Research & reports

Milah Zainal, Siti Raba’ah Hamzah, M. Z. Rosmiza · Journal of Asian Scientific Research · Malaysia

This article reviewed the role of social assets in community well-being within urban farming projects, noting a gap in previous Malaysian studies on this topic. Social assets were identified as motivational forces that foster cooperation and benefit agricultural development. Analysis of past research indicated that social assets contribute to knowledge sharing, access to resources, community garden development, motivation, technology transfer, and good agricultural practices. The study recommends incorporating social assets into policies aimed at improving urban farmer well-being.

Alexandra Peña, M. Rosa Rovira‐Val · The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment · Global

This study conducted a literature review on the use of life cycle costing (LCC) in the urban agriculture (UA) sector, analyzing its evolution over a 22-year period from 1996 to July 2018. From 442 references collected from Scopus and Web of Science, 20 (4.5%) containing LCC and UA keywords were selected for analysis. Major findings indicated that urban horticulture was the most studied UA practice, LCC played a secondary role in its integration with life cycle assessment (LCA), very few papers appropriately applied the four main LCC stages, and essential costs like infrastructure, labor, maintenance, and end-of-life were frequently not included.

Michaël Pouzenc · Développement durable et territoires · Global

This study demonstrated that the "local to global relationship" in the territorialization of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) interacts with, rather than replaces, multiscalar territorialization. Through local observations in France and Mexico, combined with a literature review, a cartographic analysis of CSAs in Europe, and an analysis of their websites, the role of geographical scales implied by the convergence between the ecologization of practices and the territorialization of activities was clarified.

Tal Alon‐Mozes · · Israel

This essay discusses the shared zone of urban agriculture and community gardens in contemporary Israel. Based on a decade-long research on past and present urban agriculture in Israel, it proposes a framework of partnership between urban governance, social and environmental NGOs, and local communities. This collaboration is suggested to ease difficulties such as lack of land, affordable water shortages, and the need for professional guidance.

Anna Ternell, Anders M. Nilsson, Björn Ohlén, Daniel Stenholm, Dag Bergsjö · Ecocycles · Global

This article assesses a scenario where urban farming initiatives become commercial and integrate with traditional agriculture and forestry, and analyzes the potential of public-private partnerships for multifunctional sustainable land use in peri-urban areas of Gothenburg, Sweden. Multifunctional sustainable land use, including diversified agriculture and forestry, is presented as a way to build resilience against climate change risks. Based on experiences from ongoing initiatives, the article identifies a large potential for such partnerships and presents a business model for long-term sustainability, developed within the Climate KIC Accelerator Project.

Jose Benito C Ronolo, Margarita Cuadra, J. Q. Cabada, Amaya Caballero, Omar A. Tantoy · European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine · Philippines

This paper examines the impacts of COVID-19 in the Philippines by reviewing five research articles and formulating twelve policy statements across education, health and safety, and economic dimensions. For the economic dimension, recommended policies include encouraging home or urban gardening, initiating hydroponics, aquaponics, and horticulture gardening, and institutionalizing the "Farm Food Box." These policies aim to mitigate the pandemic's impacts in the Philippines.

ایوب محمدیان, جلیل حیدری دهوئی, علیرضا قربانی · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This research identified applications of IoT in smart agriculture by examining 168 selected academic documents (from 480, 2010-2017) using a meta-synthesis approach. Documents were categorized into eight agricultural areas, including urban agriculture, and clustered into six analytics domains such as monitoring and control. The study determined the effect coefficient of elements using the Shannon entropy method, addressing technical uses of IoT in each sector.

Jacob Wood, Caroline Wong, Swathi Paturi · eTropic electronic journal of studies in the tropics · Singapore

This research examines urban farming, specifically vertical farming methods, in Singapore. Despite substantial public and private investment in R&D for high-tech, high-yielding vertical farms, Singapore faces a highly constrained urban environment where land scarcity is exacerbated by a complex regulatory land use framework.

Е. В. Малыш · Economics and Management · Global

This study aimed to propose methods for developing urban agricultural production in a large industrial city, based on green economy principles, to strengthen food security and improve food supply. Using general scientific methods, comparison, systems analysis, and monographic methods, the study described a strategic project for green development of urban agricultural systems. The findings suggest that green development mechanisms can foster city self-sufficiency in organic and safe products, short supply chains, and green urban agriculture.

Olga Vincent, Giuseppe Feola · Journal of Rural Studies · Global

This paper proposes and illustrates a framework for recognizing capitalist, alternative capitalist, and non-capitalist configurations in agri-food systems. Informed by poststructuralist theories, the framework includes dimensions such as ontology, economic relations, relation with the State, and knowledge. Its application to Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) cases shows the coexistence of capitalist, alternative-capitalist, or non-capitalist elements within CSA initiatives.

Wellbrock Wanja, Daniela Ludin, Ludwig Lisa N, Kristina Muhlfeld, Wolfgang Gerstlberger · Journal of Applied and Physical Sciences · Global

This paper examines whether Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a solution to the dilemma of farmers needing to operate both economically and sustainably. Through an expert interview and a survey of members, the study identifies problems in the realization of a CSA and provides possible solutions.

Thomas Gilardi · Geography Notebooks · Argentina

In the Bonearense region, urban expansion is encroaching on fertile plains, impacting territorial characteristics. While urban and peri-urban agriculture contributes to food sustenance for the AMBA population, it has not been sufficiently recognized for green area recovery, organic waste recycling, and wastewater management. Regional authorities have begun to acknowledge urban agriculture's role in combating urban poverty, but local economic development faces challenges in mediating food security and recreational services amidst pressures from urban real estate and agro-industrial production.

Rebecca Leigh Rutt · Journal of Political Ecology · Denmark (Copenhagen)

Ethnographic research on a small rooftop garden in Copenhagen, Denmark, explored how urban farming initiatives interact with neoliberal trends. The study found that communal, eco-social urban farming endeavors are entangled in the city's neoliberal turn, with formalization processes and austerity measures both nurturing and endangering these initiatives. Neoliberal labor, food systems, and housing policies are shown to subvert convivial urban farming efforts.

Anna Wielicka‐Regulska · Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia · Global

This study examined consumer attitudes towards sustainable food consumption aspects, including urban agriculture, and their acceptance of public policy tools. It found that most respondents buy seasonal food and limit meat consumption, but are rarely influenced by food's climate impact. Most respondents were negative about gardening for food production, though they favored local food in public institutions.

Pooja Bhatt, Sonika Sharma · · Global

Microgreen farming is presented as a popular method for income generation in urban agriculture. It is characterized by high nutrient density, a fast turnaround time (10-14 days after germination), year-round cultivation, minimal resource requirements (seeds, soil, water, trays), and a high yield-to-space ratio. Prices for microgreens range from INR 150-250 per 50 grams, indicating good market value for urban farmers.

Fernando Almeida, Nuno Miranda, Bruno Vieira · International Journal of Environmental Sustainability and Green Technologies · Global

This study proposed the development of a mobile device application to facilitate the management and monitoring of urban farming production. The application can be used by less experienced farmers by providing information on optimal seasonal products based on soil characteristics and climate. The developed application demonstrated potential to increase crop visibility, enhance efficiency across the value chain, provide real-time business and financial data access, allow user profile customization, improve marketing process efficiency, and reduce transport costs.

Gerald Taylor Aiken, Christian Schulz, Benedikt Schmid · Voluntary Sector Review · Luxembourg

This article outlines the community economies of Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg's "second city." Esch-sur-Alzette features multiple community-based organizations and movements, including an energy cooperative, urban gardening, an upcycling clothing factory, and a local food shop and restaurant. The article uses Luxembourg's case to reread the relationship between the state and the so-called third sector, defending the political possibilities of community economies.

Chloé Nicolas-Artero · Revista INVI · Chile

This article analyzes the role of water user organizations in the construction of water scarcity within the Chilean ideological and legal water context. The existence of urban gardens in the north of the country is notable in this context, which is oriented towards water use efficiency.

Mariarosaria Savarese, Kerry Chamberlain, Guendalina Graffigna · Sustainability · New Zealand

This qualitative study explored how Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in New Zealand create value for sustainability practices from both farmer and consumer perspectives. The research, conducted using focused ethnography, found that CSA is a complex concept involving active consumer participation in economic, social, and environmental values. These interconnected values foster an ecosystem where sustainable food practices are promoted through a "learning by doing" process.

Sarah Taylor Lovell · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · Global

Despite increasing awareness and proposals for urban agriculture implementation, broad integration into the urban environment has not yet been observed. In most cities, the level of food production has not expanded significantly enough to impact the supply of vegetables, fruits, or other products. Key barriers limiting widespread adoption of urban agriculture include land access, zoning and tax policies, risks of soil and air contaminants, and urban forestry plans neglecting food security.

Nadia Johanisova, Lucie Sovová, Eva Fraňková · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Czech Republic

This chapter examines eco-social enterprises in the Czech Republic, a post-socialist country, using a five-dimensional framework to expand the EU social enterprise definition. The framework includes criteria such as other-than-profit goals, using profits for nature and community, democratic governance, rootedness in place, and non-market production. Research identified a heterogeneous group of entities, including organic farms and community gardens, shaped by varied traditions and ideologies.

In-Kyoung Hong, Hyung-Kwon Yun, Young-Bin Jung, Sang-Mi Lee · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global

To derive indicators for assessing the service value of educational farming experiences using school gardens, literature review, the Delphi method, exploratory factor analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were employed. The study classified indicators into four criteria: educational value, health value, economic value, and ecological and environmental value, comprising 13 items and 33 sub-factors. Experts rated educational value as the most important, followed by health, ecological and environmental, and economic values.

Debra J. Davidson · International Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food · Global

This study assessed the multiple emergent effects of urban agriculture activities through an extensive, interdisciplinary literature review to discuss its disruptive potential. It suggests that producing food in cities is not inherently transformative in itself, but the potential and observed new forms of social engagement emerging in many contexts can create institutional conditions that may disrupt conventional agri-food systems by building social capital as much as physical capital.

Kate Gardner Burt, Gail Mayer, Rachel Paul · Local Environment · Global

A systematic review analyzed 277 community gardening articles to assess outcomes of community garden participation related to food justice, synthesizing 31 studies. Many positive impacts were indicated across seven social and dietary outcomes. Community garden participation was positively correlated with community connectedness, but evidence demonstrating diet improvement was neutral. Methodological rigor in study design and lack of participant racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity were common issues, leaving the effectiveness of community gardening as a strategy for a more equitable food system unclear.

Djeugap Guedia Amélie Mermoze, Aristide Yemmafouo · European Scientific Journal ESJ · Cameroon

From April to August 2019, surveys (100 questionnaires per city) and interviews (25 per city) were conducted in Dschang, Mbouda, and Foumbot, three medium-sized cities in West Cameroon, to examine the daily practices of urban livestock farming. Findings showed that an average of 60% of city dwellers in these cities engage in livestock farming for commercial reasons, primarily encouraged by their urban conditions. While livestock farming is mostly a secondary activity (87%), professionals make significant investments, and space availability remains a major limiting factor for market growth.