Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
886 results(28 / 36)
Pesticide Misuse in Rural-Urban Agriculture: A Case Study of Vegetable Production in Tano South of Ghana
2015Emmanuel Yennumi Wandaat, Joseph Xorse Kugbe · Asian Journal of Agriculture and Food Sciences · Ghana
A study on vegetable production in Ghana's Tano South District surveyed 132 urban farmers and 5 stakeholders. Farmers relied solely on chemical pesticides for pest control and lacked in-depth knowledge of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Inappropriate handling and non-use of protective clothing led farmers to report health issues like dizziness, skin irritation, and nausea, while indiscriminate spraying resulted in pesticide residues posing serious health risks to consumers and the environment.
Contamination & food safetyHealthFood educationPeri-urban agricultureThe importance of stories in understanding people’s relationship to food: narrative inquiry methodology has much to offer the public health nutrition researcher and practitioner
2015Gabrielle O’Kane, Barbara Pamphilon · Public Health Nutrition · Australia
This paper contributes to a food-related doctoral research study by applying narrative inquiry methodology and focus groups across five food systems in the Canberra region of Australia: community gardens, community-supported agriculture, farmers' markets, fresh food markets, and supermarkets. Based on data from eight focus groups with 52 participants, the paper demonstrates the application of narrative inquiry and reveals the important role of narratives in generating new knowledge.
CommunityHealthFood sovereignty & justiceMeasuring Elementary-aged Children’s Self-efficacy and Proxy Efficacy for Gardening and Related Health Behaviors
2015Karly S. Geller, Margaret J. Melbye, Richard R. Rosenkranz, Candice A. Shoemaker, David A. Dzewaltowski · HortTechnology · Global
This study evaluated the psychometric properties of a scale measuring self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for gardening and related health behaviors in elementary-aged children. Data were drawn from Project PLANTS, an after-school randomized controlled trial focused on obesity prevention through garden clubs. Participants included 969 fourth and fifth-grade students from eight elementary schools. The measurement model, comprising five constructs, demonstrated good factorial validity and unbiased generalizability across gender, grade level, and BMI subgroups.
Food educationHealthEstablishing and researching school gardens in Oman as a resource for improving education and health outcomes
2015Abdullah Ambusaidi, Rashid Al‐Yahyai, Neil Taylor · Econstor (Econstor) · Oman
A school gardening project in Oman, funded by the Oman Research Council, aims to improve educational outcomes in the short term and dietary outcomes in the longer term, addressing the country's rising lifestyle diseases. The article reports on the project's rationale, conceptualization, and design, noting its potential for expansion to more schools and long-term economic benefits through local food production.
Food educationHealthEconomicsCommunityEnabling occupational participation and social inclusion for people recovering from mental ill‐health through community gardening
2015Elise Whatley, Tracy Fortune, Anne Williams · Australian Occupational Therapy Journal · Australia (Melbourne)
This ethnographic study explored Mind 'Sprout', a supported community garden in inner-city Melbourne, Australia, to understand how it created a socially inclusive environment and enabled occupational participation for people recovering from mental ill-health. Data were collected through participant observation, six individual interviews, and document review. The study found that Sprout enabled social inclusion and occupational participation by fostering community, providing a flexible environment, and creating a learning environment.
CommunityHealthWelfareEpitomizing the Socioeconomic Impacts of Urban Agriculture in Bamenda
2015Bongajum Simplice Ngoran, Suinyuy Derrick Ngoran · Journals & Books Hosting (International Knowledge Sharing Platform) · Cameroon (Bamenda)
This article examines the socioeconomic implications of urban agriculture in Bamenda, Cameroon. It found that urban agriculture has improved living conditions, providing employment to about 11% of the working population and reducing food expenses for civil servants. However, urban agriculture in Bamenda lags behind other cities due to rudimentary tools, suggesting a need for advanced technology and improved seedlings.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHealthFood educationCommunityDig It!: The Versatility of the Community Garden
2015Melinda VanDevelder, Kierstyn Johnson, Alicia R. Thompson · · Global
This chapter explores the versatility of school and community gardens, which have historical roots in social justice. It investigates multiple theories embracing critical and ecological pedagogies in urban communities, schools, and neighborhoods. The driving forces behind this work include democratic movements for food security, addressing food deserts, and socioeconomic sustainability through gardening programs.
CommunityFood educationHealthWelfarePlant This Movie
2015Sara Parme · Educational Media Reviews Online · Global
The documentary film "Plant This Movie" (2014, 83 min) explores our relationship with food and the wasted space and resource of the 21st-century lawn. This film, one of many similar documentaries on urban farming, proposes learning from and improving upon past mistakes of the Green Movement. It notes that many agricultural nonprofits, including one highlighted, fail due to lack of funding, and while it suggests sustainability efforts should be run like a business, only a fraction of the film is dedicated to this aspect.
Economic viabilityCommunityEconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceHealthParticipation as if Things Mattered
2015Noortje Marres · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · Global
This text explores the concept of "material participation," where everyday material practices like gardening, washing, and cycling are proposed to facilitate engagement in social and public life. It suggests that material environments, such as kitchens and allotment gardens, have unique capacities to involve people and make broader social problems accessible for intervention. The text raises questions about the legitimacy, efficacy, and distinctiveness of these explicitly material forms of engagement.
CommunityHealthPolicyUrban food systems
2015J.S.C. Wiskerke · · Global
This chapter focuses on urban food supplies and the challenges of managing waste flows from urban households and markets in developing countries. Large amounts of municipal solid waste, human excreta, and wastewater are produced, most of which end up in non-engineered landfills or pollute the urban environment. It is noted that these wastes pollute the urban environment, especially in low-income countries with less developed sanitation infrastructure.
Environmental trade-offsOrganic cycleCompostFood lossHealthFood for thought: edible gardens in New Zealand primary and secondary schools
2015Clare E. Collins, Rosalina Richards, Anthony I. Reeder, Andrew Gray · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · New Zealand
To investigate the implementation of edible gardens in New Zealand primary and secondary schools, a questionnaire was mailed to principals from 764 schools, with 491 responding (64.3% response rate). Among responding schools, 52.9% currently had an edible garden, with most started in the previous two years. Gardens were integrated into curriculum subjects, cooking lessons, recipes, and messages promoting increased fruit and vegetable consumption, with vegetables, herbs, and tree fruit commonly grown.
Food educationHealthCommunityGREEN ONION (ALLIUM CEPA L.) AND JEWS MALLOW (CORCHORUS OLITORIUS) PRODUCTION IN SUBSTRATES IN URBAN AGRICULTURE
2015· Journal of Biological Chemistry and Environmental Sciences · Egypt (Cairo)
A study conducted over two seasons (2011/2012 and 2012/2013) at Ain Shams University in Cairo investigated the effects of four growing substrates on green onion and Jews mallow production. Green onion growth, yield, lipid, fiber, and total sugar content were highest in peatmoss + vermiculite substrate, while Jews mallow growth, yield, total carbohydrates, protein, ash, energy, sugars, indoles, and vitamin C content were highest in clay substrate. The study recommends peatmoss + vermiculite for green onions and clay substrate for Jews mallow.
DIYHealthOrganic cycleIncreasing homogeneity in global food supplies and the implications for food security
2014Khoury C.K., Bjorkman A.D., Dempewolf H., Ramirez-Villegas J., Guarino L., Struik P.C. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) · Global
Shows national diets grew about 36% more similar over five decades, increasingly reliant on a few major crops, with implications for food security, nutrition, and the value of conserving crop diversity.
Heirloom & landraceBiodiversityHealthFood educationMotivations for Investing in Allotment Gardening in Dublin: A Sociological Analysis
2014Kettle P. · Irish Journal of Sociology · Ireland (Dublin)
This sociological study examines why Dublin residents invest in allotment gardening, finding a significant demographic shift away from traditional older male participants toward younger, middle-class, and female growers. It contextualises Dublin's growing allotment movement within broader urban agriculture trends.
CommunityHealthEconomicsBuilding Urban Resilience: Assessing Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture in Dakar
2014Padgham J., Jabbour J. · United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) · Senegal (Dakar)
This UNEP report presents findings from a 2012 knowledge assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Dakar, identifying key sustainability threats including urban encroachment, degraded water and soil quality, fragmented policy, and farmers' limited credit access.
PolicyEconomicsCommunityHealthCost-effectiveness of community vegetable gardens for people living with HIV in Zimbabwe
2014Chloe Puett, Cécile Salpéteur, Elisabeth Lacroix, Simbarashe Dennis Zimunya, Anne-Dominique Israël, Myriam Aït-Aïssa · Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation · Zimbabwe (Chipinge)
A 2014 societal-perspective cost-effectiveness analysis of a low-input community vegetable garden (LIG) programme for households affected by HIV in five wards of Chipinge District, eastern Zimbabwe. Activity-based costing drew on accounting data, 15 focus groups with participants and 5 with comparators, and 33 key-informant interviews; effects were measured with the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and Food Consumption Score (FCS) for 1,330 participant and 1,330 comparator households. Total societal cost was €1,525 per beneficiary household (€1,415 incremental), giving €12,456 per household reaching the top HDDS tertile and €8,299 per household reaching an acceptable FCS (>35) — 20–30 times Zimbabwe's GDP per capita. The authors conclude the gardens are neither cost-effective nor affordable relative to other interventions. Stated limitations include no baseline data, self-selection among participants, recall bias (data collected more than a year after the programme) and an inability to measure full garden yields. Note that the setting is a rural district, not a city, so the figures cannot be transferred directly to urban gardens.
EconomicsHealthWelfareCommunity Gardens to Fight Urban Youth Crime and Stabilize Neighborhoods
2014Art McCabe · International journal of child health and human development · Global
This paper discusses how reclaiming abandoned properties and vacant lots in inner-city areas and converting them into community gardens or pocket parks can address urban health challenges and youth crime. It suggests that these conversions can reduce health disparities, eliminate blight, stabilize neighborhoods, and foster community engagement. The paper highlights that community gardens can serve as a cost-effective, multi-purpose urban asset, meeting the demand for such spaces, especially among immigrant populations.
CommunityHealthWelfareFood educationFarmers perception on excreta reuse for peri-urban agriculture in southern Ghana
2014Nimoh Fred, Ohene-Yankyera Kwasi, Poku Kofi, Konradsen Flemming, Claude-François Robert · Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics · Ghana
A study in Ghana's Shai-Osudoku district investigated farmers' attitudes toward excreta reuse for peri-urban agriculture, surveying 400 randomly selected respondents. A majority of respondents disagreed that excreta are waste and were willing to use them as fertilizer. However, a majority also agreed that excreta can pose health risks, and perceptions on reuse differed among households.
Contamination & food safetyPeri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleHealthMethodology for Assessing the Association between Urban Market Vegetable Contamination and Consumer Biomarker Exposure in Kinshasa, 2014
2014Aminata Koné, Kouamé M. Adou · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Congo (Kinshasa)
This article details a methodology developed in 2014 to assess the association between heavy metal contamination in market-sold vegetables and consumer biomarker exposure in Kinshasa, Congo. The cross-sectional design includes stratified random sampling of vendors, laboratory analysis of leafy vegetables for lead, cadmium, and mercury, recruitment of regular consumers for interviews and blood/urine sample collection, and statistical analysis using multiple regression. The described protocol was successfully piloted, demonstrating feasibility with a high participant recruitment rate.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPolicyResearch on development strategy of urban agriculture based on customer value
2014Long Cheng-zh · Guangdong nongye kexue · Global
This article, based on comprehensive literature research, proposes a framework for an urban agriculture strategic development plan. The framework is rooted in customer value theory, focusing on modern industry competition and strategic theory. It suggests that the strategic approach for urban agriculture should fully activate the entrepreneurial spirit of market participants while maintaining its quasi-public product attributes.
EconomicsPolicyHealthCommunityClimate changeOrganophosphate Pesticide Residues in Okra and Brinjal Grown in Peri-Urban Environment of Big Cities of Punjab
2014Muhammad Zaman, Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Ali Asghar, Muhammad Sajid · · Pakistan
This study estimated organophosphate pesticide exposure from okra and brinjal consumption in urban populations of Punjab, Pakistan. 90 samples each of okra and brinjal were collected from peri-urban areas of Faisalabad, Multan, and Gujranwala and analyzed for chlorpyrifos, profenophos, and triazophos residues. Findings showed that 85 (47.22%) of the 180 samples were contaminated, and 15 (8.33%) samples had residue values higher than Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs).
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureTaste in the Anthropocene: The Emergence of “Thing-power” in Food Gardens
2014Bethaney Turner · M/C Journal · Global
This paper examines the role of taste in relation to food produced in backyard or community gardens. As outlined by Bourdieu, taste is constructed by factors primarily driven by economic position and cultural influences, with the rise of international agribusiness significantly impacting the social shaping of tastes. Food is primarily conceptualized as an economic and symbolic good controlled by humans, and literature on food provisioning choices in food sociology and human geography tends to focus on understanding food purchasing decisions and eating habits.
CommunityEconomicsHealthExploring the key factors to the success of the organic gardening for primary schools project and potential obstacles that may reduce the efficacy of such initiatives
2014Aoife McCormack · eSource (Dublin Business School) · Ireland (Dublin)
This qualitative study used in-depth interviews with professionals to identify key success factors and potential obstacles for organic gardening projects in primary schools. Findings highlighted the benefits of school gardens, including their observable impact on children's social, food, and environmental development, and their integration with the curriculum. The study also indicated that funding and resource limitations are areas requiring further research to improve the efficacy of such initiatives.
Food educationCommunityHealthBiodiversitySowing Vegetables and Reaping Morality – Ideals on the Benefits of Kitchen Gardening
2014Jenny Lee · · Global
This paper traces the history of kitchen gardens and their relationship to urban food provisioning, examining how domestic fruit and vegetable production was influenced by commercial production, new distribution methods, and kitchen technology. It discusses how, around 1900, kitchen gardens were viewed as solutions for food scarcity and urban moral hazards, and how gardening evolved from a necessity to a pastime. The paper also notes a recent revival of interest in home food production, highlighting its renewed moral significance in response to the modern food system.
CommunityHealthUrban–rural linkageIrrigated vegetable farming in urban Ghana: a farming system between challenges and resilience
2014Pay Drechsel, Andrew Adam‐Bradford, Liqa Raschid-Sally, Drechsel, Pay, Adam-Bradford, A., Raschid-Sally, Liqa · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Ghana
This chapter introduces urbanization in West Africa, particularly Ghana, the general role of urban agriculture, and the common use of polluted irrigation water. It focuses on irrigated smallholder vegetable production, reflecting on the key challenges, dynamics, and resilience of this farming system.
Contamination & food safetyCommunityHealthEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture