Roofs
2018S. Alan Walters, Karen Stoelzle Midden · Agriculture · Global
Vegetable production on green roofs faces multiple challenges, resulting in minimal current activity despite its potential for urban agricultural sustainability. While intensive green roof systems are considered suitable for vegetable production, extensive systems with shallow-rooted crops like lettuce, kale, and radish show the greatest potential for sustained productivity due to building weight restrictions. Deeper-root crops like tomatoes require constant monitoring of fertility and moisture. Green roofs are not presented as a total solution for urban food provision.
Economic viabilityDIYCommunityClimate changeEconomicsCommunity‐supported agriculture in the United States: Social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming
2018Mark Paul · Journal of Agrarian Change · United States (Massachusetts)
This paper evaluates the livelihoods of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmers in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts from their perspective. Results indicate that while CSA farmers earn more farm income than other U.S. farms on average, they still earn far below the median national income and generally fail to earn a living wage. Despite these economic findings, farmers stressed the importance of broader social, ecological, and economic benefits to farming. The study concludes that CSA has largely failed to provide adequate livelihoods for farmers to date.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityThe Diversity We Are Given: Community Economies and the Promise of Bataille
2018Mitch Rose · Antipode · United States (Detroit)
This paper discusses the Detroit urban farming movement, conceptualizing the economy as an over-productive and wasteful system of energy exchange. It argues that the inefficient, redundant, and wasteful nature of urban farming in Detroit is an appropriation of potentialities within the general economy. The study highlights that diversity is not a result of positive relations but emerges from the prolific nature of the general economy.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceA sustainable food-system?
2018Annie Svensson · · Sweden
This research investigated the economic sustainability of 14 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in Sweden through interviews. The study found that Swedish CSA farms had difficulties covering labor costs and suffered from inefficiency, indicating weak economic sustainability. The study did not identify specific approaches or business models that were more conducive to higher profitability.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityA AGRICULTURA URBANA E SUAS FUNCIONALIDADES EM MONTES CLAROS, MG: PROPOSTAS DE EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA MULTIDISCIPLINAR
2018Cristh Ellen Ferreira Pinheiro, Hélder dos Anjos Augusto, Cledinado Aparecido Dias, Fábio da Silva Gonçalves, Marcelo Oliveira · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)
This study in Montes Claros, MG, Brazil, investigated the reality of urban farmers commercializing vegetable production to propose multidisciplinary extension and research actions. It identified agricultural production regions, the main functions of urban agriculture from the farmers' perspective, and the difficulties faced by these producers. The analysis highlighted the need for multidisciplinary approaches due to the identified demands, implying challenges in economic viability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsFood educationCommunityWhat Prohibit CSA Membership Renewals? Identifying Barriers of CSA Participation
2018Jun‐Hong Chen, Zhifeng Gao, Lisha Zhang, Chen, Junhong, Gao, Zhifeng, Zhang, Lisha · 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida · United States
This study applied quantitative methods to identify barriers that prohibit CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) participation or factors affecting unsubscribe from CSA membership. Based on 780 responses collected from a national consumer survey, only 6% of the total sample were current CSA members. The top two reasons for unsubscribing from CSA membership were preferring farmer's markets and not cooking at home. On the other hand, the top two important factors for participation in CSA were supporting local and family farms.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiEconomicsCommunityPerception of Community Residents on Supporting Urban Agriculture in Malaysian City: Case Study at Bukit Mertajam
2018Pushpawani Ramaloo, Choong-Yeun Liong, Chamhuri Siwar, Anizan Isahak · · Malaysia
In the Taman Desa Damai community of Bukit Mertajam City, Penang State, Malaysia, in-depth interviews and observations were conducted with 15 community residents to investigate the influences of urban agriculture on social, economic, and environmental benefits. The study found that while community farming is significant in realizing the potential of the residential community, it faces obstacles to long-term sustainability.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban Agriculture, Food Justice, and Neoliberal Urbanization
2017Michelle Glowa · · United States (San Francisco)
In the San Francisco region, highly competitive land markets increasingly force landowners to use properties for purposes other than gardening, despite the popularity of urban agriculture. This situation compels gardeners to develop strategies to gain and maintain land access, linking gardening to broader land politics and urban design. The chapter explores how gardeners influence space production and property institutions.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyCommunityEconomicsSustainability of ecology and economic of urban farming development: case study in Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province
2017Abdullah, Abdullah, Gufran Darma Dirawan, Nurlita Pertiwi · Eprints (Universitas Negeri Makassar) · Indonesia (Makassar)
A study analyzing the sustainability level of urban farming in Makassar City, Indonesia, found that the overall urban farming sustainability index was 48.52%, indicating a "less sustainable" status. The ecological dimension was rated 42.66% as "less sustainable," while the economic dimension was 50.69% as "fairly sustainable."
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changeCommunityOs dilemas da agricultura urbana: a experiência da maior e mais antiga horta orgânica do Vale do São Francisco
2017Denes Dantas Vieira, Reimilde Gomes da Silva Amorim · EXTRAMUROS - Revista de Extensão da Univasf · Brazil (Juazeiro)
This study aimed to investigate the dilemmas of the social trajectory of the Povo Unido community garden in Juazeiro/BA, Brazil, located on the banks of the São Francisco River. This garden is known for its organic vegetable production and as one of the first groups focused on overcoming poverty and combating hunger in Brazil's semi-arid northeast. The research contributes to reflection based on social organization and organic food production.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceChallenges for the revitalisation of peri-urban agriculture in Spain: Territorial analysis of the Madrid and Oviedo metropolitan areas
2017Nerea Morán Alonso, Ícaro Obeso Muñiz, Agustín Hernández Aja, Felipe Fernández García · Moravian Geographical Reports · Spain
This paper analyzed the evolution of peri-urban agriculture in Spain's Madrid and Oviedo metropolitan areas to identify revitalization opportunities. Using aerial images and cartographic bases, the study found that peri-urban agriculture has suffered from urban occupation and internal changes in crops and agricultural uses, experiencing a process of decline. Innovative initiatives are explored as potential revitalization opportunities.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsCommunityAssessment of the Influence of Urban Agriculture on Household Income. Evidence from Kogi State, Nigeria
2016S. J. Ibitoye, U Shaibu, Firdaus Sale, Oroka Frank · International Journal of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences · Nigeria (Kogi State)
This study assessed the influence of urban agriculture on household income in Kogi State, Nigeria, using data from 120 urban farmers. Urban agriculture was found to increase household income at a 90% confidence level. However, urban farmers faced significant constraints including inadequate capital (M=2.9), poor extension services (M=2.4), and high labor costs (M=2.2).
Economic viabilityEconomicsWelfareCommunityInventing Eco-Cycle
2016Sandy Smith‐Nonini · Anthropology in Action · United States
This article discusses lessons learned from Eco-Cycle, a social enterprise supporting sustainability education in central North Carolina, U.S.A., since 2011. Eco-Cycle faced the challenge that many social justice-oriented green initiatives emulating urban agriculture models are grant-dependent in early years and achieve economic sustainability with difficulty. However, this non-profit co-op of upcycler crafters and vintage vendors grew from the production and marketing of upcycled rain barrels, pursuing economic sustainability through a social enterprise approach.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityPolicyThe Black Bear Food Guild: Student-Run Community Supported Agriculture From Roots to Fruition
2016Sara L. Lyons · DigitalCommons (California Polytechnic State University) · United States
The University of Maine Black Bear Food Guild is an entirely student-run Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation that offers student learning and work opportunities. Despite providing various benefits, the Black Bear Food Guild requires financial support to expand its program and ensure its sustained success, indicating a critical need for funding to maintain its future viability.
Economic viabilityCSA & TeikeiCommunityFood educationEconomicsUrban farming in the North American metropolis: Rethinking work and distance in alternative food networks
2016Diana Mincytė, Karin Dobernig · Environment and Planning A Economy and Space · North America
This article examines manual work in urban farming within alternative food networks in the Northeastern United States, based on ethnographic fieldwork and 40 interviews. The analysis reveals that while manual work counters alienation, it also reproduces consumer society institutions and reinforces neoliberal values like productivity and self-improvement. Urban farms function as "experiential production" sites, where the farming experience is continuously commodified despite re-embedding in community and environment.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justice