Research & reports

Mellania Rima Fajaryah, Hafid Aditya Pradesa, Teni Listiani, Edah Jubaedah · Academia Open · Indonesia (Bandung)

A study of agricultural extension workers in Bandung's "Buruan SAE" urban farming program, Indonesia, examining how competencies align with role demands across job levels. It found consistent gaps where competency achievement fell below importance ratings, particularly in agribusiness management, agro-processing, commercialization, institutional development and technology facilitation, while communication and leadership competencies remained comparatively strong. The gaps grew more complex at higher job levels. Importance-Performance Analysis was used to prioritize competencies, and the study proposes a competency-development framework based on a 70:20:10 learning model.

Candice M. Duncan, Fatemeh Ghezelsofla, Hlengilizwe Nyoni, Jazmin Escobar, Odette Mina · Toxics · United States

A study measuring per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in irrigation water at two organic farms in Maryland, USA, with no known direct PFAS input, and assessing health risk via a Hazard Index (HI). At agricultural site 1 (AG1), the most abundant compounds were PFBS (37 ng/L), PFBA (24 ng/L) and PFHxA (22 ng/L); the HI showed compliance for branched PFHxS (0.39) but non-compliance for linear PFHxS (1.51). At agricultural site 2 (AG2), despite no known industrial or PFAS-related facilities nearby, HFPO-DA (GenX) was detected at 28 ng/L, and the HI exceeded the compliance threshold (HI = 2.83), with GenX accounting for most of the calculated risk. The findings show HI exceedances occurring at small farm sites with no identifiable contamination source.

Aprilia Martika, Amelia Sari, Disti Macela Putri, Misbahul Munir · International Journal of Economics and Management Research · Indonesia (Pangkalpinang)

A qualitative case study of Pangkalpinang City, Bangka Belitung, Indonesia, examining urban farming as an adaptive strategy addressing food insecurity and unemployment in an urban area with limited agricultural land. Data were gathered through participatory observation, in-depth interviews and documentation, and analyzed thematically and via SWOT analysis. In Parit Lalang, urban farming was found predominantly on small home gardens and vacant lots using hydroponic and traditional methods, with participants mainly productive-age residents and housewives. The practice increased household food availability, reduced living costs and generated additional income, improving local economic resilience, but the study also reports persistent challenges of limited technical skills, financial constraints and inconsistent government support. It concludes that strengthening training programs, improving financial access and developing subdistrict pilot projects are needed to sustain urban farming as a food-security and community-empowerment strategy.

Patrick Sobotka · reposiTUm (TU Wien) · Austria

Set against growing urban populations, housing shortages, and ecological and social challenges, this TU Wien thesis is a design study exploring housing that supports urban agriculture through integrated vertical farming. Its aim was to develop a hybrid housing concept combining sustainable timber construction with vertical farming, using a modular timber structure intended to offer ecological benefits, short construction times, and the ability to add stories later without sealing new land. The project centers on compact apartments for young adults, students, and couples, drawing on literature review of sustainability, timber construction and vertical farming, plus analysis of selected reference projects, to produce a design concept. No quantitative evaluation results are reported.

Esteve Gaelle Giraud, Elora Bevacqua, Madeline Mercer, Nicholas Benard, Priya Nayak, Tawsha Trahan, Kathleen Merrigan · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This paper documents an early-stage Participatory Action Research (PAR) process to scale up urban agriculture in Tempe, Arizona, an arid, land-constrained city where four contiguous neighborhoods face high food insecurity and vulnerability. A transdisciplinary team of researchers, city staff and community-based organizations collaborated with residents to assess the state of urban agriculture, identify local priorities, and co-develop ten policy recommendations, through 86 food access surveys, mapping, practitioner interviews in Tempe and six other cities, and community workshops. Residents emphasized the need for urban agriculture spaces supporting food production, education, workforce development and community building, while limited funding, volunteer instability and poor communication of existing resources were identified as key barriers. Despite water scarcity and land pressures, the study argues that water-smart, strategically located urban agriculture can serve as resilience infrastructure addressing civic, environmental and social goals, and that participatory planning supported by trusted intermediaries can shape agendas before formal food policy structures exist, offering insights for other cities pursuing participatory food planning.

Eduardo Antonio CastroNemocon · Institutional Repository of the National University Open and Distance UNAD (Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia) · Colombia (Bogotá)

Focused on the UPZ 96 Lourdes area of the Santa Fe Tercera locality in Bogota, Colombia, this paper reports on an initiative that treats urban agriculture as a tool for building sustainable food systems. From an environmental standpoint, it advances a process of training and knowledge exchange using an agroecological approach in private spaces, generating self-supply and self-consumption of agricultural products and using household spaces to plant and harvest organic food free of fungicides that compromise food safety, aiming to prevent declines in quality of life and health problems for consumers. Drawing on a political ecology perspective, the initiative seeks policy directions and direct social action to improve the quality of food consumed in daily diets, prioritizing responsible environmental management and the practice and production of organic agricultural food in urban spaces — promoting healthy eating habits while culturally preserving knowledge exchange and ancestral planting, harvesting and consumption practices in a country whose historical character has been agricultural, and aiming to guarantee food sovereignty.

Isabelle van der Zanden, Lieke Moereels, Stephanie Schelfhout, Pallieter De Smedt, Koen Lock, Wouter Dekoninck, G.W. Korthals, Wim H. van der Putten, Kris Verheyen, G. F. Veen · npj Biodiversity · Global

Communities of 12 taxonomic groups of soil organisms were compared between 15 food forests and nearby grasslands, croplands and forests in Northwest Europe. Food forest soil communities differed from grassland and cropland communities and more closely resembled forest communities in biomass and number of individuals for most taxonomic groups, with especially higher numbers of macroarthropods. In composition, food forest communities were overall intermediate between grassland/cropland and forest for most groups, but microorganismal and microfaunal groups more closely resembled grassland and cropland communities than forest communities. Alpha-diversity was higher for non-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and certain macroarthropod groups in food forests, though overall differences in alpha- and beta-diversity were limited. Planting food forests was concluded to be able to increase soil biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.

Hyun-Kyung Kang, Byungsook Choi · Korean Journal of Human Ecology · South Korea

This study analyzed remodeling characteristics, physical conditions and operational models across 22 housing complexes in seven countries to propose directions for enhancing communal facilities in South Korean public rental housing. International examples emphasized creating spaces for social integration, establishing community-linked welfare hubs, and developing tailored functions for specific groups such as youth and the elderly. In physical configuration, well-being-related spaces such as walking trails and community gardens were the most frequent, appearing in 67 cases, indicating strong demand for health and quality-of-life improvements. Operational programs were found to support individual health and culture activities, family care, and resident-led community initiatives, often under a partially fee-based system with limited public access. The study concluded that improving domestic communal facilities requires incorporating multi-purpose flexible spaces at the initial planning stage, converting ground-floor areas into accessible community hubs, activating underused spaces such as rooftops and corridors, and specializing welfare functions through integrated elderly healthcare and communal childcare facilities.

Lauren J Franks · FHSU Scholars Repository (Fort Hays State University) · United States (Kansas)

The Community Cultivation program, a grant proposal project focused on Hays, Kansas, in the United States, sets out a plan for how a community garden could improve access to healthy food in rural areas. Guided by the question of how community-based food initiatives can reduce nutrition-related disparities, the proposal responds to the HaysMed Community Health Needs Assessment, which identifies nutrition and fresh produce access as critical concerns for Ellis County. With an emphasis on food-insecure and low-income individuals, the planned garden aims to reduce health disparities tied to socioeconomic status and strengthen community connections by building gardening and cooking skills. It proposes a multi-phase implementation plan involving collaboration with sustainable landscapers, development of gardening infrastructure, and educational classes, with visitor logs and participant surveys planned to track access to fresh produce, garden usage and skills applied; data collection and analysis are planned to continue throughout implementation.

Xiaoya Lin, Jiajun Xu, Ting Wang, Randy A. Dahlgren, Lanyue Feng, Wenli Qin, Qinglong Liang, Zhixia Qin, Zengling Ma, Liyin Qu · Environmental Technology & Innovation · Global

A two-year monthly investigation of water quality and dissolved organic matter (DOM) optical properties (absorbance and fluorescence) in a eutrophic, urban-agricultural wetland. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased from spring to summer in both years and correlated significantly with trophic level index (TLI), total nitrogen, COD, and chlorophyll a, indicating that eutrophication added to the organic carbon pool through both sewage inputs and algal production. Loss of protein-like component C3, together with a significant negative correlation between microbial humic-like component C2 and dissolved oxygen, suggested that microbial deoxygenation converted bio-labile DOM into recalcitrant DOM (RDOM) during summer. In winter, lower temperatures limited microbial transformation, and continuous sewage inputs increased protein-like C3, while RDOM removal via particle adsorption-sedimentation and photodegradation exceeded its accumulation. Machine learning analysis found microbial transformation explained 39.1-41.2% of variation in humic-like components, more than terrestrial inputs, sewage sources, and algal production combined (2.1-31.6%), identifying microbial transformation as the dominant driver of wetland RDOM formation. Eutrophication is stated to have negative effects on wetland ecosystems, though the study also notes that, if sewage and algae are effectively managed, the same process could enhance carbon sequestration.

Dorothee Benkowitz · International explorations in outdoor and environmental education · Global

A book chapter on biodiversity education centered on seeds and plant life cycles. It states that industrial agriculture has reduced genetic diversity through monocultures and patented hybrid varieties, making small farmers dependent on large seed companies. F1 hybrids, while high-yielding, are not seed-proof — saved seed from them does not reproduce the parent traits — and this contributes to genetic erosion, limiting plants' ability to adapt to climate change and disease. The chapter notes that many people lack an in-depth understanding of plant cycles, and that studies show deficits among students specifically in classifying and explaining seeds and their role in a plant's life cycle. Hands-on experiences such as those in school gardens are said to foster better understanding and a sustainable connection to nature. Knowledge of biodiversity and plant cycles is described as crucial for topics such as healthy diets, regionality, and climate adaptation, and integrating this content into education is presented as contributing to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) goals.

Neha Toppo, Shashi Kumar Sah, Vipin Chandra Mishra · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This chapter introduces the concept of urban soils, describing how urbanization disturbs, compacts, contaminates, and mixes natural soil horizons with construction debris, bricks, asphalt, metals, and plastics, altering their structure, fertility, and contamination levels compared with agricultural or natural soils. The excerpted text is introductory background on urban soil formation and ecosystem functions rather than a report of original site data, measurements, or findings.

Yogi Priyo Istiyono, Siti Rokhmanila, Ojak Abdul Rozak · Jurnal Otomasi Kontrol dan Instrumentasi · Global

Researchers developed and experimentally evaluated an IoT-based monitoring and automatic irrigation system for small-scale and urban farming, built around a NodeMCU ESP8266 microcontroller with capacitive soil moisture, soil pH, and DHT11 temperature sensors, transmitting data via Wi-Fi to the Blynk cloud platform with a smartphone interface and 16×2 LCD, and a relay-controlled 5V DC pump triggered by preset soil moisture thresholds. Validated against a reference instrument (ETP-302), the system showed average measurement errors of 3.4% for soil moisture, 4.1% for soil pH, and 2.8% for temperature, and irrigation activated within a dry-soil range of 430-520 ADC and stopped automatically once sufficient moisture was reached.

Thomas Anthony Pacheco · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This is a non-peer-reviewed, pedagogical guide, not an empirical study, that uses food insecurity and food deserts in Los Angeles County as a case study to translate sociological theories -- including Resource Mobilization Theory, Framing Theory, Legal Consciousness Theory, Collective Action Frames, and Political Process Theory -- into organizing strategies for activists and students. It sets out practical steps for securing funding, recruiting volunteers, framing injustice, engaging policymakers, and building interventions such as community gardens.

Kelly Johanna Molano Betin, Leo Danny Valencia Pinto · Ibero Ciencias - Revista Científica y Académica - ISSN 3072-7197 · Colombia

A mixed-methods, non-experimental descriptive study tested a school-based agroecology pedagogical strategy to strengthen food security at Institución Educativa Técnico General José Joaquín García, Sede 10 Peñolcitos, in Casabianca, Tolima, Colombia. Following a quantitative diagnostic questionnaire, a teaching sequence combining conceptual training, an agroecological school garden, and a healthy cooking workshop was implemented; students showed favorable preconceptions about agroecology, food security, and the garden but specific gaps in understanding its full scope beyond production, and the training activities narrowed those gaps.

Budi Hartono, Axel Giovanni, Muchammad Khusni Wafa, Mu'alfad Zulfikar Purwanto, Mirna Harsono · COMMUNITY Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia

This is a community engagement program, not an outcomes study, aimed at micro-enterprises in food security and urban farming in Indonesia that face limited business management capacity, scarce resources, and insufficient technical knowledge. Partnering with Fita Farm for its expertise in integrated agriculture, the program delivers training, hands-on mentoring, and continuous evaluation toward goals of improved business management, increased income, and greater resilience, but the abstract does not report achieved results.

Melissa Caballes, Jose Mari S. Uy · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Philippines

At Quezon City University in the Philippines, researchers surveyed 250 entrepreneurship students selected through stratified random sampling, using a structured Google Form questionnaire, to investigate urban farming as a tool for cultivating innovation among students. The study concluded that embedding urban farming into entrepreneurship education provides a holistic framework for skill development while promoting environmental awareness, and recommended that academic institutions integrate urban farming into their curricula and build partnerships with community stakeholders.

Sasha Gillies-Lekakis, Heidi Zogbaum · International Journal of Cuban Studies · Cuba

Cuban historiography is typically divided into pre-1959 and post-1959 periods, but land-use practices show continuity across both. Two hundred years of export-oriented sugar planting left Cuba dependent on food imports, first from the United States and later the Soviet Union. After 1991, Cuba had to find ways to feed itself on land depleted by two centuries of monoculture. The introduction of permaculture — first developed in Australia and suited to urban agriculture — helped Cubans address some of these food supply problems, making Cuba a world leader in permaculture practice.

Katalin Horotán, Jana Táborská · Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) · Europe

Against the background of children's gradually weakening connection to nature amid spreading urban lifestyles and digitalization, this paper presents the concept of "accessible nature," which places direct, local experience of nature at the center of environmental education. The described program, "The World of Our Garden" (Kertünk világa), uses urban gardens as learning environments and offers modular activities grounded in experiential and inquiry-based learning. Through observation and hands-on activities, students gain insight into natural processes while developing scientific thinking, an emotional connection to nature, and cooperative skills. Using examples, the paper shows how a schoolyard or community garden in an urban setting can become a complex, motivating learning space for sustainability education.

Abhijeet Das, Satchidananda Mishra · Green Technology Resilience and Sustainability · Global

This study develops a conceptual and analytical framework for embedding circular-economy and zero-waste principles into hydroponic agriculture systems worldwide, using system mapping, resource-flow analysis, and indicator structuring to compare linear, partial-recirculation, and near-zero-discharge configurations. The analysis found that continuous nutrient recirculation and controlled dosing improve resource retention, and that system stability increases when buffering capacities across water, nutrient, and energy subsystems are aligned; capacity balance and feedback control were identified as key determinants, though the work is conceptual, without empirical field validation.

Norlina Muhammad, Zanariah Kadir, Ismi Arif Ismail, Mohd Mursyid Arshad, Ahmad Aizuddin Md Rami · Pertanika Journal of professional Development and Continuing Education · Malaysia

This qualitative case study examines how employee competencies and organizational support shaped training transfer in the Sustainable Green Neighbourhood Garden Programme run by the Majlis Bandaraya Pasir Gudang (MBPG) local authority in Malaysia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six purposively selected employees across departments who participated directly in the three-month program, with data analyzed thematically. Well-structured program design, effective facilitation by agricultural and landscape officers, and organizational coordination supported learning transfer; participants reported gains in technical skills (planting, soil and fertilizer management), self-discipline, teamwork, confidence, motivation, and work attitude, along with strengthened interdepartmental collaboration and reduced work-related stress.

Asri Jum’atul Aziza, Nanik Setyowati, Yulian Yulian, Widodo Widodo, Wuri Prameswari · Asian Journal of Agricultural and Horticultural Research · Indonesia

This two-factor (variety × growing-medium composition) completely randomized experiment, conducted in the Agronomy Laboratory Greenhouse at the University of Bengkulu, Indonesia, tested how cocopeat-to-rice-husk-biochar ratios affect nitrogen uptake, growth, yield, and flavonoid content of mint (Mentha spp.) grown in a drip-irrigated substrate hydroponic system. Three varieties (Spearmint, Chocolate Mint, Apple Mint) were tested against four medium compositions (80% cocopeat + 20% biochar through 20% cocopeat + 80% biochar), analyzed by ANOVA (5% significance) and LSD test. Variety and medium composition interacted significantly on growth parameters: Apple Mint showed the greatest stem diameter at 60% cocopeat + 40% biochar, the highest dry weight and nitrogen uptake at 20% cocopeat + 80% biochar, and the highest flavonoid content at 40% cocopeat + 60% biochar, while Chocolate Mint produced the highest fresh and dry root weights at 80% cocopeat + 20% biochar, showing that response to substrate composition depends on variety.

Beni Hasibuan · Crop Life · Indonesia

This study evaluated the effects of bamboo biochar application and varying concentrations of bamboo vinegar on the growth, sensory quality, and iron (Fe) content of red spinach (Amaranthus tricolor L.) microgreens. Using cocopeat as the growing medium, a 2×6 factorial completely randomized experiment combined biochar presence/absence with bamboo vinegar concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ppm. No significant interaction between biochar and bamboo vinegar was detected. Biochar application significantly improved overall growth and sensory attributes compared with no biochar. Bamboo vinegar significantly affected plant height and fresh biomass, with the highest responses at 200-800 ppm for height and 800 ppm for fresh weight. Iron content ranged from 202.09 to 481.66 ppm on a fresh-weight basis, and the study notes this water-content-dependent measure limits direct comparison with studies reporting dry-weight values.

Julija Bakunowitsch · Urban Planning · Germany

This qualitative study examines a publicly funded urban gardening project in Dortmund, Germany, implemented as a labor-market activation measure on temporarily available land targeting employable welfare recipients. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, it combines the concept of "food justice" with valuation studies to analyze how labor, land, and exchange are valued in everyday practice. The findings reveal tensions between empowerment and dependency, care and control, and social recognition and material precarity: while participants experienced gardening as meaningful work and a source of social participation and belonging, these valuations remained bounded by welfare regulations, temporary land tenure, and charity-based food distribution. The study concludes that such temporary urban gardening projects function as sites of plural, negotiated valuation where justice is enacted only provisionally, through everyday practice, within the limits of welfare governance.

Ms. E. Indumathi, R. Ragavi, M. Sandhiya · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · United States

This article surveys initiatives that countries have developed over decades to address the impact of food waste on hunger, including food donation programs and partnerships between large grocery chains and local food banks. In the United States, such efforts are described as distributing food to roughly 37 million hungry Americans each year. Innovative approaches cited include establishing community gardens, expanding access to local farmers' markets, promoting purchase of local produce, and educating communities about the negative impacts of food waste. It highlights the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (FBCE), which provides food assistance and training through more than 800 partner agencies (food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters), and Waste No Food, a platform connecting food donors (restaurants, caterers, grocery stores) with food rescue organizations while letting donors track their donations.