Research & reports

Muhamad Subhi Apriantoro, Indah Noor Rahayuningsih, Sarwanto Sarwanto · IQTISHODUNA Jurnal Ekonomi Islam · Global

Drawing on descriptive field research, this paper addresses how, amid the coronavirus's impact across economic sectors, many individuals struggled to meet basic needs. Urban farming is positioned as one answer to food availability, with food safety, food pricing, and stimulating the local economy as its main concerns; people cultivated short-cycle crops in small pots or used hydroponic methods in their yards. Integrated urban farming is characterized as a type of green economic activity that adheres to the maslahah (public benefit) aim of maqasid sharia. Green economy activity built around integrated urban farming is described as aiming to improve community economic wellbeing and as able to help mitigate the risk of substantial environmental harm, including the pandemic's detrimental impact on macro and micro food security. The paper observes that the green economy concept can be integrated harmoniously with core maqasid sharia values.

Osmar Manoel Nunes, Shirley Grazieli da Silva Nascimento, Mariana Rockenbach de Ávila, Luciellen de Lourdes Silveira Vieira, Criziane Flores Pamplona · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

This case study analyzes the socioeconomic conditions of two peri-urban family farms producing organic lettuce in Dom Pedrito, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil — regarded as among the region's leading farmers — with gardens in the Rincão da Figura and São Gregório areas. Using case-study methods, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with the farmers and on-site visits, analyzing the data through Textual Discourse Analysis. Production relied exclusively on family labor with minimal use of chemical inputs, characterized as a transitional stage toward organic production; output was sold at the weekly Friday municipal market and supplied to three additional small stores in the city. The study concludes that, despite strong competition from large distribution networks, lettuce production and sale remained profitable, constituting an alternative source of income and job creation in family farming.

Pedro Neto · Sophia · Global

This editorial essay introduces the third thematic cycle, "Landscapes of Care," opening volume 7 of the journal Sophia, on contemporary photography and visual practices addressing how architecture, broadly conceived, can help heal a damaged planet. It draws on Elke Krasny's reframing of architecture as a form of caring labor and Wilfried Wang's argument that changes such as the renewal of urban farming, decentralized renewable energy harvesting, and smaller production facilities should reshape conventional zoning, and situates the "landscapes of care" concept — drawn from health geography, the arts, and architecture — as a lens for understanding architecture, city, and territory. The piece is an introductory editorial for the issue's theme and presents no empirical data or case findings.

Abby M. Lohr, Melanie L. Bell, Kiera Coulter, Sallie A. Marston, Moses Thompson, Scott C. Carvajal, Ada M. Wilkinson‐Lee, Lynn B. Gerald, Josephine D. Korchmaros · Health Education & Behavior · United States (New York City)

This cross-sectional secondary analysis used evaluation data from a university-supported Community School Garden Program (CSGP) to examine, mostly among Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary students at Title I schools in New York City, United States, whether duration of school garden exposure (≤1 year versus >1 year) was associated with self-reported learning and school connectedness, using social cognitive theory as the analytic frame. Duration of school garden exposure showed no statistically significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those identifying as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt the garden program improved their learning; qualitative results indicated most students enjoyed time in the garden and felt the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to school.

· Egyptian Journal of Applied Science · Egypt

This experiment, conducted at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate, Agricultural Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt, evaluated eggplant yield and quality in urban substrate culture using three fertilizing sources (nutrient solution, mineral fertilizer, vermi-liquid) combined with two pot volumes (6 and 8 liters of a standard 50:50 peat moss:perlite substrate) across two summer seasons (2019 and 2020). Total fruit number and leaf count were recorded during harvest, along with fruit diameter, length, average fruit weight, and fruit nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content. Chemical nutrient solution produced the highest vegetative growth and yield characteristics, while vermi-liquid produced the lowest; nutrient solution and mineral fertilizer increased fruit N, P, and K content compared with vermi-liquid. Increasing pot volume from 6 to 8 L increased vegetative growth, yield, and N-P-K content. The highest growth, yield, and nutrient content came from chemical nutrient solution combined with 8 L pots, while vermi-liquid with 6 L pots was framed as a more sustainable and economical urban horticulture option for supporting food security during the Covid-19 epidemic.

Eka Masrifatus Anifah, Kartika Nugrahaeni, Winarni · J-Dinamika Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia

In response to rising population and food demand in central Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia — where 2024 provincial demand for fish and water spinach (kangkung) is estimated at about 92,694 tons and 22,550 tons respectively — and consequent rising vegetable and fish prices, this community outreach activity introduced small-scale, self-sufficient aquaponic cultivation of catfish and water spinach in individual buckets, using underutilized vacant land in the RT.02 area of Graha Indah, Balikpapan, where fish-farming wastewater nutrients feed the plants. Respondents reported that the method requires minimal land, meets household vegetable needs, and reduces household food spending, and that the activity also fostered creativity among housewives and greater household self-sufficiency.

Jennifer Paola Borja Llivigañay, Karla Maribel Rocano Bustamante · Universidad Politécnica Salesiana Repositorio Digital (Universidad Politécnica Salesiana) · Global

A student thesis project (Universidad Politécnica Salesiana repository, Ecuador, 2022) by students of the Unidad Educativa Agronómico Salesiano in Paute canton, Azuay province, evaluated the capture, reproduction, and application of the antagonist fungus Trichoderma spp. as a biological control agent against soil fungal pathogens (Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotium, Pythium, Fusarium). Using cooked-rice traps placed in soil holes to capture the fungus, and preparing a liquid formulation from it, the project analyzed the protective benefit against parasitic fungi in lettuce crops between November 2021 and May 2022.

Sukanya Sereenonchai, Noppol Arunrat · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global

A mixed-methods study (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022) surveyed 325 villagers across 13 communities in seven Thai provinces, combining the Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behavior, and Health Belief Model with techniques including crosstab analysis, stepwise multiple linear regression, one-way ANOVA, multinomial logistic regression, decision tree analysis, and descriptive content analysis. Attitude, perceived benefits, and perceived readiness significantly and positively influenced adoption of urban agriculture. Among villagers who owned agricultural land, behavioral control and social norms drove continued practice; for other groups, perceived readiness and communication were the key drivers. The study proposes communication guidelines based on the EAST framework (easy, attractive, social, timely) delivered through a Critical Participatory Action Research process.

Simone Schiller-Merkens · Organization · Global

A theoretical paper (2022, no specific region) examines forms of alternative economic organizing — cooperatives, post-growth organizations, common-good organizations, community-supported agriculture, transition towns, and ecovillages — that are described in organization and social-movement studies as "prefigurative," creating imaginaries of an alternative future while demonstrating viability through everyday practice. It argues that existing scholarship often leaves the meaning of prefiguration and its relationship to alternative organizing and anarchism unclear, and develops a definition of prefigurative organizing that distinguishes it from alternative organizing while foregrounding its political nature — its ties to multiple struggles, tensions, and conflicts. The paper then presents a systematic overview of types of struggles around prefigurative organizing with reference to exemplary research, and argues that studying prefigurative organizing requires an alternative praxis within academia itself.

Indri Ajeng Setyoningrum, Atika Indah Cahyani, Reza Gusmanti · KOLOKIUM Jurnal Pendidikan Luar Sekolah · Indonesia

A study of "Kampoeng Hidroponik," a social innovation run by the village youth group Rupa Desa in Sobontoro Village, Indonesia (2022), analyzes its business potential as a pioneering social enterprise aimed at improving slum-like settlement conditions. Using qualitative research with a PEST analysis of internal and external environmental conditions followed by a SWOT analysis, based on observation, interviews, and literature review, the study proposes product-management development strategies: product differentiation for customers, developing processed hydroponic vegetable products, building customer loyalty programs, marketing to upper-middle-class customers such as restaurants and hotels, joining hydroponics and business communities to disseminate information, and strengthening social-media promotional content. For strengthening community empowerment, it proposes increasing the capacity of Rupa Desa members as educational-tourism facilitators and managers, creating visit and training programs for students, universities, and homemaker groups, increasing urban-farming campaign activity, and raising awareness among surrounding community members who have not yet joined.

Brunno da Silva Cerozi, Caitlin G. Arlotta, Matthew L. Richardson · Agriculture · Global

A study (2022, Agriculture) examined integrating urban agriculture with aquaculture to reduce water use and cost, competition for water, chemical fertilizer use, and the environmental impact of discharging nutrient-rich agricultural water into fresh and saltwater bodies, noting that urban aquaculture could also directly benefit human health as a local source of lean protein, while few studies had demonstrated the practical feasibility and production advantages of using aquaculture wastewater to fertigate specialty crops in cities. Four spring crops (bok choy, tatsoi, radish, turnip) and two fall crops (pole beans, sugar snap peas) were grown using nutrient-rich fish aquaculture effluent versus well or municipal water to evaluate effects on soil fertility and crop production. The fish effluent raised soil pH and potassium and increased pole bean count by 9.1% (bean mass trended toward significance but was not conclusive); the soils used were relatively nutrient-rich even before the effluent was applied, which may explain the limited impact, and the study suggests differences could be more pronounced in acidic, nutrient-poor soils or with longer-duration fertigation.

Andre Rachmat Scabra, Muhammad Marzuki, Bagus Dwi Hari Setyono, Laily Fitriani Mulyani · Jurnal Pengabdian Magister Pendidikan IPA · Indonesia

A community-service report (2022, Indonesia) on the Jangkar Ampenan youth group in the Tangsi area of South Ampenan district, Mataram City, describes a knowledge- and technical-guidance activity on "budikdamber" — cultivating fish in a bucket — as a model of sustainable urban farming. Activities proceeded through site survey, preparation of outreach and technical-guidance materials, construction of a technology model, implementation support, and evaluation, covering assembly of a cultivation setup using a 150-liter bucket, 5-7g catfish fry, commercial catfish feed, water spinach (kangkung) seedlings, pipes, wire, 200ml plastic cups, a drill and grinder, a net, and an aerator, along with feeding, water-quality, and harvest management. The report concludes that information, knowledge, and technical guidance on the budikdamber technology were successfully delivered to the partner group.

Jennifer Catalina Murcia Rodríguez, Adriana Quimbayo Feria · HUMAN REVIEW International Humanities Review / Revista Internacional de Humanidades · Colombia

A short piece on urban agriculture in Colombia (2022) states that urban agriculture enables food production, particularly of fruits, vegetables, and aromatic plants, contributing to reduced ecological footprint and self-sufficiency, and that in Colombia it forms part of a worldwide trend used to help mitigate environmental pollution and reduce spending on basic foodstuffs. It notes that inflation has raised the cost of basic foods, and frames urban agriculture as helping reduce the amount of such purchases at the household level.

Yohannes Zekarias · · Ethiopia

This study examines factors determining the performance and growth of micro and small-scale enterprises (MSEs) in Gulelle sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, covering manufacturing, service, construction, agro-industry, urban agriculture, and textile and garment sectors. Using a quantitative causal design, data were collected via questionnaire from 312 operators selected through stratified sampling and analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Regression analysis showed that access to finance, technology infrastructure, and government support explained the variation in MSE performance.

Ye. V. Klimov, B. O. Assilov · Problems of AgriMarket · Global

This study identifies and analyzes common sales channels for organic products and the potential for alternative marketing strategies among small-scale organic fruit and vegetable producers in the Almaty region, Kazakhstan, who have transitioned to organic horticulture, drawing on international and Kazakhstani experience. Methods included desk research, industry information from open sources, and a survey of business entities. In Kazakhstan, where organic production has existed for about 20 years and has been dominated by large export-oriented grain producers using indirect trade channels, an emerging domestic eco-products market means small-producer entry requires effective marketing programs and expanded direct-delivery channels. Distribution options examined include an order-based "organic box" scheme, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA), a centralized U-pick sales platform, organic farmers' markets and sales fairs, shops attached to organic farms, organic restaurants, public procurement, agritourism, and e-commerce. The study concludes that the choice of sales points is an important management decision affecting the economic efficiency of an agricultural enterprise, and that small-scale producers should develop multiple distribution channels that connect them directly with consumers.

Eugenio Antonio Climent López, Raúl Lardiés Bosque, Samuel Esteban Rodríguez · Boletín de la Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles · Spain

Since the 2008 crisis, alternative economic practices to the dominant system have proliferated, especially in urban areas where new social movements have taken stronger root. This study examines Zaragoza, Spain, governed in the previous legislative term by a new-left coalition, one of the so-called "councils of change." It selected practices operating at the local scale through unconventional procedures: community urban gardens, agroecological consumption markets and groups, community currencies (time banks, barter markets, and social currency), and self-managed social centers. A qualitative methodology combined semi-structured interviews with closed questionnaires and participant observation. These practices were found dispersed across the urban space and linked to urban social movements and local politics. The study concludes that their impact is limited in quantitative terms, but that they hold broad transformative potential owing to the characteristics of their practitioners and the support of local administration.

Herman Hamdani, Ibnu Bangkit Bioshina Suryadi, Zahidah Zahidah, Yuli Andriani, Lantun Paradhita Dewanti, Rioaldi Sugandhy · Jurnal Berdaya · Indonesia

This is a community service report on a water-saving "tidal aquaponics" system — combining fish farming with hydroponics, using rising and falling water levels in a gravel planting bed to recirculate water back to the fish pond as an oxygen source — implemented in Tanjungsari Village, Sumedang Regency, Indonesia. The village, an example of an urban fringe community, had already adopted this system for its advantages: it can be used on limited land, saves water, requires no fertilizer, and can add aesthetic value to marginal land if arranged well. The activity was conducted through demonstrations, technical meetings and field meetings, with the objective of meeting household-scale protein needs using limited resources; given the limited availability of clean water in densely populated areas, the report frames this as an example of water-efficient, environmentally conscious urban farming.

Michael Hardman, Andrew Clark, Graeme Sherriff · Agronomy · United Kingdom

Using a qualitative approach across the UK's largest urban farm and a range of other urban agriculture (UA) sites, this study examined the barriers to upscaling city farming. Evidence pointed to urban soil contamination and hesitation about growing crops in cities as a core issue preventing UA from scaling up, alongside public hesitancy and financial barriers, despite the practice's potential social, environmental and economic value through job creation, biodiversity enhancement and shorter food supply chains. The paper concludes that public hesitation, financial barriers and soil quality prevent development, and calls for a more pragmatic approach to these barriers.

Rosmiza Mz, Noorziah Mohd Salleh, Nurin Sahira Che Helmi, Milah Zainal, Jabil Mapjabil, Mohd Nor Mohd Rosmi, Mazdi Marzuki · Journal of Asian Scientific Research · Malaysia

Against the rise of community gardens driven by increasing living costs, growing interest in healthy lifestyles, and limited agricultural land, a quantitative study of 50 residents in Kampung Gali Hilir, Pahang, Malaysia, examined the role of institutions in increasing community involvement in cultivation using fertigation methods. Most respondents, described as agripreneurs, agreed that agricultural institutions play a crucial role in providing information and assistance on fertigation cultivation through courses and training and in supplying agricultural inputs and related programs, and the study identified a need to strengthen institutional approaches to further increase participation in newly introduced methods.

Diego Alejandro Salinas Velandia, Felipe A. Perdomo, Stephanie Numa-Vergel, Edwin Villagrán, Pilar Donado-Godoy, Julio Ricardo Galindo Pacheco · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · Global

This study used bibliometric and text-mining analysis of the literature to assess how horticulture is transitioning to the circular economy. It found that circular horticulture is a recent, growing research field whose approach has been fragmented rather than systemic or integrative. Bioeconomy, urban agriculture, recycled nutrients, biochar, fertigation, and desalination emerged as research hotspots, with vegetables and fruits the most-studied crops; resource circulation has focused mainly on biowaste recovery for biofertilizers and substrate substitutes, and on water reuse for hydroponic systems. The One Health approach was found to be scarcely explored and weakly articulated, with the absence of assessment methodologies covering ecosystem, animal, and human health noted as a notable limitation, and science-policy interfaces linking One Health and food systems identified as needing improvement.

Ningombam Sushma Devi, Preeti Hatibarua, Ningombam Bijaya Devi, Tadar Jamja, Nangki Tagi, Ruthy Tabing · Ecology Environment and Conservation · Global

This review argues that, amid exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources, planting fruit and vegetable home gardens and using rooftops and small plots for small-scale vegetable production can provide households with sufficient production and income generation. It states that meeting the food and nutritional needs of growing urban populations requires integrating information-technology tools, breeding crops suited to urban farming, and closing water, waste, and energy loops, and it outlines the significant features of contemporary urban horticulture alongside the traditional practices, technologies, and innovations that support it.

Trifenaus Prabu Hidayat, Christine Natalia, Agustinus Silalahi, Andre Sugioko, Marcellina Chyntia · Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat Charitas · Indonesia

This report describes a community-service program by the Faculty of Engineering at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, in partnership with Sampora Village's Nagrek hamlet, focused on Mom's Farm, an organic hydroponic and urban-farming vegetable business. The business faced unclear and inefficient distribution to consumers, which was seen as a cause of reduced income for its farmers, and the program provided online marketing assistance using digital marketing apps such as Grab and Tokopedia.

Bambang Gunawan, Husin Rayesh Mallaleng, Mahrus Ali, Sri Purwanti, Nurlina Nurlina, Fauziatun Nisak, Yeni Ika Pratiwi, Sri Hidayati · Indonesian Journal of Engagement Community Services Empowerment and Development · Indonesia

This report describes a community activity in RW 02, Kalirungkut Village, Rungkut District, Surabaya City, Indonesia, that implemented mass composting technology for urban organic waste as part of empowering urban agricultural land. It was carried out through two approaches: assistance to build expertise and skills in managing mass composting of urban organic waste, and efforts to mobilize community participation. The results showed increased community awareness and participation in waste management through practicing the 3R approach (reduce, reuse, recycle) -- sorting household waste into organic and inorganic at the source -- with the urban agriculture movement identified as an alternative for maintaining family food security and as a contributor to green open space.

Paulo Silvano Magno Fróes Júnior, Fabrício Khoury Rebello, Cyntia Meireles Martins, Maria Lúcia Bahia Lopes, Caio Cézar Ferreira de Souza, Joyce dos Santos Saraiva, João Paulo Borges de Loureiro, Antônia do Socorro Aleixo Barbosa, Geany Cleide Carvalho Martins, Janayna Galvão de Araújo, Marcos Antônio Souza dos Santos · Journal of Agricultural Studies · Brazil

This study characterized agricultural production systems under urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in the Curuçambá neighborhood of the Metropolitan Region of Belém (RMB), Brazilian Amazon, identifying the main techniques, crops, and animals raised, and estimating production's contribution to family consumption on a complementary, exploratory basis. Data came from interviews with 63 residents (52.50% of the neighborhood's population), two weeks of food-consumption monitoring for six producer families, and georeferencing using Google Satellite imagery. Farmers came mainly from northeastern Pará (57.14%), with others from Maranhão (9.52%), Ceará (9.52%), and Paraíba (1.59%); urban agriculture in the region was established through the migration of rural residents to Amazonian cities. Most farmers had completed elementary school II (69.84%) and had an average monthly income of one to two minimum wages (50.79%). Agricultural production occurred in roughly 111 residences in the neighborhood, based on horticulture and small livestock keeping, across six production systems -- common beds (71.43%), suspended beds (12.70%), fruticulture (6.35%), agroforestry yards (3.17%), hydroponics (4.76%), and aquaponics (1.59%) -- directed toward supplying RMB markets. On average, 30.89% of farmers' income covered family consumption, and the opportunity cost of consumption for the five main crops grown (jambu, lettuce, coriander, chicory, and cariru) was estimated at R$79.88 monthly, 8.37% of the minimum wage at the time.

Nitya Rao, Sheetal Patil, Maitreyi Koduganti, Chandni Singh, Ashwin Mahalingam, Prathijna Poonacha, Nishant Kumar Singh · · India

Despite growing interest in and recognition of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) as a nature-based solution, empirical evidence on its role in reconfiguring environmental functions (biodiversity, waste management, water recycling, micro-climate regulation) and social wellbeing (food and nutrition security, gender relations, work burdens, land tenure, community ties) in India was limited. This compendium, produced by the project "Urban and peri-urban agriculture as green infrastructures" (UPAGrI), which began in 2019 to address that gap, collects 29 innovative UPA practices from cities across India, loosely grouped into four themes: environment and sustainability; food, nutrition, and livelihood; gender and subjective wellbeing; and urban policy and planning. Written mostly by practitioners themselves, the case studies document UPA innovations and serve as a repository of lessons for peer-to-peer learning among practitioners.