Research & reports

胡春胜, 曾江海, 王绍仁 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China (Luancheng)

This article reviews the 30-year demonstration practices and achievements of the Luancheng Agro-Ecosystem Experimental Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Luancheng County, Hebei Province. Since the early 1980s, the station has pioneered research and demonstration of new technologies like facility agriculture and urban agriculture models centered on information technology in the early 21st century. Over 30 years, the station has actively explored agricultural modernization pathways and key supporting technologies, promoting regional and national agricultural modernization.

Yingqi Yan · Journal of Gansu Normal Colleges · China (Gansu Province)

This article discusses the theory and practice of modern urban agriculture development within the integration process of urban and rural areas in Gansu Province, China. Urban agriculture is recognized as a new research area for sustainable urban development due to its unique social, economic, and ecological functions, making it a research hotspot for urban and rural sustainable development. The article offers suggestions for its development.

Zhou Can-fang · Ke-ji guanli yanjiu · China

This paper analyzes the current development of urban agriculture in the Pearl River Delta, noting its similarity to and deep influence from Taiwan's urban agriculture. It draws lessons from Taiwan's model and proposes a development strategy for the Pearl River Delta's urban agriculture to promote its sustainable development.

Liu Cheng-yu · Sichuan Environment · China

This paper examines the environmental effects and management of urban modern agriculture, characterized by high input, high consumption, high output, and high discharge, using Chengdu City, China, as a case study. It states that while urban modern agriculture has a direct impact on the environment, it can develop coordinately with the environment if appropriate patterns are adopted. The paper summarizes environmentally friendly modern agriculture development patterns observed in Chengdu and proposes suggestions to promote further coordinated development between modern agriculture and the environment, which could serve as a reference for urban agriculture development nationwide.

杨卫丽, 李同昇, 陈波 · 经济导刊 · China (Xi'an)

The promotion of integration in China's Xi'an-Xianyang metropolitan area, while bringing urban economic prosperity, has also created unprecedented pressure on the ecological environment and social problems. Specifically, the "urban-rural dual structure" and "three rural issues" are the biggest bottlenecks encountered during the urbanization process.

FU Li-hua · 自然资源学报 · China (Shanghai)

A study of Shanghai, China, building an evaluation index system reflecting the characteristics of sustainable urban agricultural development, using a combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the information entropy method to determine index weights, and applying it to time-series data from 1993 onward to produce a quantitative, comprehensive appraisal. The results comprise three findings. First, the population subsystem progressively became a main obstructive factor for sustainable urban agricultural development, the economic subsystem gradually became a main contributing factor, and the social subsystem grew more important in raising development capability, while cultivated land resources became increasingly scarce and continued to decrease, constraining improvement, and the heavy burden of agricultural production's self-pollution had a negative effect on the overall upgrade of development capability. Second, the resource (R-D) composite index was not high and declined significantly, averaging 1.9090 over 1993-2006 and falling 6.00% per year from 2.5336 in 1993 to 0.5541 in 2006, indicating growing resource pressure; the environmental (E-D) composite index was smaller and changed little, remaining around 1.0000 in most years, with environmental pressure staying high but stable. Third, after earlier wave-like fluctuations, the overall composite evaluation index entered a sustained, steady climb, with a significant increasing trend in development capability.

XU Guang-zhong · Journal of Qinghai Normal University · China (Qinghai)

This analysis proposes the development of urban agriculture in Qinghai to address the ecological crisis arising from rapid urbanization. Urban agriculture, based on modern science and technology, integrates production, services, and consumption, possessing economic, ecological, and social functions. Promoting urban agriculture in Qinghai is stated to expand urban green areas and enhance the eco-city's functions.

许光中 · 北京科技大学学报：社会科学版 · China (Qinghai Province)

This study examines urban agriculture in Qinghai Province, China, as a solution to urban ecological crises exacerbated by rapid urbanization. Urban agriculture, defined as modern agriculture integrating production, services, and consumption based on modern technology and diversified operations, can expand urban green spaces, improve urban ecology, and strengthen urban functions.

XU Guang-zhong · Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing(Social Sciences Edition) · China

This article, using Qinghai Province as a case, argues that as urbanization accelerates and cities' ecological crises intensify, developing urban agriculture can help address this crisis. It describes urban agriculture as based on modern technology and reliant on agricultural industrialization, combining features of production, service and consumption, and states that promoting urban agriculture can expand green space, improve urban ecology, and strengthen urban functions.

김종덕 · 환경사회학연구 ECO · South Korea

This paper points out that the current global food system, which has heavily relied on low-cost oil energy, faces problems in food production, processing, and transportation due to surging crude oil prices, leading to food export controls and riots, and escalating global food conflicts and instability. The global food system is vulnerable to oil energy crises and negatively impacts food safety, security, environment, local economies, and food culture. Therefore, the paper emphasizes the need for alternative food systems like organic farming, urban agriculture, and community-supported agriculture that reduce reliance on oil energy.

Ji WenHua, Cai Jianming, R. van Veenhuizen · · China (Beijing)

This paper describes the water balance between water resources and water use in Beijing, China, which faces severe water shortage. It discusses efforts by the Beijing government to relieve water pressure and identifies agriculture as the biggest water user. The paper suggests that finding alternative water sources like wastewater and rainwater is important for urban agriculture development.

Fengrong Zhang · 资源科学 · China (Beijing)

Beijing faces water and land resource deficiencies while increasing its focus on environmental protection and ecological conservation. This paper proposes four agricultural development zones tailored to Beijing's urban spatial structure and socioeconomic development, aiming to leverage urban agriculture's sightseeing, landscape, and ecological functions. It notes that this spatial planning prioritizes public benefits over farmers' economic benefits, making market-based realization difficult and necessitating direct government subsidies to farmers.

赵华甫, 张凤荣, 李佳, 唐衡 · Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Sunyatseni · China (Beijing)

A study on Beijing's urban agriculture cropping system, arguing that a rational choice of planting system is needed to overcome water resource constraints, realize agriculture's ecological service function of suppressing dust, and meet farmers' need for supplementary income, using a combination of literature research, experiments, and field surveys to examine the necessity of adjusting the planting system and the benefits of different systems. Comparing multiple benefits of a spring-maize single-cropping system against a winter-wheat/summer-maize double-cropping system, the spring-maize single-cropping system showed somewhat lower economic benefit than the double-cropping system, but better environmental benefit, lower water consumption, and greater potential for farmers' supplementary income. The study concludes that the spring-maize single-cropping system better matches the requirements of Beijing's urban agriculture development.

莉莉 木南, 章 木南, 美華 朱 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · China (Shanghai)

This research aims to analyze the sustainability of urban agriculture in Shanghai, China, from the aspects of economic efficiency, sociality, and environmental conservation. These aspects will be evaluated using a questionnaire survey method targeting residents on urban agriculture.

Zhu Mi-juan · Ecological Economy · China

This paper reviews prior research on urban agriculture and compares Chinese and foreign urban agriculture in terms of their emergence, scope, industry structure, development direction, and functions. It concludes that the basic development models used in foreign countries are not suited to China and that China should build its own "sustainable" (continuable) development model by modernizing and adapting elements drawn from foreign sustainable agriculture practice, rather than adopting foreign models directly.

Pan Qi-yun · Shanghai nongye xuebao · China (Shanghai)

This study investigated and analyzed the problems of developing urban agriculture in Shanghai, China. It discussed countermeasures and approaches for promoting the protection of urban agriculture based on sustainable development principles. The study also proposed strategies for advancing agricultural and rural economic structures, developing high-quality agriculture, and improving agricultural product quality and competitiveness.

Wanbin Zhu · Keji daobao · China

This paper discussed various questions concerning Urban Agriculture (UA) research in China, covering its origin, concept, functions, and land use planning. It also provided suggestions regarding common misconceptions, potential research areas, and strategies for the sustainable development of UA.

Jianguo Dai · Journal of Shenzhen Polytechnic · China (Shenzhen)

Urban agriculture in Shenzhen faces problems including decreasing farmland, inadequate skilled farmers, poor disaster resistance, immature insurance, increasing contamination of water, soil, air, and agricultural products, and poor modern enterprise management. Strategies proposed for sustainable development include specific laws, pollution protection, education, research, technology application, industrial technology application, leisure agriculture development, and diversification.

Shaohua Yin · Economic Geography · China

This essay discusses a development strategy for building green cities in Hunan, China, proposing four aspects: relying on green concepts, developing the green economy, establishing scientific urban layout, and emphasizing urban agriculture. It argues such a strategy must be treated not as a slogan but as a systematic science, concept, belief and way of life requiring everyone's effort and comprehensive coordination, without presenting specific data or study findings.

James M. Wolf, M S van Wijk, X Cheng, Yuanhao Hu, C.A. van Diepen, A.W. Jongbloed, H van Keulen, C H Lu, R.P. Roetter · Environment and Urbanization · China (Beijing)

This paper reviews agricultural production trends in Beijing Municipality and their impact on water quality. Rapid urbanization and agricultural intensification have led to concerns regarding water resource quantity and quality. The agricultural sector, while supplying food, is a major water user and has contributed to significant water supply-demand gaps and high levels of water pollution, particularly from intensive crop, vegetable, and livestock production.

Nigel Poole, DS Bhupal, Fiona Marshall, Dolf te Lintelo · · India

New knowledge is presented on the impacts of urban and peri-urban (UPU) environmental pollution on food safety attributes of vegetable marketing systems in India. Air pollution reduces crop yield and nutritional quality, and is a major source of particulate contaminants that accumulate at toxic levels in edible crops. The study explores the balance between public and private quality assurance initiatives and identifies wholesale markets as a potential entry point for quality assurance.

Ren Wei-na · · China (Beijing)

This analysis states that the development of urban agriculture in Beijing aligns with current productivity demands. Urban agriculture is considered important for solving land and water resource shortages, fulfilling environmental protection and recreational functions, and promoting bidirectional development between town-suburbanization and suburb-urbanization.

王雪梅 · 山西农经 · China (Taiyuan)

This paper discusses the "comprehensive urban diseases" resulting from urbanization, such as population concentration, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation, which threaten human health and well-being. It notes that as cities increasingly move away from nature, urban residents long for rural landscapes, prompting a call for green industries to return to cities. "Urban agriculture" has thus emerged in some large cities in China as a response to these challenges and a path towards sustainable urban development.