Research & reports

Farooq Ahmad Khan, Zaffar Mahdi Dar, Saddam Hussain, Sumati Narayan · · Global

The global food system contributes approximately 31% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, while rapid urbanization is projected to have nearly 70% of the global population in urban areas by 2050. This demographic shift intensifies the carbon footprint of food supply chains due to long-distance transportation and energy use. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is presented as a strategic opportunity to localize food production, reduce carbon footprints, and contribute to carbon-negative farming systems that both decrease and sequester atmospheric carbon.

Jonas Sohn, Juliane Dziumla, Atiqah Fairuz Salleh, George Xydis · Sustainability Nexus Forum · Global

This study evaluated vertical farming (VF) through the resource nexus (RN) lens, emphasizing the interdependencies among energy, water, land, and materials. While VF offers advantages such as space efficiency, water conservation, and climate resilience, it was found to entail high energy demands, material dependencies, and economic feasibility challenges. An overview of these synergies and constraints helps identify mitigation strategies like circular water systems and hybrid renewable energy solutions.

Katie J. Field, Yolima Carrillo, Stuart A. Campbell, Jurriaan Ton, Adam Frew · Plants People Planet · Global

This special issue presents an innovative framework for sustainable land use, leveraging synergies between plants, soils, and societies to address global environmental crises and food insecurity. It notes that human activities, including land clearing for agriculture, rapid urban sprawl, and heavy use of chemical inputs, have pushed biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus beyond their safe operating limits. The collection of papers collectively emphasizes the need for a fundamental shift in managing plant, soil, microbes, and human systems as interdependent components.

· Wikipedia (English) · Global

According to this English Wikipedia article, expanded clay aggregate (LECA) is produced by heating clay to around 1,200C in a rotary kiln, causing trapped gases to expand into a porous, rounded structure, available in sizes from 0.1mm to 25mm and densities of 250-510 kg/m3 (up to 500 kg/m3 for large LECA boulders). It offers thermal insulation (thermal conductivity as low as 0.097 W/mK), acoustic performance, moisture and fire resistance, and in hydroponics serves as a growing medium providing root aeration while retaining water and nutrients.

· Wikipedia (English) · Cuba

According to English Wikipedia, organoponicos emerged as urban farming in Cuba during the 'Special Period' after the 1989 Soviet collapse cut off chemical inputs, responding to a food crisis in which daily per-capita calorie intake fell from 2,900 in 1989 to 1,800 by 1995. As of 2009 over 35,000 hectares were in use in Havana alone, producing 280 grams of fruit and vegetables per resident per day, with the Havana workforce growing from 9,000 in 1999 to 23,000 in 2001 and over 44,000 by 2006.

· Wikipedia · Global

The English Wikipedia article 'Permaculture' defines it as an approach to land management and design based on observing flourishing natural ecosystems. Franklin Hiram King introduced the term 'permanent agriculture' in 1911, and Bill Mollison and David Holmgren coined 'permaculture' with the 1978 publication of 'Permaculture One'. It outlines three core ethics (care of the earth, care of people, and setting limits to population and consumption), Holmgren's twelve design principles, and practices such as hugelkultur, sheet mulching, and companion planting.

· Wikipedia · Cuba

This Wikipedia article covers Cuba's 'Special Period' economic crisis following the Soviet Union's collapse. Oil imports fell to about 10% of pre-1990 levels, GDP shrank 35%, and imports and exports both fell over 80%. Agricultural production fell 47%, construction fell 75%, and manufacturing capacity fell 90%, driving the need for agricultural transformation.

· Wikipedia · Cuba

This Wikipedia article on Cuban agriculture states the Soviets provided 63% of Cuba's food imports and 90% of its petroleum before 1990; after the collapse, agricultural production fell 54% between 1989 and 1994. By 2002, 35,000 acres (140 km2) of urban gardens produced 3.4 million metric tons of food, 90% of Havana's fresh produce came from local urban farms, and by 2003 more than 200,000 Cubans worked in the expanding urban agriculture sector. More recently, cooperatives and family farmers manage about 69% of Cuba's agricultural land.

· Wikipedia (スペイン語) · Cuba

This Spanish-language Wikipedia article on Cuba's 'Special Period' states GDP contracted 36% between 1990 and 1993 following the Soviet collapse, and daily caloric intake fell from 2,845 kcal in 1989 to 1,863 kcal in 1994, below the recommended minimum of 2,100-2,300 kcal. Loss of access to Soviet oil drove a shift to permaculture and organic agriculture (the rise of organopónicos) with help from international technicians. Recovery began in 1994, with GDP reaching 1990 levels again by 2007.

Global Network of Lighthouse Farms (Wageningen University & Research) · Global Network of Lighthouse Farms (Wageningen University & Research) · Cuba

This profile of Organopónico Vivero Alamar from Wageningen University's Global Network of Lighthouse Farms describes a UBPC (Basic Unit of Cooperative Production) founded in 1997 by 5 cooperative members, starting as an 800 sqm manually irrigated tree nursery. It has since grown to 10.14 ha with 150 cooperative members, 42 of them women, including nurseries, a 0.45 ha greenhouse, a rustic lab for breeding entomopathogens, a mycorrhizal fungi propagation center, and small-scale fruit and vegetable processing facilities. The page notes the farm has had to close due to COVID-19-related economic hardship and wildfires.

· Wikipedia · Global

This Wikipedia article on 'metabolic rift' explains that German agricultural chemist Justus von Liebig, in his 1840 'Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology,' argued that if all solid and liquid excreta of city inhabitants were returned to farmers, land productivity could be maintained for centuries virtually unimpaired. Marx, combining his understanding of the labor process with Liebig's analysis, wrote in Capital Vol. 1 that capitalist production, by concentrating population in cities, 'disturbs the metabolic interaction between man and the earth' and prevents the return of soil constituents consumed by humans as food and clothing — defining this as 'an irreparable rift in the interdependent process of social metabolism.' John Bellamy Foster, in his 2000 book 'Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature,' reassessed Marx's ecological perspective, arguing the metabolic rift concept enabled the development of a critique of environmental degradation. The article notes that as food and fiber were transported over long distances, soil nutrients moved to cities as agricultural produce but were not returned as human and animal waste, producing 'a one-way flow of materials' — a plundering of the soil to sustain society's reproduction.

· Wikipedia (English) · Singapore

English Wikipedia entry on agriculture in Singapore. The country imports about 90% of its food. The 2019 'Singapore 30 by 30' goal (30% of nutritional needs grown locally by 2030) was revised in November 2025 into a new target of 20% for produce like leafy vegetables and 30% for protein (including seafood and eggs) by 2035. As of 2024, there were 225 farms (153 land-based, 72 sea-based) with total production value of S$231 million.

· Wikipedia · Singapore

This Wikipedia article on Lim Chu Kang, a 17.3 km2 area in Singapore's North Region, describes it as the nation's main agricultural zone, housing a diverse range of farms engaged in food production, aquaculture, and agri-technology. Approximately 62 farms operated in the western part before being cleared progressively from April 2020 to December 2022 for military development. As of 2025 the area had a population of only 30, one of Singapore's least populated planning areas.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) · FAO · Global

An overview of FAO's 'City Region Food Systems' (CRFS) approach under its Food for the Cities Programme, which frames all actors, processes and relationships involved in producing, processing, distributing and consuming food as linking urban centres with their surrounding rural and peri-urban areas, aiming to improve economic, social and environmental sustainability with an emphasis on supporting local government policy shifts.

ByBi · ByBi · Norway

An introduction to 'The Pollinator Passage', launched in 2015 by Oslo beekeeping organization ByBi with funding from the Norwegian Environment Agency, mobilizing citizens to create flowering 'stepping stones' across the city — from large flowering farming areas to balcony flower pots — to build urban pollinator habitat. Since its launch, Norway has adopted a National Pollinator Strategy, Oslo has established an Urban Agriculture Program and a roof/facade greening strategy, and ByBi now manages pollinator-friendly practices in the city's cemeteries and the three royal gardens of Oslo.

· Wikipedia · Global

A Wikipedia article on 'victory gardens' — vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at homes and in public parks during World War I and II to supplement food rations and boost civilian morale. In the US during WWI, over 5 million gardens were established, with produce valued at more than $1.2 billion by war's end. In WWII, the US had 18 million victory gardens by May 1943 (12 million urban, 6 million farm-based), accounting for about one-third of US vegetable production; in 1944, 9-10 million short tons were harvested, matching total commercial fresh-vegetable production. In Britain, allotments roughly doubled to about 1.4 million by 1943.

· Wikipedia · Global

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a long-standing technique for collecting rainwater from roofs and other surfaces into tanks or reservoirs, used worldwide for water supply in water-scarce areas, flood mitigation, and cost savings. Frankfurt Airport's system saves about 1 million cubic meters of water per year, Mumbai has mandated RWH infrastructure for new buildings above certain sizes since 2002, and typical UK households can reduce water use by 20-30% through RWH.

Ricardo Robins · Fundación Rosa Luxemburgo (Oficina Buenos Aires) · Argentina

A reported feature tracing the origins of Rosario's Urban Agriculture Programme (PAU) through interviews with founder Antonio Lattuca: the first community garden in the Saladillo Sur neighborhood in 1987, the 1990 municipal ordinance creating the Community Gardens Programme, and the PAU's formal launch in 2002. It reports the programme today spans 12 parks and community gardens across roughly 40 hectares, with over 150 families harvesting about 650,000 kg of agroecological vegetables a year, and profiles the Tablada Park Garden (opened 2008, 3 ha, 20 workers).

Darrow S., Kathi S., Liebe R., Cline L.L., Moss J.Q. · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · 米国オクラホマ州（農村・都市・近郊）

Oklahoma's specialty crop sector is in decline — vegetable operations fell from 799 in 2007 to 482 in 2022 — yet regional fruit and vegetable producers remain the primary supply foundation for farmers' markets, food hubs and direct retail serving urban and peri-urban communities, so producer viability is itself an urban food access and public health concern as food deserts expand. Five semi-structured focus groups with 29 experienced producers from rural, urban and peri-urban Oklahoma were analysed by open coding thematic analysis in NVivo, with saturation confirmed iteratively and rigour established through member-checking, peer review of codes and field note triangulation. The 180 initial codes were organised into 10 parent codes and three themes: the countercultural philosophy of production, the lack of accessible resources, and industry barriers preventing development — compounding disadvantages at cultural, institutional and structural levels. The authors call for a statewide local food system plan, a growers' association and dedicated local-food-system extension roles.

Shanurasab K Nadaf, VR Yadahalli, Bebijan Nadaf · International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research · Global

This review explores the motivations and practical strategies for growing food in small urban spaces, addressing challenges like limited space and poor soil. It discusses techniques such as vertical gardening, container planting, hydroponics, and raised beds, along with crop selection and resource optimization. The article also examines challenges, success stories, and the role of technology in making urban gardening accessible.

Elza D’Cruz · Landscape Research · Global

This article discusses the critical issue of reclaiming space for urban agriculture in contemporary cities, which is central to debates on urban food growing. It highlights that collective and individual food-growing is widely recognized as a means to address food-related challenges.

Imran Ali Lakhiar, Haofang Yan, Tabinda Naz Syed, Chuan Zhang, Sher Ali Shaikh, Md Rakibuzzaman, Rahim Bux Vistro · Horticulturae · Global

A systematic review of soilless farming (SLF) systems globally identified their role in enhancing horticultural resilience in urban and peri-urban settings. SLF offers advantages like water conservation and increased yield, but faces significant challenges. High setup costs, substantial energy demands, and the requirement for specialized technical expertise continue to limit its widespread adoption.

Roghayyeh Khabbazi · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Iran (Tabriz)

This mixed-method study aimed to identify drivers influencing the development of a nature-oriented urban landscape with an emphasis on urban agriculture in Tabriz metropolis, Iran. Data analysis used the partial least squares model in Smart-pls software and content analysis. Findings showed that management, laws and regulations, economic, social, physical, and design components, respectively, had the greatest impact on nature-oriented urban landscape development with urban agriculture. Key sub-components included developing a strategic plan, forming partnerships, developing binding laws to prevent the destruction of urban garden lands, reviewing agricultural laws to support urban agriculture, and using modern agricultural equipment.

Sini V. Pillai · Social Responsibility Journal · Global

This research reviewed global urban agriculture practices to propose an adaptable model for developing countries, addressing food security and livelihood generation. Findings indicate that developed countries prioritize self-sustainability and community, while developing countries focus on income and food security but face technological, policy, and socio-cultural barriers. The study suggests technology-supported infrastructure and adaptive policies are needed for successful implementation in developing nations.

Paola Lassandro, Salvatore Capotorto, Valeria Mammone · Sustainability · Global

This study explored smart, low-cost cultivation systems for building facades as nature-based solutions to improve energy efficiency and urban food production. An eco-smart irrigation system, achieving up to 57.14% water savings, was implemented in a vertical green module. This system reduced internal temperatures by 3–4 °C in an office room during hot days in a Mediterranean city.