Research & reports

Luis Carlos Estupiñán Aponte · Repositorio Institucional UPTC · Global

This project explores urban and peri-urban agriculture as a viable, though not comprehensive, solution to food vulnerability in urban areas, where access to food is often limited by purchasing power. It applies circular economy and agroecological principles, utilizing available resources for garden assembly, processing plant waste into fertilizers, and employing botanical and microbiological controls for phytosanitary management. The initiative emphasizes broad community participation, knowledge exchange, and the creation of social spaces to enhance food and nutrition security.

Chethika Gunasiri Wadumestrige Dona, Geetha Mohan, Kensuke Fukushi · Journal of Water and Environment Technology · Sri Lanka (Colombo)

This study aimed to identify the perception levels of urban farmers in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka, towards greywater irrigation and the factors influencing these perceptions. The results revealed that urban farmers in the Colombo District are willing to reuse greywater for farming activities. Farm management factors such as irrigation source, farm size, and farmers’ preference for different crop types significantly influenced their perception of greywater irrigation.

Akhi Akter, Md. Forhad Hossain, Jubayer-Al Mahmud, Nasrin Sultana, Md Maruf Hasan, Tahira Begum · Journal of Agroforestry and Environment · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study investigated the impacts of vermicompost, sawdust, and cowdung on cauliflower growth and yield on a rooftop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from November 2019 to July 2020. The experiment found that vermicompost (10 t ha-1) combined with recommended chemical fertilizers resulted in the highest yield (19.75 t ha-1) and benefit-cost ratio (3.33). The results indicate that rooftops are suitable for cauliflower production using vermicompost.

David Barkin · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Global

This study contributes to the significance of a growing global movement where millions of people are taking control of their environments, creating "Territories of Life" to strengthen autonomy and produce food using traditional techniques enhanced by agroecology. Indigenous and peasant communities, who inhabit over one-quarter of the world's land and produce about 70% of global food, are restructuring their organizations and governance to control their ancestral territories. This movement has the potential to influence other communities and expand local and regional networks and markets worldwide.

Alexandra Ribeiro, Lívia Madureira, Raquel Carvalho · Landscape and Urban Planning · Global

This paper conducted a bibliometric analysis of published research on urban gardens, using Vosviewer software and the Web of Science database. The analysis identified four research clusters: 'Citizens' (people, lifestyle, community), 'Drivers' (motivations, purposes, benefits), 'Cities' (contribution to urban sustainability, hindered by lack of policy recognition), and 'Soil' (sustainability shortcomings due to soil contamination on vacant land). The study concluded that urban garden research is directly related to sustainable development, but the issue receives little importance, with most studies being case studies and economic pressure affecting sustainability.

Alicia Papanek, Catherine Campbell, Hannah Wooten · EDIS · Global

This publication, authored by Alicia Papanek, Catherine G. Campbell, and Hannah Wooten and published in January 2023 by the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, provides an overview of urban food production. It discusses the benefits of urban agriculture alongside potential challenges that can limit the success of these operations, including economic viability.

Megan K. Schraedley · · Global

This chapter examines Sweet Water Farm, a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, through a participant's perspective, analyzing organizing practices by highlighting three tensions. These include the tension between community creation and customer management, issues of inclusion and exclusion from CSAs, and the challenge of transforming capitalist economic structures while operating within them. The study reveals that while CSAs offer potential for addressing equity in the food system, questions persist regarding their long-term adoption by diverse communities as an alternative to conventional agriculture.

Magdalena Popławska · Przegląd Kulturoznawczy · Global

This article analyzes women's experiences in household food production, distribution, and consumption as responses to daily life challenges, integrating food studies, historical sociology, and gender studies. Based on a literature review, including oral histories and autobiographical accounts of urban and rural women, the study demonstrates that women's food-related stories explore alternatives to scarcity economies and mass production. These alternatives, found in kitchens, farm fields, or allotment gardens, embody values like mutual assistance, trust, and reciprocity, and can be interpreted as creativity, resourcefulness, power relations, and resistance during everyday crises.

Yumin Park, Yong-Wook Shin · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global

This study conducted an importance-performance analysis (IPA) on the values and major achievements of urban agriculture, analyzing 104 responses from experts involved in urban agricultural policies. It found that both importance and satisfaction were highest for health functions, followed by social-cultural, environmental-ecological, and economic functions. Awareness of health functions was high, while economic functions were low, suggesting a need for strengthening.

Marco Medici, Maurizio Canavari, Alessandra Castellini · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global

This study designed and applied a cost-benefit analysis based on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) to five Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives, addressing the lack of objective sustainability indicators. CSAs are local food supply chains characterized by member volunteer commitment, reduction of synthetic inputs in food production, and shortening of the supply chain. Findings revealed that the analyzed CSA case studies demonstrated a limited but positive socio-environmental performance compared to conventional food supply chains, thereby showing they can create real value in terms of social gains and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Ana H. Ladio, Melisa Longo, Soledad Molares · Ethnobotany Research and Applications · Argentina (San Carlos de Bariloche)

This qualitative study analyzed the resilience processes of agroecological farmers at the Free Fair of Family Farmers from Nahuel Huapi in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. The fair's main resilience principles include high agrobiodiversity, learning and connectivity, cooperation, and adaptive systemic thinking. However, the economic and cultural viability of this fair is uncertain due to the drastic socio-environmental changes experienced in the region.

Jamille Anderson Luiz da Silva, Paula Tereza de Souza e Silva · Cadernos de Prospecção · Global

This study aimed to identify mobile applications developed or used for offering and trading food products in community gardens, through scientific and technological prospecting. Searches were conducted across multiple databases using keywords like "Aplicativo," "App," "Software," "Horta," and "Agricultura urbana." The results showed few applications associated with the theme, with most intended for specific localities and few available for widespread use, indicating a limited effect of existing tools.

Neville N. Suh, Richard A. Nyiawung, Ernest L. Molua, Rossella Bottone, Canan Abay · World Development Sustainability · Cameroon

This study in Cameroon explored the association between farming households' resilience and food/nutrition insecurity during COVID-19 lockdowns. Focus group discussions identified shocks and response strategies, followed by an in-depth study of 249 farming households. Econometric modeling revealed that COVID-19 shocks adversely affected food and nutrition security and reduced resilience capacity. However, existing adaptive capacity and access to basic services significantly contributed to resilience, with female-headed and semi-urban households showing greater resilience.

Michael Tuffour · Journal of Regional and City Planning · Ghana

This study investigated how urban farmers in Ghana cope with land scarcity amidst rapid urbanization and the factors influencing their mobility for farmland. Responses from 251 farmers were analyzed using both Tobit and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), revealing that land situation factors such as land ownership type, land scarcity challenges, and land size were associated with farmers' mobility. Farm characteristics like market benefits, intensity of vegetable production, and technology level, along with personal characteristics such as age, education level, farmer engagement, and marital status, also played a role in mobility.

Aubrey Lynn Garcia, M.A.C. Griffith, George Paul Buss, Xiusheng Yang, John L. Griffis, Sarah E. Bauer, Ankit Singh · Agricultural Sciences · Global

This review investigates Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) as a potential solution for food security, discussing its rationale, growth factors, and technologies. While indoor farming systems like vertical farming enhance urban access to food, the cost of CEA remains high, though it is decreasing due to technological advances.

Jialing Xie · · Australia (Wyndham)

Wyndham, one of Australia's fastest-growing communities, faces increased urbanization and pressure on its socio-ecological environment, leading to growing food insecurity. This paper aims to explore agriculture-based resilient community development to achieve food security in Wyndham. Through a critical review of relevant literature and case studies on implementing a pilot site design approach, the paper presents necessary actions for urban farming practices at their current scale and reviews opportunities and barriers to scaling up these practices under future risks like climate change and sea-level rise.

Benjamin 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.

Puteri Sidrotul Nabihah Saarani, Siti Nur Aishah Mohd Noor, Zailawati Khalid2, Asniza Hamimi Abdul Tharim, Asmalia Che Ahmad, Norhafizah Abdul Rahman, Mohamad Haizam Mohamed Saraf · International Journal of Business and Technology Management · Malaysia

This paper aimed to develop a conceptual framework for Life Cycle Cost (LCC) in the context of smart urban farming through an in-depth literature review. Employing the Iceberg Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model, the conceptual framework for Smart UF LCC components was divided into acquisition cost and hidden cost. This framework assists in decision-making by providing a holistic view of the costs involved in a project or investment.

Arfiana Dita Arum Sari, Dita Atasa, Yana Yana, Asep Syaefuddin, Dewi Suryani, Rhomi Ardiansyah · Faedah Jurnal Hasil Kegiatan Pengabdian Masyarakat Indonesia · Global

The Sustainable Urban Agriculture Practitioner (PPB) division of SEAMEO BIOTROP's internship activities focused on Red Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) cultivation using Yumina and Bumina techniques, suitable for urban areas. The activities encompassed seeding, maintenance, and treatment, aiming to provide knowledge, understanding, and skills for proper red tilapia cultivation to the community.

José Anido · Agroalimentaria · Venezuela

This exploratory review study examined the viability of urban food systems and their governance in Venezuela, based on secondary sources. While identifying available resources like educational infrastructure and a renewed legal framework, the study highlighted significant limitations. These include increasing deforestation, deteriorating potable water services for urban agriculture, migration of skilled populations, decline in public funding for science and technology, opaque official information, and scarcity of financing for new developments.

Abdulai Adams, Samuel Sekyi, Irrshad Kaseeram · Cogent Food & Agriculture · Ghana (Accra)

This study analyzed the efficiency performance and willingness to pay (WTP) for treated wastewater among 214 urban vegetable producers in the greater Accra metropolis of Ghana. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and logistic regression models, results showed that the current production system is technically inefficient, with 33% more output possible from existing resources. The mean amount farmers were willing to pay for treated wastewater delivered to their farms was GH¢66.7 per month.

· Current Science International · Egypt (Giza)

An experiment was conducted for two seasons (2020/2021 and 2021/2022) at the Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate's rooftop garden in Giza, Egypt, to determine suitable cultivation systems and planting densities for rooftop potato production. The deep beds system proved more suitable than the horizontal bags system, showing higher values for plant height, leaf number, and yield. While 6 plants/m² recorded the highest values for individual plant metrics, a density of 9 plants/m² resulted in the highest total yield per m².

Paola Clerino, Agnès Fargue‐Lelièvre, Jean-Marc Meynard · Agronomy for Sustainable Development · Global

This study investigated the sustainability assessment practices of professional intra-urban agriculture (PIUA) projects in the Global North, analyzing 19 case studies. Four dimensions underpinning sustainability assessment were identified: internal sustainability, external sustainability, the project leader’s credibility, and the innovative nature of the project. The study found 67 diverse assessment criteria and that 78% of indicators used were qualitative, noting that assessment practices evolve over time. The results enhance understanding of how PIUA project sustainability is assessed.

Anisja Tarchahani, Jacqueline Loos · World Development Sustainability · Lebanon

This study analyzed the livelihood effects of rooftop urban agriculture for 10 Palestinian women in Ein El-Hilweh Camp, Lebanon, using a mixed-method approach combining document analysis and a survey. Findings suggest that rooftop urban agriculture contributes considerably to more sustainable livelihoods for Palestinian women and their families by enabling them to develop natural and human capital, increasing food security, and protecting natural resources. It is a low-threshold tool that enhances refugees' well-being over the medium term.

Nur Shuhamin Nazuri, Siti Shazwani Ahmad Suhaimi, Mohamad Fazli Sabri · International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences · Malaysia

This quantitative study examined 212 Urban Agriculture program members in Klang Valley, Malaysia, to understand the interactive effect of age and education on bonding social capital and social empowerment. It found high levels of bonding social capital and social empowerment, with a strong correlation between them. Age and education significantly moderate this relationship, with younger and highly educated individuals showing a more significant impact.