Research & reports

Akhi Akter, Md. Forhad Hossain, Jubayer-Al Mahmud, Nasrin Sultana, Md Maruf Hasan, Tahira Begum · Journal of Agroforestry and Environment · Bangladesh (Dhaka)

This study investigated the impacts of vermicompost, sawdust, and cowdung on cauliflower growth and yield on a rooftop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from November 2019 to July 2020. The experiment found that vermicompost (10 t ha-1) combined with recommended chemical fertilizers resulted in the highest yield (19.75 t ha-1) and benefit-cost ratio (3.33). The results indicate that rooftops are suitable for cauliflower production using vermicompost.

David Barkin · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Global

This study contributes to the significance of a growing global movement where millions of people are taking control of their environments, creating "Territories of Life" to strengthen autonomy and produce food using traditional techniques enhanced by agroecology. Indigenous and peasant communities, who inhabit over one-quarter of the world's land and produce about 70% of global food, are restructuring their organizations and governance to control their ancestral territories. This movement has the potential to influence other communities and expand local and regional networks and markets worldwide.

Muhammad Hasan, Citra Ayni Kamaruddin, Nurdiana Nurdiana, Nurjannah Nurjannah, Elpisah Elpisah · Lentera Pendidikan Jurnal Ilmu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan · Indonesia (Makassar)

This qualitative study investigated informal economic education in urban farming family households in Makassar City, Indonesia, focusing on children's saving habits. Data was collected through observation and interviews with five parents and five children. Findings indicate that parents instilled early understanding of saving, fostering knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that children perceived as meaningful learning, and that freedom from coercion in saving also created lasting lessons.

Nurita Miftakhul Janah, Erlyna Wida Riptanti, Wiwit Rahayu · Sebatik · Indonesia (Surakarta)

In Banjarsari District, Surakarta City, 35 farmer groups practice urban agriculture, but only 9 of them are active. This study was conducted to identify internal and external factors and determine alternative and priority development strategies. Results from IFE, EFE, IE, SWOT, and QSPM matrix analyses showed that the main strength was innovation in various processed products, while the main weakness was a lack of courage to take risks. The prioritized urban agriculture development strategy identified was marketing products online through marketplaces and social media.

Xiaojing Wang, Xiaoguang Zhang · Applied Sciences · China (Qingdao)

This study evaluated the agricultural production potential of urban rooftop spaces in Shibei District, Qingdao, China, using GIS spatial analysis. After analyzing inventory standards for idle rooftop space and conducting statistical analysis, the research found that the rooftop area of urban buildings in Shibei District is 383.3 hectares, with an annual vegetable production potential of 25,800 tons, capable of supplying 184,300 urban residents. It concluded that the idle rooftop area in cities and its potential for agricultural production are significant.

Alexandra Ribeiro, Lívia Madureira, Raquel Carvalho · Landscape and Urban Planning · Global

This paper conducted a bibliometric analysis of published research on urban gardens, using Vosviewer software and the Web of Science database. The analysis identified four research clusters: 'Citizens' (people, lifestyle, community), 'Drivers' (motivations, purposes, benefits), 'Cities' (contribution to urban sustainability, hindered by lack of policy recognition), and 'Soil' (sustainability shortcomings due to soil contamination on vacant land). The study concluded that urban garden research is directly related to sustainable development, but the issue receives little importance, with most studies being case studies and economic pressure affecting sustainability.

Oekan S. Abdoellah, Yusep Suparman, Kinanti Indah Safitri, Rahma Maulia Fadli Basagevan, Nafa Destri Fianti, Indri Wulandari, Teguh Husodo · Sustainability · Indonesia (Bandung)

This study investigated the food security of urban agricultural households (subsistence, semi-commercial, and commercial) in North Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. A study of 321 households found that the average calorie adequacy for all urban agriculture types was 84.53%, and 53.89% of respondents were categorized as food-vulnerable, indicating low household food security.

Olasumbo Olagoke-Komolafe, Joshua Oyeboade · International Journal of Multidisciplinary Futuristic Development · United States

This study comprehensively reviewed the viability, benefits, and challenges of urban aquaponics systems in the United States. Through a systematic literature review and content analysis, significant environmental benefits were identified, while economically, long-term benefits potentially outweigh initial setup costs. Challenges such as technical complexities, financial barriers, and the need for specialized knowledge are also notable.

Alicia Papanek, Catherine Campbell, Hannah Wooten · EDIS · Global

This publication, authored by Alicia Papanek, Catherine G. Campbell, and Hannah Wooten and published in January 2023 by the UF/IFAS Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, provides an overview of urban food production. It discusses the benefits of urban agriculture alongside potential challenges that can limit the success of these operations, including economic viability.

Chinwe Okonkwo, Ifeoma Nwachukwu, Adebayo Adeyemi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Nigeria (Ibadan)

This systematic review synthesized evidence on the determinants of adoption and disadoption of improved cassava planting material (ICPM) by peri-urban smallholders in Ibadan. The review found that disadoption rates can exceed 40% within three seasons post-initial adoption. Perceived Usefulness was the strongest adoption predictor, while Perceived Ease of Use was often compromised by logistical barriers, and vendor trust influenced continued use.

Megan K. Schraedley · · Global

This chapter examines Sweet Water Farm, a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm, through a participant's perspective, analyzing organizing practices by highlighting three tensions. These include the tension between community creation and customer management, issues of inclusion and exclusion from CSAs, and the challenge of transforming capitalist economic structures while operating within them. The study reveals that while CSAs offer potential for addressing equity in the food system, questions persist regarding their long-term adoption by diverse communities as an alternative to conventional agriculture.

Magdalena Popławska · Przegląd Kulturoznawczy · Global

This article analyzes women's experiences in household food production, distribution, and consumption as responses to daily life challenges, integrating food studies, historical sociology, and gender studies. Based on a literature review, including oral histories and autobiographical accounts of urban and rural women, the study demonstrates that women's food-related stories explore alternatives to scarcity economies and mass production. These alternatives, found in kitchens, farm fields, or allotment gardens, embody values like mutual assistance, trust, and reciprocity, and can be interpreted as creativity, resourcefulness, power relations, and resistance during everyday crises.

Wojciech Sroka, Piotr Sulewski, Jarosław Mikołajczyk, Karol Król · Agriculture · Poland

This study, based on a survey of economically successful peri-urban farms in Poland, identified success factors and major barriers to their development. The research shows a considerable convergence in business solutions in recent years, particularly in customer relationships and channels. According to respondents, the success of peri-urban farms is primarily determined by three groups of factors: motivation, diligence, and creativity; high quality of products and services; and cultivating deep bonds with customers. While farm managers indicated relatively few internal problems, urban pressure was considered the most significant external barrier to development.

Julia Spanier, Leonie Guerrero Lara, Giuseppe Feola · Agriculture and Human Values · Germany

This article systematically analyzes the potential for a coalition between Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) and degrowth movements in Germany, drawing on social movement theories. It finds that the ideologies and political strategies of the two movements are not aligned, with CSA focusing practically on smallholder agriculture and degrowth abstractly on the growth-dependent economy. Scarce resources, differing internal organization, and CSA's lack of knowledge about degrowth are obstacles, though existing social ties and initial ideological alignment with sufficiency-oriented degrowth are noted.

Siti Hasanah, Mustika Widowati, Sri Hardiningsih, Vita Arumsari · KACANEGARA Jurnal Pengabdian pada Masyarakat · Indonesia (Semarang)

This community service project targeted women in the "Ijo Royo-Royo" Women Farmers Group in Tambakaji, Semarang City, Indonesia, addressing their limited experience in utilizing narrow home yards for planting and lack of skills in waste management. The project provided assistance in creating urban gardens for daily food independence, managing plastic waste for vertical planting, and processing vegetable and fruit waste into healthy drinks and organic fertilizer. The aim was to increase the economic value and benefits of urban backyard farming.

Sung–Ho Kil, Hye‐Mi Park, Minkyu Park, Ye Inn Kim, Eunseok Lee · Land · South Korea

In Seoul, South Korea, the suitability of urban rooftop greenhouses (RGs) was analyzed by combining the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Location suitability factors were derived through expert consultations, and AHP was used to calculate factor weights. The highest weight for RG location factors was benefit (0.1782), followed by officially assessed land prices (0.0913) and supermarket density (0.0802). Analysis linking these results with spatial data revealed that Gangseo-gu had relatively high location suitability scores.

Yumin Park, Yong-Wook Shin · Journal of people, plants, and environment · Global

This study conducted an importance-performance analysis (IPA) on the values and major achievements of urban agriculture, analyzing 104 responses from experts involved in urban agricultural policies. It found that both importance and satisfaction were highest for health functions, followed by social-cultural, environmental-ecological, and economic functions. Awareness of health functions was high, while economic functions were low, suggesting a need for strengthening.

Marco Medici, Maurizio Canavari, Alessandra Castellini · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Global

This study designed and applied a cost-benefit analysis based on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) to five Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives, addressing the lack of objective sustainability indicators. CSAs are local food supply chains characterized by member volunteer commitment, reduction of synthetic inputs in food production, and shortening of the supply chain. Findings revealed that the analyzed CSA case studies demonstrated a limited but positive socio-environmental performance compared to conventional food supply chains, thereby showing they can create real value in terms of social gains and mitigation of environmental impacts.

Patricia Patricia, Irene Syona Darmady · Jurnal Sains Teknologi Urban Perancangan Arsitektur (Stupa) · Indonesia

This paper proposes an architectural strategy, specifically urban acupuncture, to reactivate the degraded tourism identity of Kampung Jaksa, particularly Jaksa Street, in Indonesia. The design results in a gallery building focused on culinary tourism, explaining Indonesian cuisine through interactive and learnable techniques. This design also includes supporting programs such as vertical urban farming and site-responsive building orientation to provide public space.

Jessica Quinton, Lorien Nesbitt, James J. Connolly, Elvin Wyly · Urban Geography · Canada

This descriptive analysis identified gentrifying areas in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto, Canada, from 1996–2006 and 2006–2016, to determine the prevalence of greening interventions. The study found that greening, including parks, cycle lanes, and community gardens, frequently occurred before, during, and after gentrification. These results indicate that greening is common in gentrifying areas throughout the gentrification process, suggesting a need for a broader understanding of the relationship between urban greening and gentrification.

Ana H. Ladio, Melisa Longo, Soledad Molares · Ethnobotany Research and Applications · Argentina (San Carlos de Bariloche)

This qualitative study analyzed the resilience processes of agroecological farmers at the Free Fair of Family Farmers from Nahuel Huapi in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. The fair's main resilience principles include high agrobiodiversity, learning and connectivity, cooperation, and adaptive systemic thinking. However, the economic and cultural viability of this fair is uncertain due to the drastic socio-environmental changes experienced in the region.

Tien Sugihartini, Dedi Djuliansah, Zulfikar Noormansyah · JURNAL ILMIAH MAHASISWA AGROINFO GALUH · Indonesia

This study was conducted in 10 districts of Tasikmalaya City, Indonesia, involving 100 urban farming actors. It aimed to analyze the performance of urban farming and its influencing factors in Tasikmalaya City, and to formulate a sustainable urban farming development model using SEM WarpPLS 7.0. The findings indicate that urban farming performance in Tasikmalaya City positively influences sustainable agriculture, and that actor characteristics and supporting institutions affect urban farming performance.

Jiaxin Li · Heliyon · China (Fuzhou)

This study developed a spatial model for land suitability evaluation of urban agricultural development under different investment demands (urban agriculture 1.0 and 2.0) in Fuzhou, China. GIS and TOPSIS analysis techniques, based on prospect theory, were utilized. The land suitability evaluation system incorporated ecological environment, social demand, and investment cost. Results indicated Changle as the most suitable area for urban agriculture 1.0, while Gulou was most suitable for urban agriculture 2.0.

Peter Sanjo Adewale, Sunday Clement Olubunmi Makinde, V. Kusemiju · Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development · Nigeria (Lagos)

This mixed-method study in Lagos State, Nigeria, examined the effects of Urban and Peri-urban Vegetable Production (UPVP) on farmers' livelihood subscales using a Household Livelihood Survey and Focus Group Discussion. The findings indicate that all livelihood subscales (Physical, Natural, Financial, Social, Human) were positively and significantly impacted by UPVP, with a moderately high overall impact. The study concludes that UPVP can be a resilient sector for the economy and sustainable development.

Chuo Li · Landscape Journal · United States (New Orleans)

This research investigates post-Katrina urban agricultural development in Village de L’Est, New Orleans, Louisiana, using archival research, interviews, and field observations. It reveals how urban agriculture became an integral part of community rebuilding schemes and contributed to resilience in this urban ethnic community. The development of urban agriculture was essential to the community’s long-term resilience strategies, promoting community empowerment and enhancing food security and resilience.