Research & reports

Dr.Sumanta Bhattacharya, H. B. Lal, Bhavneet Kaur Sachdev · Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research · India

India's horticulture industry has grown, contributing to GDP and employing 42% of the population. However, 60% of products rot due to a lack of cold storage, hindering the elimination of food shortages and export amplification. Floriculture has also improved, with women playing a role in rural economy and empowerment.

Teuku Fadhla, Mutia Ismail · · Indonesia

This program aimed to assist the Tunggai Hamlet community in Banda Aceh City, Indonesia, to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and innovation in hydroponic urban farming and marketing. The program sought to increase the entrepreneurial mindset of Tunggai Hamlet youth, enhance innovation capabilities in hydroponic and marketing businesses, and produce agribusiness products via healthy hydroponic systems for commercial use.

Yang Zhou, Yang Zhou, Jing‐Cheng Han, Jie Li, Ya Zhou, Ya Zhou, Keyi Wang, Yuefei Huang · Journal of Cleaner Production · China (Shenzhen)

This study focused on robust planning for Shenzhen City's urban agriculture system under stringent pollution controls, aiming to build resilient cities. A robust-optimization-based urban agriculture planning (ROB-UAP) model was developed and applied to Shenzhen City. Results indicated that under expected economic conditions, agricultural restructuring could increase the system's overall output by at least 8%. Furthermore, the total amount of major pollutants could be reduced in both risk-averse and risk-tolerant scenarios, highlighting the importance of robust decision-making for environmentally low-impact outcomes.

Nurlela Machmuddin, Ahmad Mubarak, Rayhana Jafar, Jufriadi Jufriadi · Jurnal Ilmiah Membangun Desa dan Pertanian · Indonesia (Tarakan)

This study, conducted in Tarakan City, Indonesia, from April to June 2021, analyzed public perception of hydroponic technology for independent household food procurement. Respondents, with an average age of 30 and high school education, showed a heightened perception (81.11%) of hydroponics. The highest perceived benefits included healthier plants, maintained quality, easy and practical maintenance, and a high selling price compared to conventional methods.

Zachary Burt, C. Shambu Prasad, Pay Drechsel, Isha Ray · Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · India (Karnataka)

A preference-ranking model was developed to understand the acceptance of fecal sludge-derived fertilizer (FSF) in Karnataka, India, by modeling farmowners and farmworkers separately. The study found that farmers willing to use FSF prefer to conceal its origins from workers and their caste group, especially caste-adhering, vegetarian farmowners. Workers were open to FSF if it resembled cow manure, revealing that the waste economy in rural India is shaped by unacknowledged caste hierarchies and practices.

Bagus Imran Saptadji Handoko, Iwan Setiawan · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia (Bandung)

This quantitative study, conducted at Warung Sehat 1000 Kebun in Bandung, Indonesia, investigated the willingness of millennial consumers to pay for organic vegetables. Using survey methods with questionnaires, the research found that psychological factors significantly influenced millennials' willingness to consume organic vegetables.

Umbu Joka, Aprianus Nelson Bana · Agribusiness Journal · Indonesia (Kefamenanu City District)

This survey study, conducted in June 2020 with 20 farmers from the Nekaf Mese farmer group in Benpasi Village, Indonesia, aimed to determine the income and relative advantages of urban bean farming. Farmers cultivated 6-9 acres, generating an average revenue of Rp. 1,827,500 and an average income of Rp. 796,050 per planting season. The average relative profit was 1.74, indicating economic profitability.

Margareth Margareth, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Martha Fani Cahyandito, Kinanti Indah Safitri · Prosiding Seminar Nasional Fakultas Pertanian UNS · Indonesia (Bandung)

This qualitative study examines the implementation of urban farming in Bandung City, Indonesia, from a political ecology perspective, focusing on market, service, and institutional interactions, and product marketing chains. The research identifies policy failures, where city government agricultural policies were insufficient to meet residents' food needs, necessitating top-down urban farming innovations. It also notes market failures due to public dissatisfaction with available products, driving bottom-up urban farming initiatives by independent organizations. Funding sources and operational cost efficiency strategies differ between government-led and independent urban farming efforts.

Pratik Mishra, Sumit Vij · · India (Gurugram)

Ethnographic research in Budhera, a peri-urban village bordering Gurugram city in Haryana, India, investigated the juxtaposition of urbanization processes and climate variability impacts on peri-urban agriculture. Results showed that dimensions of agrarian livelihoods, such as cropping choices, irrigation cycles, sharecropping arrangements, declining common property resources, and land use changes to non-agricultural uses, were influenced by urbanization processes. It was concluded that changes in land and water use reshape agricultural practices and can cascade upon climate variability impacts, making agriculture more precarious for peri-urban farmers.

Kinanti Indah Safitri, Oekan S. Abdoellah, Yusep Suparman, Akhmad Zainal Mubarak, Margareth · International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning · Indonesia (Bandung)

The existence of subsistence, semi-commercial, and commercial urban agriculture in Bandung Metropolitan, Indonesia, was investigated through qualitative research. Data was collected via observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation with 50 individuals from farmer groups and local government. Findings indicated that each category of urban agriculture had distinct characteristics and motivations, with subsistence agriculture in intra-city areas aiming to reduce food dependence, and semi-commercial and commercial agriculture in surrounding regencies focusing on economic development or profit maximization. The study concluded that policy instruments for sustainable agricultural management are needed for urban agriculture in Bandung Metropolitan.

Rahmi Winangsih, Rahmi Mulyasih, Marthalena, Rethorika Berthanilla, Ahmad Sururi · Bantenese - Jurnal Pengabdian Masyarakat · Indonesia (Cilegon)

This paper reports on an empowerment communication program within an urban farming initiative targeting women in Kampung Lukis Ramanuju, Cilegon City, Indonesia. The program aims to empower women to meet family and community food needs by cultivating high-economic-value crops like vegetables and fruits. As a result of the mentorship, the participating group became capable of producing crops for personal consumption.

Tamy Erissanti, Supadi Supadi, Suharno Suharno · Jurnal Ekonomi Pembangunan Kajian Masalah Ekonomi dan Pembangunan · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This study analyzed the efficiency of rice farming and factors affecting rice production in North Jakarta, Indonesia, using the Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) method with a sample of 80 rice farmers. Findings showed an average technical efficiency of 0.85, allocative efficiency of 3.47, and economic efficiency of 2.95. Land area and fertilizer positively affected production, while labor and education had a significant negative effect, and ownership rights had no significant effect.

Tuti Kusumaningsih, Rini Devijаnti Ridwаn, Sidarningsih Sidarningsih · Jurnal Layanan Masyarakat (Journal of Public Services) · Indonesia

In the Maesan and Sumberwringin sub-districts of Bondowoso Regency, Indonesia, community groups lacked knowledge and information regarding the health benefits, economic value, and cultivation of ciplukan (Physalis angulata L). To address this, the Community Service Team of the Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Airlangga, designed an activity to provide counseling and promote ciplukan as a medicinal plant, offer information on its health benefits and cultivation, and distribute ciplukan plants as an initial step. This activity received a very good response from the local community.

Marselina Wali, Agustina Pali, Bonaventura Conradus Kelala Huar · International Journal of Community Service Learning · Indonesia

A community-service report introducing hydroponic modern farming as an alternative requiring little land in Potulando sub-district, a densely populated, farmland-scarce area in the town centre of Ende Regency, Indonesia. The method applied was water-culture hydroponics, in which roots are placed in a nutrient-rich solution, and training targeted the village head, sub-district staff, and selected resident representatives. Results showed that hydroponic vegetable cultivation was more efficient than conventional cultivation in terms of land use and productivity, and was found suitable for application as an urban farming system.

Hamidullah Amin, Mansour Helmi · Environmental Science & Sustainable Development · Asia

A study of agricultural land in the Yakatoot area of Kabul, Afghanistan, examining the economic and environmental impacts of land-use change in the capital. It states plainly that, due to rapid population growth, population densification, and the city's inability to enforce its master plan and regulations, a large portion of agricultural land cover has been transformed into unplanned developments, shifting communities from productive societies into consumer and dependent ones. Using a qualitative approach combining field surveys, aerial photographs from Google Earth, and data from CRIDA, the study describes Afghanistan's land laws and identifies the social, economic and environmental impacts of this land-use change, while also reviewing international experience with land-use change and sustainable responses. The authors recommend incorporating urban agriculture practice into Kabul's master plan and other urban initiatives, though this recommendation is presented as the paper's own policy proposal rather than a measured outcome.

Harefan Arief, Mochamad Soelton, Eko Tama Putra Saratian, Tafiprios Tafiprios, Astrid Puspaningrum, Mugiono Mugiono · ICCD · Indonesia

A 2021 report on a community service activity in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic delivered one month of online entrepreneurship education and training to a youth organization (Karang Taruna). Focused on marketing organic hydroponic vegetable urban farming products via information-technology-based programs, the training aimed to build participants' entrepreneurial knowledge and skills; the activity reportedly increased the youth group's creativity and motivation and produced a connection model for microenterprise entrepreneurship.

Gusti Nur Asla Shabia · BHUMI Jurnal Agraria dan Pertanahan · Indonesia

Drawing on an ethnographic study of Garten Coop, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group in Freiburg, Germany, and comparing it with CSA studies in other countries, this paper examines how CSA could contribute to Indonesia's agrarian movement. It finds that CSA reorganizes management of production resources in a more democratic, autonomous and equal way, provides farmers income certainty through consumer commitment and a solidarity economy, and fosters independence through sustainable agriculture principles — thereby indirectly supporting the agrarian movement by helping farmers maintain their land and farming operations and by creating a forum for organizing farmers and consumers.

Nur Khasanah · Medikonis · Indonesia

A study examined an urban farming program aimed at increasing national income in Indonesia's Sulampua (Sulawesi-Maluku-Papua) region, using SWOT analysis to identify the program's weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to formulate strategies for optimizing its implementation. Based on the analysis, it recommends that government develop an appropriate urban farming concept, formulate related policy, educate the public, and provide supporting facilities and marketing assistance, that communities select appropriate seedlings and carry out farming practices diligently, and that the private sector provide business-oriented education and CSR funding.

Retno Purwani Setyaningrum, Arsi Yulianjani, Igor Fadhilah Hibatullah · · Indonesia

A community outreach report from Pasirsari sub-district, Bekasi Regency, West Java, Indonesia, describing an urban-farming program combining deliberation meetings, extension talks and vegetable-growing practice aimed at building clean, healthy neighborhood behavior. The report concludes that most Pasirsari residents showed strong interest in the urban-farming concept, without presenting further outcome data.

Ram Ranjan · Water Economics and Policy · India

This study examines the potential for industrial wastewater remediation through agroforestry in a peri-urban farming region of India. Under a payment for ecosystem services (PES) mechanism, farmers are incentivized to convert farmland into poplar-based agroforestry and use industrial effluent to irrigate the trees, with income from poplar timber sales enhancing the mechanism's attractiveness. A dynamic optimization model compares farmers' optimal land use allocation to a socially optimal case, and compares the firm's effluent discharge outcomes to an alternative arrangement in which it is fined for discharging untreated wastewater without the agroforestry remediation option. The results support the attractiveness of such PES mechanisms in addressing industrial effluent discharge while simultaneously mitigating water scarcity through wastewater reclamation. The optimal tax level required to achieve complete effluent treatment is several times higher than PES payment levels. The incentive to convert farmland to poplar plantations increases with higher PES payments but declines as the profitability of agricultural crops rises.

Teguh Husodo, Keukeu Kaniawati Rosada, Mia Miranti, Nining Ratningsih, Suryana Suryana · Kumawula Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (UMKM) are described as a community effort at self-empowerment aimed at creating independent business opportunities that rely on the community's own abilities and creativity, an effort requiring entrepreneurship support to build understanding of production processes and product benefits. Seven of thirty UMKM in Desa Cinunuk, Bandung Regency, Indonesia (divided into six categories), were analyzed using nine indicators of the business model canvas method. One developed UMKM was additionally identified as potential not only from an economic standpoint but also for community empowerment: use of residents' narrow landholdings combined with the ease of production under the urban farming concept was seen as capable of becoming an iconic business for Desa Cinunuk. The Women Farmers Group (KWT) of Desa Cinunuk is described as having the potential to develop into an advanced UMKM through entrepreneurship support such as completing licensing, pharmacological testing, and certification.

Etika Larasati, Agriani Hermita Sadeli · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia

Using a case study of IJO Hydro Rooftop Garden and Hydroponic Market, an edible-flower vendor in Indonesia, this study conducted a quantitative survey of 51 respondents and used descriptive analysis of the affective attitude attribute to examine consumer attitudes toward edible flowers as a commodity. Most respondents showed favorable affective attitudes overall; the attribute rated highest was that edible flowers are "attractive," while the attribute rated lowest was that they are "important."

Siti Hayati Efi Friantin, Ika Swasti Putri · TA AWUN · Indonesia

In the Cinderejo Kidul area of Gilingan Village, Banjarsari District, Surakarta, Indonesia, a community service program trained residents in urban farming—using narrow plots or house yards—as a way to reduce household expenses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The activity reported that participants were able to apply urban farming techniques in their surrounding environment following the training.

Santiteerakul S., Sopadang A., Yaibuathet Tippayawong K., Tamvimol K. · Sustainability (MDPI) · Thailand

Case study of Thailand's Wangree Health Factory plant factory showing how smart technology enhances productivity, product quality, resource-use efficiency, food safety, and employee quality of life, evidencing the business performance of corporate urban farming.

Jing R., Hastings A., Guo M. · iScience · China (Shanghai)

A whole-system modeling study integrating biogeochemical simulation and energy system optimization to evaluate rooftop agriculture options and photovoltaics for a Shanghai case, finding conditioned greenhouses can deliver environmentally sustainable land use.