Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
17 results
Integrating vertical and urban farming into sustainable food systems: a comprehensive review
2026Thulisekari Prasanna, Guda Bhargavi, Murugesan Mohana Keerthi · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global
This comprehensive review synthesizes literature on vertical and urban agriculture within sustainable food systems, identifying production models and technical advancements. Empirical evidence indicates these systems can improve water/land-use efficiency, yield stability, and reduce post-harvest losses. However, significant challenges persist, including high capital and energy prices, inadequate crop diversification, technical complexities, and regulatory constraints, impacting their economic viability.
Economic viabilityUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyDigital agricultureVertical farming as a resource nexus solution for sustainable agriculture
2026Jonas Sohn, Juliane Dziumla, Atiqah Fairuz Salleh, George Xydis · Sustainability Nexus Forum · Global
This study evaluated vertical farming (VF) through the resource nexus (RN) lens, emphasizing the interdependencies among energy, water, land, and materials. While VF offers advantages such as space efficiency, water conservation, and climate resilience, it was found to entail high energy demands, material dependencies, and economic feasibility challenges. An overview of these synergies and constraints helps identify mitigation strategies like circular water systems and hybrid renewable energy solutions.
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changePolicyUrban–rural linkageSoilless Agricultural Systems: Opportunities, Challenges, and Applications for Enhancing Horticultural Resilience to Climate Change and Urbanization
2025Imran Ali Lakhiar, Haofang Yan, Tabinda Naz Syed, Chuan Zhang, Sher Ali Shaikh, Md Rakibuzzaman, Rahim Bux Vistro · Horticulturae · Global
A systematic review of soilless farming (SLF) systems globally identified their role in enhancing horticultural resilience in urban and peri-urban settings. SLF offers advantages like water conservation and increased yield, but faces significant challenges. High setup costs, substantial energy demands, and the requirement for specialized technical expertise continue to limit its widespread adoption.
Economic viabilityClimate changeUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceDigital agricultureFactors influencing the economic sustainability and viability of soil-based urban and peri-urban agricultural enterprises in OECD countries: a scoping review
2025S. Pickles, Anita Stefoska‐Needham, Karen Charlton · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global
This scoping review was undertaken to identify factors affecting the economic sustainability and associated viability of soil-based commercial farms located in urban and peri-urban settings within OECD member countries. Following the PRISMA ScR methodology, 170 eligible articles were identified from four scientific databases. This review found that many soil-based urban farms in OECD countries struggle to achieve economic sustainability or organizational viability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty and peri-urban horticulture
2023Benjamin Felix Richardson · · New Zealand (Auckland)
Auckland's urban sprawl threatens to significantly raise the price of fresh fruits and vegetables across the country, worsening chronic food security issues. Food production has become detached from the food security and food sovereignty of Aotearoa's people. The severity of this issue is driving calls for reform, and a conflict exists between humanity's agricultural subsistence and the destabilizing demands of financial extraction, where crucial productive hubs can be lost permanently.
Economic viabilityFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsUrban–rural linkageVulnerability and urban farming: Coping with price volatility in Ejisu-Juaben municipality, Ghana
2019Michael Osei Asibey, Mohammed Abubakari, Charles Peprah · Cogent Food & Agriculture · Ghana
This paper investigated how urban farmers in Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Ghana, cope with input and crop price fluctuations. Data from 380 respondents identified four major factors influencing input price volatility (oil prices, exchange rates, cocoa producer prices, and inflation), but farmers had no coping strategies for these. Crop price fluctuations were influenced by natural and demand/supply factors, and farmers coped by adding value to crops and diversifying income sources, among others. However, shifting to cocoa cultivation and farming in flood plains was shown to have adverse environmental and ecological implications.
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changeUrban–rural linkageUrban foodprints (UF) – Establishing baseline scenarios for the sustainability assessment of high-yield urban agriculture
2018Khadija Benis, Rukaia Gashgari, Adnan Alsaati, Christoph Reinhart · DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) · Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)
The Urban Foodprints (UF) methodology was applied to assess the environmental sustainability of high-yield urban agriculture in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, focusing on tomatoes. While urban production in high-yield greenhouses could reduce Global Warming Potential by 9% and water savings were significant, the energy needs of these greenhouses were considerably higher than the baseline. This indicates a trade-off where environmental benefits are partially offset by increased energy consumption.
Economic viabilityEconomicsClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageTypically Diverse: The Nature of Urban Agriculture in South Australia
2018Georgia Pollard, James Ward, Philip Roetman · Sustainability · Australia (South Australia)
This paper explores the economic sustainability of home food gardens in South Australia using new data from the Edible Gardens project online survey. While saving money is a top motivation for many respondents, the study notes that it remains to be seen whether current gardening practices actually support this aspiration. The paper concludes that more work is needed to measure the full costs of different gardens to better predict their financial accessibility and economic sustainability.
Economic viabilityDIYEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFactores limitantes en la producción de semillas en la provincia de Cienfuegos
2014Rafaela 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.
Economic viabilityEconomicsUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justiceFunctional Change and the Peri‐Urban Region: Food Systems and Agricultural Vulnerability
2013Andrew Butt · Economic Papers A journal of applied economics and policy · Australia
This article reviews changes in farm output and structure in peri-urban regions around Australia's cities. It concludes that farming in these regions is changing differently from other agricultural regions, with productivity centered on a few high-value activities. The majority of peri-urban farming, while potentially providing landscape services, is unable to adjust to changing productivity regimes, creating vulnerabilities for these farming systems.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkage“Vertical Farms, Urban Restructuring and The Rise of Capitalist Urban Agriculture ”
2013Lindsey Sarann Hallock · · Global
This paper examines the rise of vertical farms, arguing that they advance the corporate food regime and promote urban elite consumption. It differentiates vertical farms as local food projects that reproduce the capitalist industrial system rather than challenging it, facilitated by devalued built environments and labor surplus in neoliberal cities. The study concludes that these farms reproduce troubling trends in the corporate food regime, signifying capital's ability to standardize food cultivation and incorporate it into factory-like production systems.
Economic viabilityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePolicyUrban–rural linkageImpact of Armed Conflicts on Urban Livestock Production in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo
2010É. Thys, André Mfoukou-Ntsakala, G. Nkouika-Dinghani-Nkita, Guido Van Huylenbroeck, Niko Speybroeck · Outlook on Agriculture · Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
This paper analyzed the impact of armed conflicts on urban livestock keeping, particularly small ruminant keeping, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Two surveys, one before 1993 and one after 2002, indicated that the 1997 conflict had a negative impact on livestock keeping, as most livestock keepers lost their animals. Financial resources were an important factor in rebuilding the flock after 1997.
Economic viabilityEconomicsWelfareUrban–rural linkageTransitie duurzame tuinbouw: lokale initiatieven in internationaal perspectief: Analyse van een aantal cases in ontwikkeling
2010C.J.M. van der Lans · Socio-Environmental Systems Modeling · Global
This study analyzes the sustainability of international horticulture initiatives, including those by Dutch businesses and Wageningen UR, particularly questioning their continuity if foreign support withdraws and their viability given limited foreign currency in developing countries. Using the Multi-Level Perspective framework, two cases were examined: an Integrated Pest Management project in Ethiopia's floriculture sector and the transition to large-scale urban agriculture in Detroit, USA. The report raises concerns about the long-term economic viability and self-sufficiency of these initiatives.
Economic viabilityEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageSmart growth ; can there be an African version?
2008Sue Wells · Western CEDAR (Western Washington University) · Tanzania
This paper examines the transferability of six Smart Growth concepts to Tanzanian cities (Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Dodoma, Zanzibar) given their extreme poverty and agrarian base. Primary research conducted in May-June 2007 and related publications were used. The study suggests that Smart Growth strategies from the Global North may be unsuitable for the Global South, indicating that urban agriculture in this context presents both a promise and a problem.
Economic viabilityPolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageUrban and peri-urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy of internally displaced persons in Khartoum
2008Friedhelm Streiffeler, Elsamawal Khalil Makki, Ali Ayoub · Econstor (Econstor) · Sudan (Khartoum)
This research in Greater Khartoum, Sudan, investigated urban and peri-urban agriculture as a livelihood strategy for internally displaced persons. While urban agriculture significantly reduces absolute poverty, its implementation faces many problems due to natural, economic, and social differences in the new environment, resulting in a low degree of agricultural development. Migrants with smaller fields and lower agricultural development showed a greater desire to return to their homeland, and social integration also influenced the decision to stay or return.
Economic viabilityWelfareCommunityUrban–rural linkageEconomicsInteraction Mechanism Between Sustainable Development of Urban Agriculture and Increase of Peasants' Income
2008Wei Xu · Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment · Global
This study examines the interaction between the sustainable development of urban agriculture and the increase in peasants' income, treating them as a combined system. It identifies a synergistic relationship between increased peasant income and urban agriculture development, but also a competitive relationship between maximizing short-term income and ecological sustainable development. The research suggests that a sustainable urban agricultural resource allocation mechanism can foster coordination and positive interaction, with urban circular agriculture economy being a basic strategy for this coordination.
Economic viabilityEconomicsOrganic cyclePolicyUrban–rural linkage특집 : 지역사회와 농업구조의 변화 / 도시근교농업의 복합산업화와 공간 활용
2000유병규 · · Global
This paper argues that peri-urban agriculture faces difficulties in maintaining its agricultural production function alone due to external factors such as rising land prices, urban development, the IMF crisis, and WTO agricultural renegotiations. It proposes that to revitalize peri-urban agriculture, a multi-industrialization strategy is needed, emphasizing not only agricultural production but also the spatial concept of "rural areas" by incorporating secondary and tertiary industry concepts. Specifically, the paper suggests that multi-industrialization strategies within the spatial concept of urban-integrated rural areas, such as the creation of "urban agricultural villages," are essential for the maintenance and development of agriculture.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkage