Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
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URBAN AGRICULTURE CROPS AND ITS POTENTIALITIES
2025Manamaya Mishra, Dipendra Bikram Sijapati, Bijaya Mani Devkota, Shakuntala Triphathi · Journal of Ecohumanism · Nepal (Kirtipur, Kathmandu)
This paper investigated urban agriculture in terms of urban food security and employment in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, from February to April 2023, surveying 64 households with over 4 Ropany (0.2 ha) of farmland across three urban pockets. The study found that lack of irrigation facilities was the most crucial problem for agricultural development. Other major issues included a lack of modern inputs and technologies, decreased youth interest in agriculture, inadequate road networks, and financial problems.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultureImpact of Peri-Urban Agriculture on Food Self-Sufficiency of Faisalabad
2025Maryam Noor, Liaqat Ali Waseem, Khadija Ashraf, Aqeel Haider, Komal Farhat · International Journal of Innovations in Science and Technology · Pakistan (Faisalabad)
This study assessed the impact of peri-urban agriculture on food self-sufficiency in Faisalabad, Pakistan, by collecting data from 100 peri-urban farming households and analyzing land use changes from 2018 to 2023 using GIS. Households allocated an average of 12.9 Kanals for seasonal vegetables, consuming nearly half domestically and selling the rest locally. A significant association was found between positive nutritional perceptions and regular access to fresh produce. However, limited government support, weak stakeholder coordination, and inadequate market access were identified as key barriers limiting its broader impact.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsHealthUse of climate smart agriculture technologies in West Africa peri-urban Sahel in Niger
2025Tinawaen Tambol, Emmanuel Kanchebe Derbile, Moussa Soulé · Scientific Reports · Niger
This study investigated peri-urban farming systems in West African Sahel cities. A mixed-method research design, including field and household surveys of 142 peri-urban smallholder farmers, was employed. Results showed that biopesticides/crop and pest management were the most used Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies (CSAT) in dry-season farming (p = .002). Other technologies included fertilizer micro-dose, organic manure and compost application, flood-tolerant improved varieties, and green energy-based irrigation.
Peri-urban agricultureClimate changeDigital agricultureCompostUtvikling og institusjonalisering av offentlig politikk og planlegging for urbant landbruk
2025Inger‐Lise Saglie · · Norway
This chapter presents the development of public policies and the main actors in urban agriculture in three Norwegian cities: Oslo, Bergen, and Trondheim. While showing common traits in institutionalization, differences exist in the role of voluntary groups, bottom-up versus top-down processes, networking, relationship to peri-urban agriculture, and implementation in plans. Oslo's approach is politically driven with traditional participatory methods, developing urban agriculture as a social activity and professional food production. In Bergen, the voluntary sector actively co-creates policy and runs a competence center. Trondheim's policy is co-produced annually with growers based on their experiences, with a strong connection to professional agriculture, and has consciously chosen not to develop specific strategies for urban agriculture.
PolicyCommunityPeri-urban agricultureAssessing land suitability and potential for extending the area for urban agriculture in Norway using GIS-MCDA
2025Ulrike Bayr, Svein Olav Krøgli, Sebastian Eiter · Urban forestry & urban greening · Norway (Bergen)
This study ranked urban and peri-urban farmland areas in Norway based on their suitability for urban agriculture (UA) and identified opportunities for extending UA to currently unused farmland. Through collaboration with urban farmers, four key themes and eleven criteria were identified and weighted for on-farm and off-farm sales scenarios. A GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) using TOPSIS was performed on 1x1 km grid cells. In the City of Bergen, 15.3% (on-farm) and 14% (off-farm) of the total farmland was both unused and highly suitable for UA, compared to 2.8% (on-farm) and 2.4% (off-farm) in Oslo.
PolicyPeri-urban agricultureCommunitySoil extraction facilitates climate change adaptation and alters urban ecosystem services
2025B. Constance, Adrienne Grêt‐Regamey, Andoniaina Valérie Andriamanga, Dominic A. Martin, Nicolas Salliou · Ecosystems and People · Madagascar (Antananarivo)
This study investigated the motivations and consequences of soil extraction for brick-making in Antananarivo, Madagascar, through 263 interviews with farmers and brick-makers. Findings indicate soil extraction serves as a climate change adaptation strategy, leading to a decline in flood regulation capacity but also a shift to more resilient cultivation practices like raised gardens. Climate change, with shorter rainy seasons, intensifies soil extraction.
Climate changePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityFuture climate risks and sectoral vulnerabilities shaping resilience in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana
2025Yaw Agyeman Boafo, Bob Offei Manteaw, Philip Antwi‐Agyei, Portia Adade-Williams, Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Kofi Asare, Doreen Larkailey Lartey, Bernard Ayittiah · Discover Cities · Ghana
This study assesses future climate risks and sectoral vulnerabilities in Ghana's Cape Coast Metropolis using meteorological data and downscaled climate projections through 2100. Findings indicate significant warming trends and heightened rainfall variability, which render peri-urban agriculture highly susceptible to crop failure, fishery declines, and water scarcity. Informal economic sectors are also at risk from infrastructure damage and income impacts.
Limited or null effectClimate changePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsDigital Land Governance and Gendered Credit Access: A Peri-urban Theoretical Framework for Kigali, Rwanda (2000–2026)
2025Marie Claire Uwase, Jean de Dieu Uwimana · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Rwanda (Kigali)
This article develops a theoretical framework to analyze how digital land registries in Rwanda, specifically in Kigali's peri-urban areas, mediate women's access to formal agricultural credit. The framework posits that despite formal legal equality, digitization can paradoxically solidify existing patriarchal biases within credit assessment algorithms. It reveals that digital land governance is not a neutral solution for gendered credit gaps and can entrench barriers to women's financial inclusion in peri-urban agriculture by systematically undervaluing women's communal land use practices as collateral.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsDigital agricultureImplications for malaria transmission: a cross-sectional study on the bionomics and susceptibility of local malaria vectors in urban and periurban settings of Ndola district
2025Westone Hamwata, Mwendalubi Hazyondo, Victor Daka, Mbanga Muleba, Nzooma M. Shimaponda-Mataa · BMJ Open · Zambia
A cross-sectional study in urban and periurban areas of Ndola district, Zambia, assessed malaria vector behavior and insecticide resistance. Urban agriculture practices created highly productive mosquito breeding sites like irrigation trenches and garden ponds, where Anopheles funestus s.s and Anopheles gambiae s.s coexisted. Anopheles gambiae s.s showed high resistance to pyrethroids, carbamates, and organochlorines, indicating that urban agricultural practices increase the risk of sustaining malaria transmission year-round.
Environmental trade-offsHealthPeri-urban agricultureConclusion: Cultivating Middle Ground
2025· The MIT Press eBooks · Global
This book examines community farms in Latin America, Australia, and China, highlighting tensions between local identities and global transformation. It finds that while industrial expansion in export agribusiness generates macroeconomic benefits, it incurs micro-level costs such as the replacement of peri-urban farms by plantations, loss of biodiversity, and groundwater contamination from pesticides and fertilizers. The study suggests that food system intermediaries are crucial in connecting rural migrants with urban farms and resources.
Environmental trade-offsCommunityPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceBiodiversityClimate changeUrban Agriculture in Mogadishu: Opportunities and Constraints
2025Yasin Mohamed Ibrahim · Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology · Somalia (Mogadishu)
A study in Mogadishu, Somalia, used snowball sampling to assess constraints and opportunities for urban horticulture. It found that temperature, wind, pests, diseases, and limited irrigation water significantly restrict production, particularly for open-field farmers who face high irrigation demands, pest infestations, and low-quality yields unattractive to buyers. While greenhouses offer some protection, plastic greenhouses specifically suffer from inadequate gutter height and poor ventilation, requiring farmers to use primitive methods to combat extreme temperatures.
Economic viabilityPeri-urban agricultureClimate changeFood sovereignty & justiceThis is God’s land: Moral economies, spirituality, and insurgent land seizures in Zimbabwe’s urban peripheries
2025Johannes Bhanye, Abraham R. Matamanda, Ruvimbo Shayamunda · Discover Global Society · Zimbabwe
In Lydiate informal settlement in peri-urban Zimbabwe, Malawian migrants mobilize insurgent practices, including informal land seizures, spiritual claims, and communal strategies, to access land for farming. Access to land for urban and peri-urban farming remains a significant hurdle, especially for marginalized migrants. Migrants invoke divine ownership narratives, Nyau cult practices, and witchcraft deterrence as tactical tools for defending seized land.
Equity & displacementPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCommunityPolicyWelfareEconomicsHealthIntegrated Drain-Type Fish Culture and Urban/Peri-Urban Agriculture System
2025Mokhdum Azam Mashrafi, Mokhdum Azam Mashrafi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global
This project aims to establish an integrated, eco-friendly system for fish culture, vegetable cultivation, fruit gardening, and animal farming within and around cities, towns, villages, highways, and agricultural zones. The system utilizes drain-type artificial lakes, fenced culture units, water recycling mechanisms, climate-control methods, and energy-efficient technologies to ensure high production even in challenging environments. The project emphasizes food security, urban sustainability, youth employment, environmental protection, and efficient land use.
Food sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureClimate changeEconomicsUrban-agricultural interface: assessing the effect of urban habitat characteristics on the occurrence of the Mediterranean fruit fly in peri-urban citrus orchards
2025Carmel Katz, Michael Ben‐Yosef, Eitan Goldshtein, Gilad Gefen, Yafit Cohen · Journal of Pest Science · Global
This study integrated nationwide pest monitoring data (2900 traps, 2017–2023) with high-resolution spatial layers of urban land cover to examine how settlement characteristics influence medfly abundance in adjacent citrus orchards. Using an ecoinformatics approach, it found that vegetation cover in settlements was positively linked to medfly abundance at close distances, and low building cover and high impervious cover were also associated with elevated medfly levels.
Peri-urban agricultureBiodiversityOrganic cycleThe Effect of Innovative Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture on Resource use Efficiency in Bamenda City, Cameroon
2025Ngetleh Ngesang, Marietta Yilen · International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science · Cameroon (Bamenda)
This study investigated the contributions of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) innovations to resource use efficiency (RUE) in Bamenda City, Cameroon. Data was collected from 402 UPA farmers in Bamenda City using questionnaires, and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method was employed. Empirical findings showed that the practice of innovative UPA has an overall positive and significant effect on RUE, with the effect being higher when farmers use inorganic rather than organic fertilizers.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsOrganic cyclePráticas agroecológicas em franjas urbanas do Sul Global
2025Victória Pansani Silveira Maia, Sílvia Aparecida Mikami Gonçalves Pina · Periódico Técnico e Científico Cidades Verdes · Global
This case study analyzed urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) experiences in India (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam) and an agroforestry system in Campinas, Brazil, using literature review, document analysis, and participant observation. The study identified common obstacles to agroecological practices, including land tenure insecurity, real estate pressures, lack of specific public policies, and uneven community engagement. It also highlighted potentialities such as care networks and food resilience, emphasizing the need for institutional support and public policies.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureCommunityPolicyClimate changeEconomicsFactors influencing the economic sustainability and viability of soil-based urban and peri-urban agricultural enterprises in OECD countries: a scoping review
2025S. Pickles, Anita Stefoska‐Needham, Karen Charlton · Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems · Global
This scoping review was undertaken to identify factors affecting the economic sustainability and associated viability of soil-based commercial farms located in urban and peri-urban settings within OECD member countries. Following the PRISMA ScR methodology, 170 eligible articles were identified from four scientific databases. This review found that many soil-based urban farms in OECD countries struggle to achieve economic sustainability or organizational viability.
Economic viabilityEconomicsUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureImportance of Small-Scale Food Crop Models in Urban and Peri-Urban Contexts
2025Hernán José Hernández Durán · Asian Journal of Science Technology Engineering and Art · Global
This study points out that small-scale food production within urban and peri-urban environments can decrease dependence on external food sources, support environmental sustainability, bolster local economies, and improve urban residents’ quality of life. However, the implementation of urban agriculture faces considerable challenges, including limited access to cultivable land, inadequate infrastructure, and regulatory constraints. Focusing on San Miguel, El Salvador, this article explores the role and impact of urban agriculture in addressing food insecurity and provides strategic recommendations to enhance urban resilience and sustainability.
Food sovereignty & justiceClimate changeEconomicsHealthCommunityPeri-urban agricultureAs produções agropecuárias na região metropolitana de Buenos Aires: contribuições para a sustentabilidade nas cidades
2025Gabriela Civeira, Florencia Rositano · Conicet · Argentina (Buenos Aires)
This study analyzed the environmental, social, and economic factors of agricultural production in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region (RMBA) across 28 municipalities, using National Agricultural Census data and an adapted ecosystem services (SE) estimation model. Findings indicated that 97.4% of small and medium-sized horticultural producers use conventional management, with only 2.6% employing non-conventional practices. Structural problems identified include informal labor, limited technical access, and urban pressure, highlighting the need for public policies to strengthen more sustainable production systems.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyBuilding a more sustainable food system in Colombia: a role for nutrition professionals
2025Christine McCullum-Gómez, Yuri Milena Castillo Quiroga, Monica Diaz-Beltran · Academia Nutrition and Dietetics · Colombia
This article describes multiple efforts to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable food system in Colombia. Public health nutrition professionals can increase food security, build food sovereignty, and facilitate this transition through community food gardening and peri-urban and urban agriculture projects, food waste reduction programs, and sustainable menu projects incorporating indigenous, native, and local foods. Such projects should be participatory and tailored to meet the needs of stakeholders in the different regions of Colombia.
Food sovereignty & justiceCommunityPeri-urban agricultureHealthSpatial opportunities at the rural-urban fringe: balancing urban growth, food production and ecology
2025Marcus Robinson, Jacky Bowring, Shannon Davis, Sarah Edwards · Landscape Research · Global
This narrative review explored how urban expansion at the rural-urban fringe drives the loss of productive agricultural land, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. The review examined how these competing interests can be negotiated spatially, emphasizing the role of multifunctional green infrastructure to integrate both food production and ecological function across the urban-rural continuum.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageBiodiversityClimate changePolicyImpact of municipal wastewater use on urban and peri‑urban agricultural productivity: the endogenous treatment-effects approach
2025Mohammed Abdulai, Mohammed Tanko, Alhassan Andani · World Development Sustainability · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This study empirically investigated the link between municipal wastewater (MWW) use and vegetable productivity among 416 vegetable farmers in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, using survey data. It was found that MWW use alone is associated with a higher value of vegetable output, but regulation through contacts with extension agents reduces the agronomic and economic benefits of using MWW for irrigation.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceHealthEconomicsClimate changePRODUÇÃO DE PROTEÍNA ANIMAL EM ÁREA URBANA E PERIURBANA (AUP): VIABILIDADE E SEGURANÇA ALIMENTAR
2024José Luis Chaves, Alexandre Boleira Lopo, G. M. OLIVEIRA, J. F. ARAÚJO, Luciano Sérgio Ventin Bomfim, J. A. CASTRO · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Global
This systematic review investigated the viability of animal production in urban and peri-urban agriculture as a tool for food security, using the PRISMA methodology. The review found that while this practice offers benefits like domestic food security and income generation, it also presents negative aspects such as odors, noise, and the transmission of zoonoses. Public policies are needed to regulate the activity and minimize health risks.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceEconomicsPolicyLand Use Land Cover Analysis of Peri-Urban Area of Murad Memon Goth-Karachi
2024Anila Kausar, Viola Vambol, Sergij Vambol, Saima Sultana Sharfi · International Journal of Economic and Environmental Geology · Pakistan (Karachi)
This study conducted a Land Use Land Cover (LULC) analysis of Murad Memon Goth, a peri-urban area of Karachi, Pakistan, comparing data from 2013 and 2021. The results revealed a 9.6% increase in settlement sprawl, indicating significant encroachment on agricultural lands. Cropland area decreased from 38.86% in 2013 to 26.11% in 2021, highlighting a negative trend for peri-urban agriculture in the region.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkagePolicyBotanical extracts for insect management: lessons from participatory research in peri-urban horticultural systems of central Argentina
2024María Amparo Gaona Flores, Martín Videla, Gerardo Serra, Luis Narmona, Jorge Gabriel Barbero, Milene Rocío Barcenilla, Evangelina Beatriz Argüello · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Argentina
This study evaluated botanical insecticides as a technological device for synthetic input substitution in peri-urban horticultural systems of central Argentina. A Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework was used to assess the performance of garlic extracts (GE) for pest and natural enemy regulation in lettuce crops in conventional and agroecological contexts. Through three PAR cycles, GE effectiveness on aphids, thrips, and natural enemies was observed, and context-specific adaptations were noted: GE was useful near harvest in conventional systems and highlighted biodiversity's relevance for system redesign in agroecological systems.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleBiodiversityCommunity