Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
4283 results(158 / 172)
Research on Technical Feature and Technological Innovation about Urban Agriculture
2009Yujie Jiang · Tianjin Agricultural Sciences · Global
This article researched the technical features of urban agriculture. It proposed a new technological innovation model primarily based on cooperative innovation, supplemented by independent and imitative innovation, and outlined choices for implementing this model.
Digital agricultureAgricultura urbana y sustentabilidad en Valdivia, Chile. Una nueva alternativa microempresarial
2009O Beatriz Vera · Revista Urbano · Chile (Valdivia)
This study characterized 22 urban agricultural micro-enterprises in Valdivia, Chile, focusing on their economic, productive, and commercial aspects, and the employment they generate. Using the Snowball method to identify urban farmers, the research found that urban agriculture is a significant source of permanent employment in Valdivia, also providing temporary work during the summer season.
EconomicsCommunityAGRICULTURA PERIURBANA: NUEVOS ROLES DE LA AGRICULTURA DE PROXIMIDAD EN LA PLANIFICACIÓN DE LAS PERIFERIAS URBANAS
2009Carlos Humberto Gómez Arciniegas · Revista M · Global
This article from 2009 investigates the primary features and opportunities of peri-urban agriculture, a practice at the transition between rural and urban areas. The study aims to identify 'agricultural strategies' from significant experiences to encourage future territorial planning practices in other peri-urban contexts. The research seeks to recognize recent experiences where peri-urban agriculture has coordinated economic and social activities and integrated with other activities aimed at valorizing local resources.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageWastewater Use in Cauliflower Production and Farmer’s Health: An Economic Analysis
2009Shahzad Kouser, Mr. Abedullah, Abdus Samie · The Pakistan Development Review · Pakistan (Faisalabad)
This study, conducted in 2006 with 200 farmers in two peri-urban villages of Faisalabad, Pakistan, estimated the economic values of negative health externalities from wastewater use in cauliflower production. While wastewater use appeared profitable without considering externalities, factoring in health costs strongly discouraged its use. The health externalities for a three-month cauliflower crop on 741 acres amounted to Rs 3.2 million, and for 5,283 acres of vegetables cultivated with wastewater in Faisalabad, the annual total was Rs 90.7 million. The findings indicate a significant economic loss due to wastewater use, suggesting that installing a water treatment plant is a viable option to minimize these external effects.
Contamination & food safetyHealthEconomicsPeri-urban agriculturePolicyLike what you get? Is it good for you? Organic food, health and sustainable development in schools
2009Minna Mikkola, Bent Egberg Mikkelsen, Gun Roos · · Global
These Proceedings compile preliminary empirical research, Master's theses, projects on implementing organic school meals and school gardens, and educational visions for future food education for sustainability. Published halfway through the iPOPY project, this report presents some of the outcomes achieved and outlines ongoing work towards more sustainable food systems.
Food educationHealthCommunityCommunity Gardens in Urban Ghana: Impacts on Food Security, Public Health, and Community Cohesion
2009Abena Boampongwa, Esi Amagatso, Efua Asarekwai · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana
This study in urban Ghana used a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, focus groups, and observational studies over one year, to assess the impact of community gardens. It found that community gardens significantly increased (p<0.05) the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among community members, improving dietary diversity and reducing reliance on processed foods. The findings suggest community gardens can enhance food security and public health outcomes in urban settings, especially with integrated educational programs.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justiceHealthFood educationPolicyContext Aware Education for Agriculture.
2009Richard Beckwith, Sharon Greenfield · · Global
This ethnographic study investigated how teachers use school gardens for agricultural education and how farmers learn on farms, aiming to define needs for a mobile educational application. The research sought to inform the development of a mobile device with video, connectivity, and sensors, capable of generating inferences for computer vision and other applications. Future work will explore how such devices can influence learning and teaching.
Food educationCommunityExperiencia cubana en organopónicos, una opción para la seguridad alimentaria en Nicaragua
2009Mayra Puente Isidrón · Revista Ciencia y Tecnología El Higo · Cuba
This paper describes the development and impacts of urban agriculture, specifically "organopónicos," in Cuba. It highlights how this approach utilizes local productive potential and available labor to significantly increase agricultural products for the population. The impacts include contributions to human nutrition, providing vitamins, minerals, and plant/animal protein, and fostering new dietary habits based on societal possibilities.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityHealthDistance Threshold for the Effect of Urban Agriculture on Elevated Self-reported Malaria Prevalence in Accra, Ghana
2009Justin Stoler, John R. Weeks, Arthur Getis, Allan G. Hill · American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · Ghana (Accra)
A 2003 study in Accra, Ghana, surveyed 3,164 women to examine the relationship between self-reported malaria and proximity to urban agriculture (UA). The odds of self-reported malaria were significantly higher for women living within 1 km of UA compared to those living near an irrigation source, with the association disappearing beyond this distance. Malaria prevalence was often elevated in communities within 1 km of UA, even with more favorable socioeconomic characteristics.
Environmental trade-offsHealthUrban–rural linkageUrban agriculture and Anopheles habitats in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2009Stefan Dongus, Dickson Nyika, Khadija Kannady, Deo Mtasiwa, Hassan Mshinda, Laura Gosoniu, Axel Drescher, Ulrike Fillinger, Marcel Tanner, Gerry F. Killeen, Márcia C. Castro · Geospatial health · Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
A cross-sectional survey in urban Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, investigated the influence of agricultural and geographical features on Anopheles larvae presence. The study found that agricultural areas, covering over 5% of the 16.8 km2 study area, had a 1.7 times higher proportion of habitats containing Anopheles larvae compared to other areas. However, breeding sites originating from urban agriculture accounted for less than a fifth of all malaria vector breeding sites in the city.
Environmental trade-offsHealthBiodiversityTherapeutic Horticulture in Australia
2009Lei Yan-hua · · Australia
This paper discusses the state of therapeutic horticulture in Australia, describing the field as largely project-driven with little government or philanthropic funding to sustain long-term growth. It notes that recent initiatives in community gardens, school and children's gardens, and horticultural therapy services have expanded the scope of activity and, while still small compared with many other countries, are high-profile, community-led, and have secured significant government funding. However, the paper states that this needs to be balanced against numerous barriers facing the sector: insufficient research, limited organization and representation, few education and training opportunities, and a lack of outreach and community services.
Governance failureHealthWelfareCommunityURBAN AGRICULTURE: FACTORS AFFECTING THE DECISION TO GROW VEGETABLES IN TAMALE METROPOLIS
2009S. Al-hassan · The IUP Journal of Agricultural Economics · Ghana
Using cross-sectional data from 196 urban agriculturalists (136 vegetable farmers and 56 non-vegetable farmers) in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Northern Region, Ghana, a 2009 study examined the factors determining the decision to cultivate vegetables. Results showed vegetable production in the study area was influenced by extension services, use of inorganic fertilizer (manure), and availability of farmland. The study recommends training existing extension agents in modern vegetable production techniques so they can in turn train farmers, with emphasis on quality seed production, variety selection, diversification and quality control; directing extension services toward efficient manure application; encouraging vegetable farmers to form cooperatives to network with livestock producer associations; and having policymakers provide large, suitable irrigable land for vegetable production.
CommunityEconomicsPolicyCombination of Agricultural Universities and Urban Agriculture
2009Hui Li · Journal of Hebei Agricultural Sciences · Global
This paper discusses the characteristics of urban agriculture, the significance of linking agricultural universities with urban agriculture, and concrete measures by which agricultural universities can serve agriculture.
Food educationCommunityTHE COMPOST – A METHOD TO RESTORE THE ORGANIC WASTE PRODUCTS IN THE NATURAL CIRCUIT
2009Delia Nicoleta Vieru, Narcis Paul Vieru · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This descriptive article on composting states that about half of household waste consists of food remains, vegetable, and garden waste, and that over 50% of waste is organic material that ends up in storage sites, cesspools, or is burned, causing significant pollution. As an alternative, it describes transforming organic material through microbial, biochemical, chemical and physical processes into a humus-like material called compost. Producing quality compost requires managing the pile's dimensions, humidity, structure, and composition so decomposition agents (bacteria, fungi, mites, springtails, woodlice, worms, millipedes) have an ideal, nutrient-rich substrate; these agents need nitrogen ("green" elements, from food remains, cut grass, and green leaves) alongside carbon ("brown" elements, from wood chips, dry leaves, and sawdust), maintained at roughly a 30:1 brown-to-green ratio through alternating layers. The article states that producing compost in schools can bring the whole school community together for environmental work, contributing to natural resource recirculation, community education about compost's benefits, a shift in cultural attitudes toward waste, reduced food-remainder volume from school canteens, student involvement in extracurricular activities, and fertile soil for school gardens and planting. The abstract text is truncated at the end, cutting off its description of composting's benefits as a fertilizer.
CompostOrganic cycleDIYLocalisation through Alternative farming: Embeddings for a better future
2009G. Palaniappan, Christine King · Queensland's institutional digital repository (The University of Queensland) · Australia
A conceptual paper framing local food production systems—termed "alternative farming"—against a backdrop of global environmental changes (retreating sea ice, landscape drying, shifts in seasonal timing and animal migration) and climate-driven increases in energy prices and dependence on fossil fuels, which the authors say have raised interest in localization and sustainability among communities worldwide. It examines systems including organics, natural farming, biodynamics, permaculture, community gardens, and community-supported agriculture (CSA) in terms of how they might contribute to localizing food production and consumption, and discusses the transition from globalized to localized farming and re-localization's ecological and social dimensions. The paper argues that sustainability can be grounded in local ecological, social, economic, and political systems, but the discussion is conceptual rather than based on presented empirical data.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityEconomicsOrganic cycleThe Urban Agriculture of Havana
2009Sinan Koont · Monthly Review · Cuba
An article describes the development, over roughly fifteen years since the 1990s, of urban agriculture in Havana, Cuba, a capital city of more than two million people. It notes that the term "urban agriculture" in Cuba is used more inclusively than typical usage, encompassing urban fringe and suburban lands — the entire cultivated area of the Province of the City of Havana is classified as urban agriculture. The article provides no specific yield or participation figures.
CommunityFood sovereignty & justicePolicyEconomicsAgricultura de base ecológica em sistemas urbanos: potencialidades, limitações e experiências.
2009C. T. de T. Machado, A. T. Machado · · Global
This review compiles ecological principles for urban agriculture—crop diversity, organic and mineral-based fertilizers, and non-toxic pest and disease management—and describes international examples such as diversified plots in Austria and the "organoponico" system in Cuba. It surveys Brazilian experiences from pioneering ecological urban agriculture in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, to later programs in Campinas (São Paulo) and Natal (Rio Grande do Norte), as well as initiatives in Rio de Janeiro, the São Paulo municipal urban agriculture program, and Brasília, presenting the rationale, alternatives, and constraints of ecologically based crop management in urban agriculture.
Organic cycleCommunityFood educationThe Socioeconomic and Cultural Significance of Food Gardening in the Vladimir Region of Russia
2008Sharashkin L. · University of Missouri-Columbia (PhD Dissertation) · Russia (Vladimir Region)
A PhD dissertation examining 1,500 Vladimir Region families to show that household food gardens underpin more than half of Russia's agricultural output and fulfil wide-ranging economic, social, and cultural functions.
EconomicsCommunityWelfareFood educationImpact of treadle pump irrigation technology on smallholder poverty and food security in Malawi: a case study of Blantyre and Mchinji districts
2008· International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability · Malawi
Case study in two Malawian districts finding that adopters of low-cost treadle pump irrigation had higher net farm income per hectare than non-adopters.
DIYEconomicsOpportunities and Challenges of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture in Niamey, Niger
2008Sophie Graefe, Eva Schlecht, Andreas Buerkert · Outlook on Agriculture · Niger (Niamey)
Semi-structured interviews with 130 households in Niamey, Niger, characterized urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) and assessed resource use. The study found high use of livestock manure and indiscriminate use of nutrient-loaded wastewater for irrigation, leading to significant nutrient surpluses in UPA gardens. Initial calculations suggested large gaseous emissions of nitrogenous compounds and and leaching of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to groundwater.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthClimate changeEconomicsOn Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries
2008Richard W. Reynolds · · Global
This 2008 global handbook, "On Guerrilla Gardening," explores the motivations and methods of guerrilla gardening, a movement involving illicit cultivation of public land. The book compiles advice from guerrilla gardeners in thirty countries on topics such as plant selection, coping with environmental conditions, seed bombing, and propaganda. It also traces the historical development of the movement from the 17th century to the 1970s.
DIYCommunityFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkageImpact of urban agriculture on malaria vectors in Accra, Ghana
2008Eveline Klinkenberg, Philip J. McCall, Michael D. Wilson, Felix P. Amerasinghe, Martin J. Donnelly · Malaria Journal · Ghana
This study investigated the impact of urban agriculture on malaria transmission risk in Accra, Ghana, through larval and adult mosquito surveys. It found that Anopheles spp. and Culex quinquefasciatus outdoor biting rates were three and four times higher, respectively, in areas around agricultural sites compared to areas far from agriculture. The annual Entomological Inoculation Rate (EIR) was also higher in agricultural areas (19.2) than non-agricultural areas (6.6), suggesting that urban agricultural areas may increase malaria transmission risk by providing resting sites for adult mosquitoes.
Environmental trade-offsHealthUrban–rural linkageGrowing Vegetables and Values: Benefits of Neighborhood-Based Community Gardens for Youth Development and Nutrition
2008Julie Ober Allen, Katherine Alaimo, Doris Elam, Elizabeth Perry · Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition · Global
This 2008 qualitative case study examined two neighborhood-based community gardens with youth programs, using participant observation and in-depth interviews with various stakeholders. The study found that these garden programs offered opportunities for constructive activities, community contributions, skill development, and improved nutrition for participating youth. Community gardens promoted developmental assets for youth while enhancing their access to and consumption of healthy foods.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfareSmart 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 linkageThe URBANET Trade Justice Campaign in Ghana: A Case Study of Efforts to Involve Indigenous Farmers in Advocacy
2008Masud Aziz Rauf · School for International Training Digital Collections (School for International Training) · Ghana (Tamale)
This research, conducted in the Tamale metropolitan area of Ghana's northern region, investigated the efforts of URBANET, a local NGO, to educate and involve indigenous farmers in advocacy as part of Ghana's broader trade justice movement. URBANET advocated for farmers facing challenges like falling prices due to imported products under unfair trade policies, providing workshops, radio programs, and mobilizing farmers. The advocacy raised awareness among indigenous farmers and contributed to policy changes, such as the Ghanaian government's 2005 statement requiring state institutions to buy Ghanaian rice.
PolicyFood sovereignty & justiceCommunity