Research & reports

Yosef Abebe, Mulugeta Gashaw, Asenake Kefale, Tim Brewer · Water Reuse · Ethiopia

A study on wastewater governance in the upstream catchment of the Awash Basin, Ethiopia, found that untreated wastewater discharged from industries is polluting rivers and the surrounding environment. Regulatory bodies have done little to enforce rules and directives for wastewater regulation, and due to poor implementation of laws, urban agriculture is expanding without concern for its negative health and socioeconomic impacts.

Véronique Saint-Gès, Hugo de Vergès · Frontiers for Young Minds · Global

This article introduces urban agriculture, explaining what it is, how it is practiced, and the benefits it provides. It highlights urban agriculture as a way to provide fresh, local food for city residents and to reintroduce nature into urban environments.

Lutfiah Alfariza, Ramadhani Eka Putra, Mia Rosmiati · MIMBAR AGRIBISNIS Jurnal Pemikiran Masyarakat Ilmiah Berwawasan Agribisnis · Indonesia

This study examined the contribution of urban farming to the economic and social pillars of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban Indonesia. It focused on goals related to poverty, hunger, health, gender equality, and decent work. The findings indicate that urban farming increases income, provides access to healthy food, empowers women, and creates employment for urban communities, thereby positively contributing to these SDGs.

Njenga John Ng’ang’a, Mukundi John Bosco, Masinde Peter Wasike, Kihurani Agnes Wanjiru · Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology · Kenya (Nairobi)

A study in Nairobi's eastern zone assessed heavy metal occurrence in urban farm inputs and food crops (tomatoes, arrowroots, kales). Cadmium, manganese, lead, and zinc concentrations were analyzed in soil, water, and crop samples. The study found that heavy metal contents, particularly cadmium, manganese, lead, and zinc, were above allowable limits in several crops, and based on FAO/WHO standards, were high for health concern.

Amare Molla Dinku, Tefera Chane Mekonnen, Getachew Shumye Adilu · Heliyon · Ethiopia

A mixed-methods study conducted in Dessie and Combolcha cities, north-central Ethiopia, surveyed 506 resident households to measure the status of food insecurity in urban food systems. The study confirmed that 33.1% of respondents were food insecure, with nine and six individuals per 100 people forced to 'sleep hungry' and 'not eat in the whole day and night' respectively. Household food insecurity was significantly associated with the gender of the household head, participation in casual labor, and living house ownership, and the degree of food insecurity was deemed higher due to weak food system governance, an inconsistent food supply chain, and socio-economic and gender inequalities.

Ikarini Widayati, Ika Kustiani, Panji Kurniawan · Seminar Nasional Insinyur Profesional (SNIP) · Indonesia (Pringsewu)

This study investigated the potential development of urban farming as a strategy for urban greening in Pringsewu Regency, Indonesia, by utilizing spaces in homes, idle land, and residential roads. Its objectives are to create more pleasant, healthy, and clean dense urban residential environments, apply urban farming concepts, and provide economic and environmental benefits to selected communities. Pringsewu urban area still has 1,856.36 hectares with non-urban characteristics, and urban farming is developing to anticipate decreasing urban land.

John Wakhanu · International journal of food science and agriculture · Kenya (Machakos)

This study assessed the impact of a nutrition intervention using African indigenous leafy vegetables (AILVs) grown in school gardens in Machakos County, Kenya, on body composition changes in school-going children (6-10 years) using the Deuterium Dilution Isotope Method (DDIM). An experimental cross-over design with two phases (Phase I: 13 weeks, Phase II: 12 weeks) was used, with 66 children in the experimental group and 46 in the control group in Phase I. Findings indicated high morbidity and low nutritional status, poverty, and poor AILV consumption among subjects, but DDIM showed a significant improvement in body composition in experimental groups (p<0.001).

Angelia Sia, Puay Yok Tan, Kenneth B. H. Er · Plants People Planet · Singapore

This opinion article discusses the role of urban horticulture in Singapore, focusing on four national-level programs. It illustrates how these initiatives contribute to cultivating community ownership, fostering community ties, and promoting interest in horticulture among urban dwellers. The programs include community gardens, allotment gardens, the Gardening with Edibles program, and therapeutic horticulture programs.

Samuel Ikendi, Michael S. Retallick, Gail R. Nonnecke, Donald R. Kugonza · Journal of Agricultural Education · Global

This study investigated the influence of a school garden-based service-learning program on the academic development of alumni (n = 274) from 2006-2019. A self-administered questionnaire, completed by 94.2% of alumni, revealed three components of program activities: community engagement (including school gardening, bi-national team projects, farmer field visits, and school teaching assistance), reflexive actions (such as journaling, critical reflections, and presentations), and social life (including co-curricular activities, tours, and social parties). The findings suggested that alumni could benefit from more instructor-led cognitive development activities.

Amy Russell, Ziqi Li, Mingshu Wang · International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation · United Kingdom (Glasgow)

This study investigated the distribution of urban agriculture in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, finding that existing projects are mostly centrally located, covering 36% of the total population (approximately 635,000) within a 10-minute walk. A positive correlation was found between walking travel time to the nearest urban agriculture project and food desert status, indicating access disparity. Using the Maximal Covering Location Problem model, the research identified that a minimum of 15 new urban agriculture projects on vacant and derelict land could increase population coverage to 49% and equalize access disparity to a statistically non-significant level.

Nathália Miasato Pimont, Rafael Alves Santomauro, Carolina De Abreu Pianta, Pablo Menegon Castilho, João Gabriel Neves Viana, Giovanna Carolina Silva Boscolo, Letícia Santos Balbino, Juliana Izidoro Lucas, Aline Ticiani Pereira Paschoal, Italmar Teodorico Navarro, Regina Mitsuka‐Breganó, Fernanda Pinto Ferreira · Ensaios e Ciência C Biológicas Agrárias e da Saúde · Brazil (Londrina)

This study, conducted in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, between 2019 and 2020, analyzed community garden vegetables for parasites and irrigation water for *Escherichia coli*. *Escherichia coli* and total coliforms were detected in 66.7% (6/9) of water samples. Parasites of *Ascaris*, *Ancylostoma*, and *Entamoeba* genera were identified in vegetable samples, demonstrating contamination of both community garden vegetables and irrigation water.

East Tennessee State University University Marketing and Communication · Digital Commons - East Tennessee State University (East Tennessee State University) · United States

ETSU Health's Johnson City Community Health Center in Johnson City, USA, has relaunched its community garden. Volunteers are active on the third Saturday of every month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and are also encouraged to harvest and tend the garden outside these hours. The garden provides access to fresh, healthy, and free produce, and was relaunched with community support.

Katia Hernández Moreno · Milenaria Ciencia y arte · Mexico (Morelia)

This study analyzes the contributions of agricultural practice in the city of Morelia, Mexico, to the mental health of participants. The results presented are part of a broader investigation addressing the various components of urban agriculture on health and the urban environment, with this paper focusing solely on the mental health aspect.

Xolile Mkhize, Bonginkosi E. Mthembu, Carin Napier · Journal of Agriculture and Food Research · South Africa (Durban)

This study in Umlazi Township, Durban, South Africa, assessed food and nutrition insecurity in an urban informal settlement through a household survey (n=200), vendor survey (n=25), anthropometric data, and land ecotope data. Findings showed that over 67.0% of informal dwellers were unemployed, surviving on a household food budget under US$115.1 per month, and 73.0% of households lacked access to land for cultivation. The study concludes that land accessibility for food production is restricted, contributing to food insecurity.

Naoual Zerrari, Naoual Raïs, Mustapha Ijjaali · Soil and Sediment Contamination An International Journal · Morocco (Fez)

Nine soil samples from agricultural soils in Fez-Upstream, Morocco, were analyzed to assess concentrations of major elements, Rare Earth Elements (REEs), and heavy metals. The soils were enriched by light REEs, and the contamination factor and degree of contamination indicated moderate and low contamination, respectively. However, all sampling sites showed PLI values above 1, indicating obvious anthropogenic pollution due to human activities.

Catherine Hughes · · Canada

This article reports on integrating outdoor education, including school gardens, into the Ontario kindergarten program in Canada. Written by a practicing kindergarten teacher based on a year of taking students outside daily, it describes the process of establishing nine gardens and activities such as composting and tree planting. The initiative is reported to have led to attainment of platinum eco-school certification, and the article advocates a return to Friedrich Froebel's concept of the "children's garden."

Natalie Call, Elizabeth Silber, E. Binney Girdler · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This GIS-based study of Kalamazoo, Michigan, analyzed how accessibility to different types of food access points — full-service grocery stores, farmers markets, community gardens, food pantries, and convenience stores — differed between low-income and higher-income census tracts. All full-service grocery stores were accessible via bus routes, but 11% of residents in low-income areas lacked adequate access, living beyond the 0.25-mile walkable distance to bus routes. "Positive" access points such as community gardens, food pantries, and farmers markets were found to be concentrated in areas that already had grocery store access, whereas "negative" access points — convenience and dollar stores, which provide lower-quality, highly processed food — filled the access gap in lower-income areas instead. More than twice as many low-income residents had walkable access to convenience stores as higher-income residents, with 81% of those convenience stores located within low-income tracts.

Santosh Kumar · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Global

This review describes microgreens — tiny edible greens harvested from grains, herbs and vegetables shortly after cotyledons form, typically 1–3 inches tall and ready 7–14 days after sowing — as a category that gained popularity during and after the COVID-19 pandemic for its flavor, color and nutrient content. It characterizes microgreens as typically grown hydroponically and well suited to urban gardeners and small-space growers, without presenting new experimental or nutritional data of its own.

A. N. Pokataev · Mezhdunarodnaja jekonomika (The World Economics) · Russia

A study on private subsidiary farms—a critical component of Russia's national agricultural sector—argues that developing horticulture is an inexpensive and stable strategy for improving household food security. According to estimates from the Union of Gardeners of Russia, 125 million Russians belong to households that obtain food from land they cultivate themselves, and Rosstat estimates that of Russia's 8.851 trillion rubles in total agricultural production (at actual prices) in 2022, households accounted for 2.071 trillion rubles, a quarter of the total. However, amid growing sanctions pressure on the agricultural sector, both the number of farms and production efficiency indicators for personal consumption and sale have declined significantly, hindered by regulatory obstacles including the inapplicability of the 'dacha amnesty' to most allotment gardens, serious cadastral errors, growing numbers of abandoned plots, and new legislative restrictions on keeping farm animals and birds on garden plots.

Emmanuel Roux, David Himmelgreen · Futurum Careers · United States (Florida)

Well-being is closely tied to the food we eat and the places where it is grown; healthy soils produce nutrient-dense food that supports physical and mental health. For city residents, finding fresh, good-quality local food can be difficult. At 15th Street Farm in Florida, United States, Emmanuel Roux and Professor David Himmelgreen run an education project helping local families learn about their local food systems and make healthier food choices (2023).

Ji-eun Park, Jong-Sang Sung, Yong-Hoon Son · Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture · South Korea

In an aging row-housing complex in Gojan 1-dong, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, this study quantitatively examined the effects of gardening on residents' life satisfaction and community. After a field survey of the garden conditions in the area, a questionnaire assessed the relationship between gardening participation and life satisfaction and community ties, analyzed with t-tests and ANOVA. Residents engaged in gardening were more active in "neighborhood exchange" and "resident participation" than those who were not. Residents who voluntarily created their own gardens reported higher "life satisfaction" than those using gardens built by the government, and residents gardening within the complex reported higher life satisfaction than those gardening outside it.

Sean Olivia Nicholas, Shiloh Groot, Niki Harré · Local Environment · Singapore

A study of a single urban agricultural initiative (UAI) in Singapore conducted in-depth interviews with 13 employees and volunteers, followed by a Q-sort of 36 statements drawn from those interviews with the same participants. Results identified environmental, social and psychological benefits including a genuine connection with nature and spillover into pro-environmental behavior, friendships and communication across diverse people, and increased self-awareness and gratitude. However, the UAI's economic impact in terms of employment and food production was impeded by its financial difficulties, and while both volunteers and employees perceived the psychosocial benefits, it was the employees who emphasized the financial difficulties.

Daniel R. George, Amy E. Ethridge · American Journal of Public Health · United States

A US article on nonprofit hospitals' community health needs assessments notes they are identifying a high prevalence of chronic diseases linked to poor diets, and have responded with nutrition-related initiatives such as farmers' markets and community gardens. It describes diverse strategies undertaken by the hospital-based community garden at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and offers implications and implementation guidance for other US hospitals.

Lukas Egli, Judith Rüschhoff, Joerg A. Priess · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global

A systematic review of quantitative empirical research on the sustainability effects of community-supported agriculture (CSA) covered 39 studies. Fewer than 30% of the studies assessed ecological sustainability aspects, but where CSA farms were compared to reference systems, they mostly performed better on resource use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions. Most studies assessed social aspects; many showed that CSA still fails to reach low-income households, so members do not represent the average population, while CSA membership was associated with improved health and sustainability behavior. Economic variables were assessed in more than half of the studies, but knowledge of CSA's relative economic performance remains scarce, though early studies indicate high economic viability. The review calls for more research on ecological aspects specifically, comparisons across farming and marketing systems, and integration of knowledge from theses and practical sources in multiple languages.

Muhammad Mushahid Anwar, Juergen Breuste, Ayaz Ahmad, Asad Aziz, Ali Aldosari · Sustainability · Global

A study of how urbanization affects urban agriculture and food security in the megacity of Lahore, Pakistan. Regression and statistical analysis used food consumption and food quality as independent variables and local residents' monthly income as the dependent variable, yielding a food security assessment with R = 0.857 and adjusted R² = 0.728. The results show extensive change in food security and land use driven by urbanization, large-scale loss of agricultural land, and biodiversity loss, as natural land is converted to built-up areas that threaten food security.