Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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Critical findings
3765 results(138 / 151)
论“长株潭”都市农业对湖南现代农业的示范引领作用
2008Zhu Song Mei, 应若平 · 农村经济与科技 · China (Hunan)
This paper analyzes the six demonstrative and leading functions of "Chang-Zhu-Tan" urban agriculture for the development of modern agriculture in Hunan Province, China. It proposes basic ideas and overall strategic concepts for fully leveraging this role. Taking the "double low" rapeseed industry as an example, it constructs an operational model where urban modern agricultural pilot zones radiate and drive the coordinated development of advantageous agricultural industries across the province.
PolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkage换个角度，再谈都市农业——都市农业的发展、特征和成效
2008何秀荣 · 蔬菜 · Global
This article discusses the rapid development of urban agriculture in China and globally, covering its origins, characteristics, and current status. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of urban agriculture, from theory to modern sightseeing vegetable cultivation techniques, with insights from agricultural economic experts and grassroots agricultural staff.
Food sovereignty & justiceEconomicsUrban–rural linkageIncreasing Recognition of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture:
2008Camillus J. Sawio · · Global
This paper, based on existing literature, discusses the increasing international, regional, and local recognition of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) over the past three decades. It highlights UPA's contributions to feeding urban populations, poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable urban management, attributing this recognition to efforts by various international organizations and resulting municipal declarations.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfarePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsInformation needs and seeking behaviour among Urban farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria
2008I. Ogunlade, O. I. Oladele, A. A. Falaki · University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal · Nigeria
This study investigated the socio-economic characteristics, information needs, and seeking behavior of 100 urban farmers in Ilorin metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria, using a structured questionnaire. It found that urban farming was a supplementary activity for highly literate individuals, with farms mainly within the city and more animal than crop production. The study suggested that urban farmers could achieve better results if technical and financial support were provided, and recommended official government recognition for urban farming.
Governance failureEconomicsPolicyCommunityAssessing food security status among farming households in Ibadan metropolis, Oyo state, Nigeria.
2008BF Salahu, TO Dauda · Moor Journal of Agricultural Research · Nigeria
The food security status of farming households in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria, was assessed using 89 questionnaires. The study analyzed urban farming and food security factors (energy and protein levels). Education related to urban farming practices was found to influence the food security status of the respondents.
Food sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsUrban–rural linkageUrban Farming Communities' Adoption Rates of Smart Agriculture Technologies in Lagos, Nigeria: Performance Evaluations
2008Obiakọ Obinzeiji, Nkwo Nkechi, Chinedu Chukwuma, Ejiije Edemah · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Nigeria (Lagos)
This study investigated the adoption rates of smart agriculture technologies among urban farming communities in Lagos, Nigeria. A survey questionnaire was distributed to 200 urban farmers across Lagos, revealing that 78% of respondents had adopted at least one smart agriculture technology. Drip irrigation systems were the most popular, adopted by 35% of farmers. The findings indicate significant interest and initial success in adopting these technologies in Lagos.
Digital agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsThinking about Developing Urban Agriculture in Guiyang City
2008Xi Chen · Guizhou nongye kexue · China (Guiyang)
This paper presents suggestions and countermeasures for accelerating urban agricultural development in Guiyang City, based on investigation information. It states that the rapid development of urban agriculture benefits the improvement of urban residents' quality of life, promotes rural economic development in the outskirts, and contributes to the construction of a new socialist country.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityUrban–rural linkageResearch on the Urban Agriculture in Zhengzhou City
2008Liu Chang-yun · Anhui nongye kexue · China (Zhengzhou)
This study points out that Zhengzhou City, as the capital of Henan province and a national transportation hub, possesses many advantages for developing urban agriculture, including location, resources, science and technology, and market. It suggests that the city should advance urban agriculture according to different divisional areas, categorized as core, expanded, and peripheral areas, and provides countermeasures and constructive advice.
PolicyEconomicsApplying Sen's Capability Approach to Poverty Alleviation Programs: Two Case Studies
2008John Schischka, Paul Dalziel, Caroline M. Saunders · Journal of Human Development · New Zealand
This research investigated the application of Sen's Capability Approach to two human development programs: a community garden-based poverty alleviation program in a New Zealand city and a self-help project for women in Samoa. Sixteen focus groups of participants described significant changes in their capabilities, including learning new skills and discovering existing valuable capabilities. This finding aligns with Sen's emphasis on participant agency.
CommunityWelfareEconomicsTo Subsidise My Income: Urban farming in an East-African town, by Dick Foeken
2008M. B. David · African Affairs · Kenya
This study on urban agriculture in the Kenyan town of Nakuru illustrates health and environmental problems associated with keeping livestock in urban areas, the small size of plots cultivated, and the dependence of urban households on rural sources of food. These findings were observed in the context of economic hardships occasioned by structural adjustment programmes since the 1980s.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityEconomicsHealthUrban–rural linkageBuying into Community Supported Agriculture: Strategies for Overcoming Income Barriers
2008Cristin B. Forbes, Alison H. Harmon · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Global
This article examines strategies employed by Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms to help limited-resource consumers overcome income barriers to membership. Due to the typical lump sum membership fee, CSA can be inaccessible. Identified strategies include accepting government food assistance, offering payment plans, working shares, subsidized or low-cost shares, transportation assistance, bartering, outreach, and connections to emergency food assistance.
CSA & TeikeiEconomicsWelfareFood sovereignty & justiceSTUDY ON THE STRATGY OF ENHANCING THE FUNCTION OF URBAN HORTICULTURE AND ESTABLISHING GREEN REGIONAL ECONOMY
2008Shujun Li · · Global
This article analyzes the economic nature and basic function of urban horticulture, based on market orientation and the aim of establishing a green regional economy and harmonious society. It discusses strategies for developing urban horticulture and provides countermeasures to enhance its function and establish a green regional economy.
EconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageStudy on the Orientation of Urban Agriculture under the Background of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Integration
2008HE De-hong · Anhui nongye kexue · China
Based on an analysis of the conditions, advantages, problems, and challenges of developing urban leisure agriculture in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan areas, and a systematic review of domestic and international experiences, the construction and development directions for urban leisure agriculture in these areas were confirmed from four aspects: industry, market, product, and spatial orientation.
EconomicsPolicyThe food security environment nexus in urban agriculture in Harare.
2008R. Machiridza, Emmanuel Manzungu · University of Zimbabwe Institutional Repository (University of Zimbabwe) · Zimbabwe (Harare)
Perceptions of urban agriculture in Harare, Zimbabwe, shifted from prohibition before 1980 due to environmental concerns to de facto government policy after independence due to increasing urban poverty. Land was initially allocated to co-operatives primarily for political support, creating tension between political patronage and environmental protection. Critics argue that authorities only accepted urban agriculture's reality two decades post-independence, driven by its potential for poverty reduction and economic development.
Governance failurePolicyFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsClimate changeExtreme Local Food: Two Case Studies in Assisted Urban Small Plot Intensive Agriculture
2008Lenore Newman · · Global
This 2008 paper examines barriers to urban agriculture expansion in North America—poor urban soils, lack of knowledge, zoning restrictions, and personal time constraints—through two case studies of assisted urban small-plot intensive farming in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, British Columbia. In both cases, entrepreneurs installed and tended small plots on participants' land, selling the harvest at local farmers' markets or sharing it directly with the landowners. The paper notes that both projects had strong educational components and engaged a diverse demographic, and that having one farmer tend multiple plots could help address concerns about the carbon footprint of small-plot farming raised elsewhere in the literature.
CommunityFood educationEconomicsAnálisis económico del empleo de la fuerza de trabajo en la Agricultura Urbana del Municipio de Sancti Spíritus (Referencia bibliográfica)
2008Irenio Curbelo Tribicio · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Cuba
Set against Cuba's demographic backdrop of accelerating urbanization, declining birth rates, gradual population aging and an uneven distribution of the workforce, this reference paper argues for the need to understand imbalances between labor supply and demand in urban agriculture and to establish measures to improve its use. It states that wage and incentive systems must align with the rational use of human resources in order to secure workers' fair compensation under the principle of socialist distribution. No specific survey findings or figures are presented.
EconomicsCommunity宁夏首家“农民生态公园”建成开放
2008丁婕 · 中国花卉园艺 · China
A news brief reports that Ningxia's first "farmer ecological park" was completed and opened to the public at the Taqiao flower garden zone in Xingqing district, Yinchuan city, China. Xingqing district is described as shifting its agricultural development model toward modern urban agriculture and urban-rural integration, positioning facility agriculture and the flower industry as the centerpiece of agricultural restructuring and a new source of farmer income.
CommunityPeri-urban agricultureEconomics北京都市农业种植制度的发展方向——春玉米-熟制
2008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.
PolicyClimate changeEconomicsUrban agriculture in Accra metropolis: dimensions and implications for urban development
2008Olufunke Cofie, Larbi, Theophilus Otchere, George Danso, Ernest Mensah Abraham, S.K. Kufogbe, N. Obiri-Opareh · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Ghana
A book chapter addressing urban agriculture in the Accra metropolitan area, Ghana, included in Parrot et al. (eds.), "Agriculture and Urban Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: Environment and Health Issues" (Paris: L'Harmattan). The available abstract consists only of this bibliographic citation; no study methods or findings are given.
CommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceL'agriculture urbaine et périurbaine à Youndé: analyse fonctionnelle d'une activité montante en économie de survie
2008Prosper Nguegang Asaa, Véronique Joiris, Jean Lejoly, Isaac Roger Tchouamo · · Africa
This study characterizes urban and peri-urban agriculture in Yaoundé, Cameroon, that has emerged amid rapid urbanization unaccompanied by economic growth, analyzing the interaction of actor types, space types, crops, products, and average incomes. The analysis found this agriculture employs close to 2,000 people, mostly young people and especially women with an average age of 35, concentrated on land under heavy pressure — marshy lowlands, foot of slopes, and roadsides. Crops were mainly vegetables, food staples, and flowers, varying across the urban ring, peri-urban zone, and rural hinterland. Marketing occurred through long, short, and direct circuits, with prices set by demand rather than fixed in advance. Profitability analysis of celery, ndolé, and black nightshade accounts found an average daily gain of about three euros per producer, and some market gardeners reported preferring to stay in their gardens rather than take a roughly 75-euro/month wage job; the study also found no legal or regulatory framework governing the activity, and no law authorizing it.
EconomicsCommunityWelfareConstruction of urban modern fishery in Shanghai
2008Yang Zheng · Zhongguo shengtai nongye xuebao · China (Shanghai)
A text on Shanghai, China (2008) discusses the concept, characteristics, and scope of "urban modern fishery" as a component of urban agriculture and a foundation of Shanghai's ecologically sustainable development, analyzing the status and function of fishery within Shanghai's urban agriculture. It proposes that the structure of urban modern fishery in Shanghai incorporate three sectors: an economic sector covering ordinary aquaculture, specialty-species aquaculture, distant-water fishery, aquatic product manufacturing, and modern aquatic logistics; an ecological sector covering aquatic ecological industry and recreational fishery; and a knowledge-based sector covering hatchery fishery, fishery information industry, and fishery technology services.
EconomicsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureAssessing Fuel Efficiency and CO2 Emissions of Two Local Food Distribution Options in Iowa
2008Rich Pirog, Rebecca Rasmussen · Iowa State University Digital Repository (Iowa State University) · United States
This study determined which transportation option -- farmer delivery or customer pick-up -- consumed less fuel and emitted less CO2 for an Iowa community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise. The method used the CSA farmer's actual delivery route(s) including customer addresses, the type of delivery vehicle used, and a hypothetical central pick-up location and time, calculating mileage via Mapquest and fuel/emissions using Bureau of Transportation Statistics and EPA data across four vehicle categories: Ford Ranger, Dodge Caravan, Toyota Prius, and U.S. average passenger vehicle fuel economy. Delivery using a Toyota Prius resulted in 2.77 times lower fuel usage and CO2 emissions than customer pick-up using U.S. average fuel economy; however, even if all CSA customers used a Toyota Prius for pick-up, farmer delivery remained more fuel efficient, though only by a factor of 1.35.
CSA & TeikeiClimate changeFood miles & supply chainEconomicsAnálisis económico del empleo de la fuerza de trabajo en la Agricultura Urbana del Municipio de Sancti Spíritus (Proyecto)
2008Irenio Curbelo Tribicio · OBSERVATÓRIO DE LA ECONOMÍA LATINOAMERICANA · Cuba
A research project conducted at the Granja Urbana (Urban Farm) of Sancti Spíritus municipality, Cuba, aiming to apply and evaluate a set of economic and financial analysis tools within the category of "labor force and wages," in order to determine the factors influencing the interrelationship and variation of gross value added (VAB), labor productivity, and average wage. The abstract states only the study's aim and object of analysis; it does not report specific findings or figures from the evaluation.
Economic viabilityEconomicsCommunityFeeding Cleveland: Urban Agriculture
2008Carolyn L. Hufford · EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University (Cleveland State University) · United States (New York City)
This historical account traces urban agriculture in Cleveland, Ohio, across the 20th century into the present. It documents recurring revivals of city-land food cultivation in response to economic hardship—working men's farms during the Great Depression, victory gardens during World War II, community gardens established during urban renewal, and present-day market gardeners of the local food movement—along with the Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program (CPSHP), which trained generations of student gardeners until it ended in 1978, after which some former school garden sites (tract gardens) became community gardens, and notes that greater Cleveland was once home to America's largest concentration of farming acreage under glass (Rose, 1950).
CommunityEconomicsRussia's Unknown Agriculture: Household Production in Post-Socialist Rural Russia
2007Pallot J., Nefedova T. · Oxford University Press (Oxford Geographical and Environmental Studies Series) · Russia
A monograph based on four years of fieldwork across European Russia examining the scale, geography, and socioeconomic significance of household plot production in post-socialist rural Russia.
EconomicsPolicyCommunity