Research & reports

Ana Luisa Santos Rocha, Luly Rodrigues da Cunha Fischer · Revista de Direito Urbanístico Cidade e Alteridade · Brazil (Pará)

This action-research article, based on documentary sources, reports on legal solutions for land and urban issues in the Amazon, specifically for institutionalizing urban and peri-urban agriculture initiatives in Pará municipalities. It describes challenges for implementing the 2023 National Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture Program in the Amazon and discusses municipal competence for territorial planning and land titling. The study concludes that agroforestry hubs and backyards can serve as land instruments for municipalities in Pará.

Adriana de Paula Cavalcante Fraga, Ana Moraes Coelho, Jéssica Castro Chryssafidis, José Geraldo Barreto Monteiro de Andrade, Maíra Bombachini Silva, Maria Luiza Sevilha Seraphico de Assis Carvalho, Mariana Nicolletti, Nathan Debortoli, Samuel Santos de Souza Pinto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Manaus)

A case study of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Manaus, Brazil, aimed to identify and characterize the benefits these agricultural initiatives provide to the territory. Using a hybrid methodology that combined biophysical modeling with listening to the voices of experienced protagonists, the study identified the significant potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to city development. This research revealed the potential for urban agriculture to mitigate or solve typical urban problems.

Iara Rafaela Gomes · Sociedade & natureza · Brazil (Fortaleza)

This article aims to deepen the discussion about agricultural activity in metropolitan cities, focusing on the Fortaleza Metropolitan Area (FMA), Ceará, Brazil. Researchers reviewed primary and secondary data on producer profiles and agricultural and food processing establishments to understand family farming in the FMA. The study identified production strategies, challenges, and opportunities for family farmers, contributing to policy-making for the sustainability and resilience of metropolitan family farming.

Silvia Iveth Moreno Gaytán, Héctor Ávila Sánchez · Regiones y Desarrollo Sustentable · Mexico

This research, part of the "Towards food sustainability: Urban and peri-urban agriculture networks in Central Mexico" project, examines rural-urban interrelationships for the sustainability of urban and peri-urban agriculture. The analysis used the MESMIS framework for two case studies of new agroecology-derived markets that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, along with cartographic tools. The results identify the basket of goods offered by peri-urban territories to guide regions and food systems towards sustainability, aiming to strengthen the preservation of social and natural resources in the Central Region of Mexico.

Thayná da Cruz Ferreira, Gleiciane Rodrigues dos Santos, Alessandra Jackeline Guedes de Moraes, Fernando de Souza Santos, Danielle Pereira Mendonça, Matheus Yan Freitas Silva, Gledson Luiz Salgado de Castro, Telma Fátima Vieira Batista · Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental · Brazil

This study in Ananindeua, Brazil, evaluated the growth of Acmella oleracea (jambu) under protected and unprotected cultivation systems, applying entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae) and the growth promoter Trichoderma asperellum. All three microorganisms promoted jambu growth in both cultivation systems and seasons. Metarhizium anisopliae notably enhanced all growth variables, particularly in protected cultivation during the rainy season, and A. oleracea generally performed better in protected systems across all treatments.

Pierric Calenge, Maie Gérardot · Métropolitiques · United States (Cleveland)

The work by Max Rousseau and Vincent Béal illuminates the ambiguities of a policy that organizes urban decline and racial segregation in Cleveland. This policy promotes urban degrowth and racial segregation, balancing algorithmic management and urban greening. The study focuses on the Rust Belt region, which experiences de-urbanization marked by the subprime crisis, racism, and segregation.

Cavani Guzmán, Pierina · Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences (University of Skopje) · Peru (Lima)

This article discusses the impact of urbanization and industrialization processes on peri-urban agricultural production in the Nuevo Horizonte de Carapongo association in Lurigancho, Lima, Peru. The research analyzes the development of these phenomena and their relationship with the changes generated in the agricultural production of the area, contributing to the academic discussion on the deagrarianization process of peri-urban spaces.

Adriana de Paula Cavalcante Fraga, Ana Moraes Coelho, Jéssica Castro Chryssafidis, José Geraldo Barreto Monteiro de Andrade, Maíra Bombachini Silva, Maria Luiza Sevilha Seraphico de Assis Carvalho, Mariana Nicolletti, Nathan Debortoli, Samuel Santos de Souza Pinto · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (São Paulo)

This case study in Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil, identified and characterized the benefits of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) initiatives for the territory. Using a hybrid methodology combining biophysical modeling of ecosystem services with stakeholder input, the study provided an overview of UPA's contributions to microclimate, soil, and water. It highlighted UPA's significant potential to mitigate or solve typical urban problems and contribute to city development.

Marina Torreblanca, Flavio Choquehuanca, Javier Martínez, Martinez Alfaro · Land · Peru (Arequipa)

This research developed indicators for Cultural Ecosystem Services (CESs) in peri-urban agricultural and natural areas (PANAs), using Arequipa, Peru, as a case study. A systematic review combined with a participatory workshop identified 230 indicators across 19 subclassifications, with 115 indicators across 13 subclassifications assessed for impact level. This study enables the selection of practical indicators to facilitate PANA landscape management and support decision-making for interventions.

Bruna Trevisan Negri, Antônio Nivaldo Hespanhol · Geography Department University of Sao Paulo · Brazil (São Paulo)

This article compares urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Regente Feijó, Brazil, and Centre Wellington, Canada, to understand their particularities and contributions to food security and local food supply. Data from interviews with farmers revealed that while production purposes differ—predominantly self-consumption in Regente Feijó and commercialization in Centre Wellington—UPA significantly improves food security and local supply in both areas. A key challenge identified is the inadequate government support for UPA in both studied regions.

Marcos Xavier · Boletim Campineiro de Geografia · Brazil (São Paulo)

This article aims to present peripheral urban agriculture in the outskirts of São Paulo, Brazil, as an element of the lower circuit of the urban economy. These agricultural activities, carried out by the city's poor, exhibit forms of organization and methods of practice specific to the urban context and participate in the dispute over the appropriation and use of urban space.

Exzolvildres Queiroz Neto, Gilson Brandão de Oliveira Junior, Marcelha Silva de Andrade, Suncar Dabo, Geisiane Michelle Zanquetta de Pintor · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil

This article presents reflections on the practice of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (AUP) and its impact on land use and occupation in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The research raised several questions concerning rural-urban dynamics, the specificities of urban family farmers, and the complexity of land use in the municipality. Diagnostic results from a semi-structured research guide will be used as an empirical basis for further reflection, and the abstract does not state specific research findings or critical findings regarding governance.

Han Li, Jeremy A. White · Sustainability · United States

This study assessed bat activity patterns at Glacier Creek Preserve in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, from 2018 to 2020 using acoustic monitoring to determine its conservation value for bats. Nine species, including the endangered Myotis septentrionalis, were recorded, with edge habitats showing higher overall and foraging activities for several species compared to open habitats. The preserve provides roosts, commuting corridors, and foraging grounds for different bat species.

L. Garcia Ferreira, M. E. F. CORREIA, M. C. UZEDA · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This study evaluated the role of agroecological urban and peri-urban agriculture in preserving native bee communities in the western region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ten different bee species, nesting in soil and cavities, were identified. Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) indicated that the percentage of agricultural, natural, and built-up land cover was insufficient to explain the species composition regarding their nesting habits. The findings suggest the importance of assessing the quality of agricultural environments, as their association with urban landscapes could support a greater richness of species with diverse nesting habits.

Marcelo Macedo Guimarães, Mariluce Paes de Souza · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Brazil

A qualitative study of a Conservation Unit in the Brazilian Amazon (the Lago do Cuniã Extractive Reserve) analyzing the role of forests within the water-energy-food nexus, focusing on how traditional populations use non-wood natural resources for their survival. Data were collected through questionnaire-based interviews and non-participant observation. The results show that maintaining forest resources improves water quality, controls erosion and resilience against droughts and floods, contributes to energy supply, and contributes to food safety for residents of the conservation unit. The authors note policy implications for management practices to conserve forests and to protect the quantity and quality of rivers, lakes, and aquatic and agricultural ecosystems in the reserve.

Adriana Martins da Silva Bastos Conceição, Márcia Bento Moreira, Hélder Ribeiro Freitas · Peer Review · Brazil

A study in the Território de Identidade do Vale do Jiquiriçá, Bahia, Brazil surveyed municipal agriculture-department professionals through an online questionnaire (stages I and III) and field research (stage II). Online questionnaires initially identified only 12 urban and peri-urban agriculture experiences, but field visits raised that count to 62 active experiences. Stage III data showed professionals lack understanding of the urban agriculture concept and its potential, and that the legal provisions regulating the practice need much wider dissemination for implementation; the data indicate that urban agriculture in the territory's municipalities goes largely unnoticed and is not addressed in public policy.

Iara Rafaela Gomes · Sociedade & natureza · Brazil

A study examining agricultural activity, in particular family farming, in the Fortaleza Metropolitan Area (FMA) of Ceará State, Brazil. Drawing on primary and secondary data on producer profiles and agricultural and food-processing establishments in the region, it identifies key issues in production and food systems within the FMA. The study presents the production strategies used by family farmers, the challenges they face, and opportunities they identify, and argues that examining agriculture in metropolitan areas links socio-spatial and socio-environmental problems and points toward cross-sectoral public policy.

Xanath Bautista-Villalobos, Eduardo Garcı́a-Frapolli · Hábitat y Sociedad · Mexico

Two community urban gardens in Mexico City were analyzed through the lenses of agroecology, the social and solidarity economy, and social innovation. Working with garden administrators and key participants, the researchers defined participatory indicators and ran workshops to gauge local perceptions of how the gardens function. Both initiatives were viewed positively by their communities, though few residents were actually involved. Most evaluated variables scored satisfactorily, but aspects such as the source and use of water, income distribution within the community, and the creation of communal budgets had not met their objectives.

Tiffanie F. Stone, Janette R. Thompson, Emily Zimmerman, Tássia Mattos Brighenti, Matt Liebman · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · United States

In the US Corn Belt near Des Moines, Iowa, researchers combined land-use visualization with producer surveys to examine a future scenario supplying 50% of a metropolitan population's dietary needs from local "table food" (fruit, vegetable and grain crops for direct human consumption) by 2050. Surveys were sent to 1,360 row crop and 55 specialty crop producers, yielding 316 and 25 eligible responses respectively. The scenario would require less than 3% of available agricultural land and roughly 130 additional producers, mostly in grain production. Based on producers' stated plans, local production could supply about 25% of residents' fruit, vegetable and grain needs, up from a 2% baseline. Row crop producers ranked food safety regulations as their strongest constraint, specialty producers ranked labor availability, and both groups cited crop insurance and processing facilities as important.

USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) · USDA Economic Research Service · United States

A USDA Economic Research Service 'Chart of Note' based on the 2022 Census of Agriculture. 39% of the 880 million acres of U.S. farmland was rented or leased in 2022, a rate similar to 2017. Rental activity is concentrated in grain-producing regions such as the Mississippi River corridor, Corn Belt, and Northern Plains, with roughly two-thirds (68%) of rented farmland on operations of 2,000 acres or more.

Agência Senado · Agência Senado (Senado Federal) · Brazil

An Agência Senado article reporting that Law 14,935/2024, sanctioned on July 26, 2024 and published in the official gazette on July 29, 2024, created Brazil's National Policy on Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture (PNAUP). The law defines urban and peri-urban agriculture as farming and livestock activity integrated into the urban ecological and economic system, and lists seven objectives including expanding food security for vulnerable urban populations, occupying idle urban spaces, generating alternative income, linking production to public procurement, promoting family labor and cooperatives, encouraging agroecological production, and spreading organic-waste recycling.

Louise Guibrunet, M Alvarez Rubio, Ileana Nuri Flores Abreu · Local Environment · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study advocates for broadening the definition of Alternative Food Networks (AFN) to include traditional agricultural systems. Analyzing the case of chinampas, a traditional agricultural system in Mexico City, it demonstrates that chinampas can be defined as an AFN due to their production modes, diverse distribution channels, and economic practices. The study concludes that traditional food systems offer an alternative to conventional systems and should be included in AFN research.

Geisa Zanini Rorato, Eugenia Aumond Kuhn, Bruno Luan Soares Paula de Mello, Rodrigo Vitória Alves, Giulia Togni Geremia · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Brazil (Porto Alegre)

This study mapped and characterized 82 urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) initiatives in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It found that educational and health-related initiatives with social and ecological objectives predominated. A significant finding was that only half of these initiatives were active at the time of the survey, with the rest being inactive or closed, indicating structural fragilities, especially in peripheral and less dense areas impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maikol Muñoz, Duvert Ventocilla, Cristina Fonseca, Willy Pradel · · Peru (Lima)

In response to Peru's significant food insecurity in 2022, the Institute of Development and Environment (IDMA) and the International Potato Center (CIP) organized an awareness campaign for World Food Day, focusing on the contribution of agroecological family farming in Metropolitan Lima's Valleys. A central forum, "DIALOGUES ABOUT HEALTHY DIETS FOR EVERYONE, 3X7," highlighted the roles of small farmers in food generation and the importance of common soup kitchens, noting how urban agriculture producers supplied inputs for these kitchens.

Marcia Muñoz, Ventocilla, D., Fonseca , C., Pradel, W. · · Peru (Lima)

In 2022, Peru faced significant food insecurity, with 16.6 million Peruvians affected. The Institute of Development and Environment (IDMA) and the International Potato Center (CIP) organized an awareness campaign for World Food Day, focusing on agroecological family farming in Metropolitan Lima's Valleys. The campaign highlighted the role of small farmers in food production and the importance of urban agriculture in supplying common soup kitchens in low-resource areas.