Research & reports

정진영, 손상목, 김영호 · 한국유기농업학회지 · United States; Japan

This paper studied the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in the USA and Europe to provide ideas for establishing and promoting CSA in Korea to support organic agriculture. In a CSA system, farmers grow food for a group of shareholders who pledge to buy a portion of the farm's crop for the season. This arrangement provides growers with upfront cash and higher prices by eliminating middlemen. CSA shareholders expect organic farming to protect the environment, maintain soil fertility, preserve diversity, recycle resources, maintain organic food integrity, and develop new technologies considering long-range social and ecological impacts.

Jens Færge, Jakob Magid, F.W.T. Penning de Vries · CGSPace A Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) · Sub-Saharan Africa

This 2001 entry from CGSpace references a publication titled "Waste composting for urban and peri-urban agriculture: closing the rural-urban nutrient cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa." The publication, edited by Drechsel and Kunze, focuses on waste composting to manage nutrient flows between rural and urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa.

LI Wei-jiang · Economic Geography · China (Shanghai)

This paper provides a preliminary discussion on the strategic key points for constructing modern urban agriculture in Shanghai. It examines four aspects: body-function transformation, structure adjustment, development organization, and spatial structure composition.

J.J. Tolron · HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) · Europe

This article examines peri-urban agriculture, which is subject to land constraints imposed by nearby cities. Two case studies in the Mediterranean region illustrate that adaptations to the peri-urban context trigger radical changes in agricultural systems' functioning rationale, leading to sometimes paradoxical operations. The study emphasizes the diversifying effect on systems and the challenges linked to land management.

Karen Flynn · Africa · Tanzania

This article compares urban farmers in Mwanza, Tanzania, with those in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ghana. In Mwanza, urban agriculturalists are increasingly not among the poorest, often being middle and upper-class males with access to scarce land and inputs, similar to Ghana. They differ from farmers in Kenya and Zambia in terms of gender, socio-economic class, and motivations. Many of Mwanza's wealthier males continue to face enough job/income insecurity to choose to plant crops to support themselves and their household in lean times.

Robyn Lynn · ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) · Global

This paper highlights the significance of urban food production, which has been historically neglected despite its potential to address issues of globalization, urbanization, and environmental degradation. It explores the relationship between cities, food production, and activism, noting a growing local food movement that resists global food discourses. The paper aims to identify issues within urban food production activism and its organizational aspects.

Moez Bouraoui, Pierre Donadieu, André Fleury · Cahiers Agricultures · Tunisia (Tunis)

In Tunis, the concept of public green spaces has not evolved much, and the risk of continuous urbanization is real, making agriculture not inherently sustainable between dynamic urbanization poles. However, new attitudes are emerging, with environmental concerns influencing public planning policies, and residential forms, recreational/cultural practices associated with agriculture, and new citizen interest in rural areas are appearing. These developments may signal the beginning of a new planning policy and the advent of urban agriculture in Tunis.

Frank Lohrberg · OPUS Publication Server of the University of Stuttgart (University of Stuttgart) · Global

This study argues that agricultural production forms near cities, often overlooked by municipal and environmental policy, are innovative, consumer-oriented, and economically efficient. It suggests that urban and and open space planning should abandon the prejudice that agriculture on the city outskirts is an outdated model. A differentiated view reveals an "urban" agriculture that is more vital than its rural counterpart and can provide important impulses for more sustainable cities and efficient planning.

Elizabeth Lynn Waddell · CSUSB ScholarWorks (California State University, San Bernardino) · United States (California)

This project was developed to encourage educators to establish school site gardens. These gardens offer opportunities to introduce environmental topics and function as hands-on learning centers for various subjects.

Nercy Rodríguez de la Rosa, Raimundo M. Díaz Esquivel, Lissett Gutiérrez Hernández, Susana Pérez Talavera, Francisco M. Pérez Tabares · Alimentaria · Global

This study aimed to establish a methodology for using solar dryers for food and seed preservation under rustic conditions. It was established that condiments and seeds can be dried in approximately 3 days, maintaining their qualities and offering additional sanitary advantages. The manufacturing of solar dryers is very simple and does not require large investments.

王雪梅 · 山西农经 · China (Taiyuan)

This paper discusses the "comprehensive urban diseases" resulting from urbanization, such as population concentration, traffic congestion, and environmental degradation, which threaten human health and well-being. It notes that as cities increasingly move away from nature, urban residents long for rural landscapes, prompting a call for green industries to return to cities. "Urban agriculture" has thus emerged in some large cities in China as a response to these challenges and a path towards sustainable urban development.

Fabio Bontadina, Pascale Contesse, Sandra Gloor · DORA WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) · Switzerland (Zurich)

This study analyzed attitudes towards urban foxes in Switzerland using a nationwide survey and questionnaires for households and allotment gardeners in Zurich. While 60% of Swiss respondents were against urban foxes, only 40% in Zurich were; however, 70% of gardeners opposed them, with 55% reporting damage caused by foxes, which negatively correlated with fox acceptance.

黄大成 · 特区经济 · China (Zhuhai)

A favorable condition for urban agriculture development in Zhuhai City is the purchasing power of its citizens. According to expert analysis, the average annual income for Zhuhai city employees in 1997 was 12793 yuan (approximately 1505.05 USD), significantly exceeding the 500-800 USD per capita annual income considered the take-off period for tourism. A tourism bureau survey indicated that 29.44% of citizens were willing to spend under 100 yuan for a day trip, 43.51% between 100-200 yuan, and 14.11% between 200-300 yuan, which can meet the consumption demands of tourism and leisure-oriented urban agriculture projects targeting ordinary citizens.

Candan Kuş · · Turkey (Ankara)

A study in Yenimahalle District, Ankara, evaluating multiple schools including 80 primary schools, assessed the importance of school gardens and their place within the urban open-green space system. The findings revealed that many school gardens were unsuitable for use by teachers and students, being narrow, containing only ceremonial areas and a few plants, and lacking sufficient furnishing elements. It was also observed that additional buildings further narrowed school gardens, and insufficient attention was given to recreation areas, sports areas, and green spaces.

CAST · · United States

This comprehensive report, written by a twelve-member task force, considers the changing role of agriculture in urban settings. The report frames "urban agriculture" within historical and contemporary American society, depicting geographic, demographic, and economic changes in rural and metropolitan life. Policy issues such as land preservation, alternative market opportunities, sprawl, taxation, and food security are examined.

Raúl Ortíz, Celia Patricia Vera, Antonio Leyva · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba

A diagnostic study was conducted on the conditions of urban gardens, their producers, and families in 20 gardens across five localities in the "Boyeros" and "Arroyo Naranjo" municipalities of Havana, Cuba, between December 1998 and March 1999. While the garden agroecosystems showed satisfactory biodiversity, general knowledge of biological technologies in sustainable urban agriculture remained relatively low. None of the surveyed plot owners consciously knew or used vermiculture, pisciculture, biofertilizers, biopesticides, or biostimulants, and almost half did not consciously use crop rotation.

Bu Miao · Journal of Zhangkai Aguotechaical College · Global

Urban agriculture aims to meet the needs of modernization and high-grade consumption in large central cities. Its establishment and development rely on creative, highly skilled personnel and scientific research from agricultural higher education and research organizations. Colleges and universities involved in urban agriculture education should establish appropriate specifications, patterns, and mechanisms for personnel cultivation, aligning with urban modernization demands for the industry's establishment, operation, and management.

Dick Foeken, Samuel Owuor · · Kenya

A 2001 study examines "multi-spatial livelihood" households — those with a livelihood foothold in both urban and rural areas — from the urban perspective, based on Nakuru Town, Kenya. According to 1999 survey data, over 60% of Nakuru households can be considered to have a multi-spatial livelihood. While one-adult and low-income households are relatively under-represented in the survey, multi-spatial livelihoods may be particularly important for the food security of the latter group. However, the results indicate that rural farming by urban dwellers should be understood mainly in terms of "opportunity," in contrast to urban farming, which is framed in terms of "necessity."

Waweru Mutambi, Mwangi Kariuki, Kibet Nderitu · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Kenya

This longitudinal study evaluated the effects of agroforestry practices (integrated tree-crop systems) on yield gains and farmer adoption rates in the Kibera slums of Nairobi, Kenya, using surveys and soil analysis as quantitative data collection methods. Preliminary findings indicate that integrated tree-crop systems produced a statistically significant 12% increase in maize yields (95% CI: 6-18%) compared to conventional farming practices. Farmer adoption rates rose from 40% at baseline to 70% after one year of intervention.

H. van den Bosch, Derek Eaton, Mark T. van Wijk, J. Vlaming, A. de Jager · CABI Publishing eBooks · Africa

This chapter describes the phases of the NUTMON methodology for analyzing nutrient flows and balances in African farming systems, along with the possibilities for applying it in the context of peri-urban agriculture. It uses the NUTShell farm-diagnosis tool to link nutrient flows with economic flows, without presenting specific case results.

Tina M. Waliczek, J.C. Bradley, J.M. Zajicek · HortTechnology · Global

Children participating in garden activities were evaluated for improvements in interpersonal relationships and attitudes toward school, using pre- and post-tests comparing control and experimental groups. No significant differences were found between pre- and post-tests or between the control and experimental groups overall; however, demographic comparisons showed female students had significantly more positive attitudes toward school than males at program's end, interpersonal relationships differed by grade level, and children's attitudes toward school were more positive in schools offering more intensive, individualized gardening.

Isabel María Madaleno · Food, nutrition and agriculture · Global

An essay argues that urban agriculture—food and non-food production occurring throughout urban and peri-urban fabric—could improve city dwellers' nutritional status and food security, strengthen food self-reliance and employment prospects, and make survival strategies more effective. It describes urban agriculture as a setting where children, young people, and adults engage directly in safe food production and develop respect for farmers' work, surveys the evolution of cities and green-space use in Europe and North America, presents recent urban agriculture experiences in African, European, and Latin American countries, and advocates urban agriculture as a local solution to social, ecological, political, and economic problems.

Pay Drechsel, D. Kunze · CABI Publishing eBooks · Sub-Saharan Africa

A chapter in Drechsel and Kunze (Eds.), 'Waste Composting for Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture: Closing the Rural-Urban Nutrient Cycle in Sub-Saharan Africa' (CABI Publishing; IWMI; FAO), addressing research and development priorities. The abstract provides no further detail beyond this citation.

Chinedum Nwokocha, Obioma Obiora, Oludamini Olayiwola · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Nigeria

A survey of 150 Nigerian immigrant families living in various regions and cities across Nigeria, recruited via online questionnaires distributed on social media, examined the role of community gardens in social cohesion. Analysis found that 72% of respondents reported increased feelings of community belonging linked to their involvement in community garden activities, indicating these spaces play a role in fostering social cohesion among this immigrant population. As an exploratory study, the findings are preliminary, and the authors call for further research to validate them and to examine the long-term impacts of community garden participation on family dynamics, mental health and overall well-being among immigrants in Nigeria.

Libby Robin · Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes · Global

This historical account traces how new educational theories at the turn of the century in the British world reconceived the school child from an 'administrated unit' into a 'growing flower,' drawing on Swiss and German ideas of the school as a kindergarten, as noted by education professor Patrick Geddes. It describes the progression from an indoor flower shelf, through window boxes, to a full school garden in the playground, and details Miss Latter's design for a British school garden: eighteen kitchen-garden plots of 4 by 2 feet and eighteen flower-garden plots of 3 by 4.5 feet, separated by paths, laid out to read as a formal classroom exercise.