Research & reports

Zogo Ndomo, Yannick Emmanuel · Bulletin of animal health and production in Africa · Global

Urban agriculture in developing countries is a vital asset in the livelihood strategies of urban households, having expanded rapidly over the last two decades and contributing to income generation for unqualified workforces. However, the illegal status of urban agriculture has created a governance vacuum, necessitating policy formulation and institutionalized management to secure land for the urban poor and improve food security and the environment. Political leaders have a role in regulating this sector.

Rafaela Soto Ortíz, Michael Peña Smith, Idia Concepción, Islay García Hernández · Revista Científica Agroecosistemas · Cuba (Cienfuegos)

In Cienfuegos province, Cuba, limiting factors and seed production quality were identified through a non-experimental, longitudinal study from 2001 to 2012. The investigation revealed a decreasing trend in seed production levels and genetic erosion at the Company of Several Seeds in Cienfuegos, with basic seed categories declining and producers lacking necessary knowledge. Productive infrastructure, resource availability, climate change impacts, and insufficient knowledge were identified as key limiting factors.

Dorottya Szabó, Szabó, Dorottya · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Hungary

This study examines the situation of short supply chains (SSC) in Hungary. It highlights that developing SSC in Hungary is not an easy task, as small farmers typically have weak cooperation and lobbying skills. While traditional direct marketing is common, innovative forms of SSC are rare.

Wisdom Kurangwa, Retseleng Karonga, Kwayedza Muranda Kaseke, Liliosa Pahwaringira · International journal of research in social sciences · Zimbabwe (Harare)

A case study on roadside urban agriculture in Mufakose high density suburb, Harare, Zimbabwe, showed that the majority of respondents were unemployed, aged 41-60, had a high number of dependents, and earned less than $200 per month. This high level of poverty, combined with inadequate home garden space, forced them to practice roadside agriculture to supplement their diet and income.

Ezra Pedzisai, Pedzisai Kowe, C. H. Matarira, Anyway Katanha, Ronald Rutsvara · Journal of food security · Zimbabwe

The contributions of urban agriculture to household food security and income were assessed in Cold Stream, a low-income residential area of Chinhoyi town in Zimbabwe. Twenty questionnaires were administered to urban farmers, five key informants were interviewed, and three fieldworks were carried out. Results showed that urban agriculture is a prominent livelihood for the poor unemployed majority (53%), and while local non-governmental organizations provide inputs and technical advice, there is no government support. Questionnaire results confirmed that farmers are poor, using yields and income primarily for basic necessities. All urban farmers (100%) consume their produce, enhancing food security. A majority (80%) agreed that urban farming makes food cheaper, improving accessibility. About half (48%) also agreed that urban agriculture reduces food insecurity in their rural homes. Challenges include a lack of credit lines for inputs and unfavorable policy arrangements that classify urban agriculture as an illegal activity.

Efe Can Gürcan · Latin American Perspectives · Cuba

An analysis of the restructuring of Cuban agriculture shows that food sovereignty policies in Cuba are built on a fourfold strategy emerging from a state/civil-society partnership at local, national, and regional levels. These strategies include the collectivization of land through agrarian cooperatives, the socialization of urban agriculture based on participatory methods, the guaranteeing of local access to food through free agricultural markets, and the transnationalization and solidarity of agroecological movements.

Gilberto Javier Cabrera Trimñio · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba (Havana)

In Cuba, urban agriculture is viewed as a movement to produce food in available urban spaces using local resources under sustainable ecological principles. While large cities like Havana cannot achieve food self-sufficiency, implementing agricultural programs there can foster an understanding of the population-environment-development relationship, which is crucial for public policies addressing environmental vulnerability and climate change impacts.

Daniela Peña Corvillon · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · Cuba

The Palma Project in Palma Soriano, Cuba, is an experiment using cultural identity to address ecological degradation. It employs environmental, social, and urban analyses to develop a master plan for wastewater treatment, reforestation, urban agriculture, and public space utilization along the Cauto River. The project aims to improve quality of life, provide potable water, restore the riparian zone, and create new food production opportunities.

Jim Bird · Journal of Food Science Education · Global

This column aims to highlight innovative publications and websites in food science education and allied topics. An article featured discusses garden-based service-learning projects (Fairmount Community Garden, North Side Garden Survey, Como Community Garden) that aim for food justice, better undergraduate education, and strengthened campus-community ties. It also briefly mentions a qualitative case study conducted at four schools, evaluating the effects of free school meal interventions on pupils' learning over 20 weeks.

Michael Classens · UnderCurrents Journal of Critical Environmental Studies · Global

This is a review of Lorraine Johnson's book "City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing" by Michael Classens. Johnson argues that small-scale 'city farmers' are the vanguard of an emerging transformation of the contemporary food system, despite urban farming being more prefigurative than productive in aggregate. The book reveals the potential in interstitial urban spaces for food production and urges a reimagining of our relationship to cities as farms.

Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · Espaces et sociétés · Global

This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three Southern cities, despite its limited consideration in urban planning policies. In Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), farmers secure access to productive resources through social relations. In Metro Manila (Philippines), local actor networks ensure the sustainability of practices. In Saint-Louis (Senegal), farmers' self-initiated organizations enable them to assert their interests with urban authorities, highlighting the challenge of urban agriculture not being adequately integrated into planning policies.

Julia Laidlaw, Liam Magee · Local Environment · Global

This paper explores stakeholder experiences of community-based urban aquaponics enterprises in Milwaukee and Melbourne using a comparative case study methodology and in-depth interviews. It aims to understand the internal and external factors impacting their success or failure. The study highlights challenges in establishing these enterprises.

Dilip Ghosh, Debasis Bagchi, Tetsuya Konishi · · Global

This study highlights the importance of local food movements and urban agriculture, citing Havana, Cuba, as an example of self-reliance achieved through food growing in urban spaces. In 1999, allotment gardens in London produced 232,000 tons of fruits and vegetables, supplying 18% of the population's daily intake. Urban food growing spaces encompass diverse typologies, varying in their production potential and health contributions.

Janice Argaillot · Espaces et sociétés · Cuba

This article analyzes the development of urban agriculture in Cuba. Driven by crises from the USSR collapse and US blockade, Cuba developed an internationally recognized agricultural model. The study explores the causes of urban agriculture's emergence in Cuba, its various forms, and its repercussions on citizens' social and cultural life.

Angelina Herrera Sorzano · Veredas: Revista del Pensamiento Sociológico · Cuba

This article from Cuba addresses the terms "rural peasantry," "urban agriculture," and "food sovereignty" from a Cuban perspective. It aims to update knowledge on these concepts, which are considered basic pillars of rural development and food needs satisfaction in Latin American and Caribbean rural development.

Ophélie Robineau, Julia Tichit, Thomas Maillard · · Burkina Faso (Bobo-Dioulasso)

This study examines the socio-spatial integration of urban agriculture in three southern cities: Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), Metro Manila (Philippines), and Saint-Louis (Senegal). It highlights different integration modes resulting from urban farmers’ practices. In Bobo-Dioulasso, farmers establish social relationships to ensure access to productive resources; in Metro Manila, the appropriation of practices and networks of actors at the local level guarantees sustainability; and in Saint-Louis, farmer-initiated organizations assert their interests with urban authorities.

Ranka Junge, Andreas Graber · Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften digital collection (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) · Global

This paper discusses the need for practical tools and a stronger scientific base for sustainable urban farming, noting that visionary schemes often lack current practical application with available technologies. It identifies requirements for urban food production, including high quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness, and suggests innovations in planting, pest control, irrigation, and integration with existing building infrastructures. Aquaponics is presented as having the potential to contribute to all these aspects.

Liu Hong-yi · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · Global

This paper discusses the concept of "modern agriculture into town," or urban agriculture, covering various city sizes and urban agglomeration areas. Findings indicate that urban farming is viable only when the comprehensive utility of agricultural output per town's land equals or exceeds that of non-agricultural industries. Urban agriculture is characterized by marketability, high profitability, public goods, and vulnerability, and requires national food security, agricultural scientific progress, and reduced industrial-agricultural disparity.

Michael Christie · · Australia

This study describes a government consultancy into the feasibility of a remote Aboriginal community garden in Galiwin'ku, Arnhem Land, Australia. Researchers collaborated with Yolgu knowledge-authorities to develop a "transdisciplinary research methodology" that integrates academic and Aboriginal knowledge practices. The project aimed to establish a garden with a non-Indigenous gardener to address high unemployment and food prices, but faced challenges in communicating with the government without compromising Yolgu methodologies.

Karen Rideout · Environmental Health Review · Global

The NCCEH (National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health) has conducted presentations and workshops since 2008 to explain the concept of food security within the context of public and environmental health practice. They have illustrated the relevance of food security to public health, explored ways to identify and mitigate potential health risks of food security projects like urban agriculture, and identified intersections between food security advocacy and public health protection.

Arne Wangel · · Denmark (Copenhagen)

This paper discusses efforts to develop a Social LCA methodology to account for social impacts in the life cycle of existing products. It specifically shifts focus to the design phase of products and services yet to be constructed by start-ups and community groups. A maritime gardening project concerning the growing, harvesting, and eating of native oysters in the harbor of Copenhagen is presented as an example of urban farming initiatives.

R. Panwala, Alyssa Joyce, Manuel R. Reyes · VTechWorks (Virginia Tech) · Global

Natuculture is defined as any human-made system that mimics nature in human-disturbed landscapes. It is an agroecologically balanced and biologically diverse system designed for food production, stormwater treatment, and recreation.

Aisling Murtagh · Irish Geography · Ireland

This exploratory paper considers the broad dynamics of alternative food activity in Ireland, examining the nature of resistance and whether a collective vision exists across initiatives, illustrated by two examples: a community garden and a consumer food co-op. Alternative food initiatives commonly found in Ireland include allotments, community gardens, farmers’ markets, farm shops, and on-farm food enterprises.

Salwa Tohmé Tawk, Mounir Abi Said, S.K. Hamadeh · Oxford University Press eBooks · Global

This study in the Middle East and North Africa region investigated the relationship between urban agriculture and food security in two peri-urban locations: Bebnine, Lebanon, and Wadi el Seer, Jordan. High food insecurity was prevalent in both locations, demonstrating that producers were more food insecure than non-producers. Food security was found to be strongly associated with poverty and the number of household members.

Jacqueline Percebois · ASp · Global

This paper linguistically analyzed various environmental terms, from the institutional discourse of "sustainable environment" to individualized local discourse like "guerrilla gardening" and "incredible edible." It investigated their emergence, development, linguistic characteristics, lexical environment, and French equivalents within economic and social contexts. The analysis highlighted a clear contrast between two discursive positions and the gap between intention and action.