Research & reports

Zhenshan Yang, Pu Hao, Weidong Liu, Jianming Cai · Habitat International · China (Beijing)

A study in peri-urban Beijing, China, investigated recent agricultural development practices to explore approaches to agricultural transformation during rapid urbanization. The investigation found that high-tech precision agriculture, downstream processing, and agro-tourism have emerged as major forms of peri-urban agriculture in Beijing. These peri-urban agricultural developments were identified as economically appealing, socially inclusive, and environmentally friendly.

A. Husni Malian, Masdjidin Siregar · Forum penelitian Agro Ekonomi · Indonesia

This paper discusses the dwindling role of peri-urban agriculture in Indonesia due to urban development policies favoring manufacturing and service sectors. The economic crisis and policy changes had different effects on farmers of leafy vegetables, orchids, and ornamental plants. Increased fertilizer prices and wage rates, coupled with decreased demand for orchids and ornamental plants in 1999, reduced farmers' income. Conversely, increased demand for leafy vegetables led to more intensive land use, neglecting health and environmental concerns.

Kamal Kishore Yadav, Pradeep Kumar Singh, R. C. Purohit · Water science and technology library · India (Udaipur)

A study in the peri-urban area of Udaipur City, India, investigated heavy metal contamination in soil, vegetable crops, and groundwater due to wastewater reuse. While groundwater-irrigated vegetables showed heavy metal levels within WHO limits, wastewater-irrigated spinach, tomato, and radish at site 3 (Kanpur – Madri Villave) exceeded maximum permissible limits for Fe, Zn, and Cd. Urban wastewater-irrigated spinach was found to accumulate Fe, Zn, and Cd significantly above permissible limits at all three selected locations, making it unsafe for human consumption.

Masdjidin Siregar · Jurnal Agro Ekonomi · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This paper describes intensive peri-urban leafy vegetable agriculture in Jakarta, which utilizes idle land and provides employment and income for rural migrants. However, the prospect of this agriculture is unclear because it uses non-agricultural land that will eventually be developed. The study concludes that government assistance in credit, extension, and research is needed, and alternative lands for cultivators must be found.

徐正挺 · 合作经济与科技 · China

An article on agricultural innovation within Suzhou's national independent-innovation demonstration zone in Jiangsu province, China, presents Shanghai's modern urban agriculture as a leading example: Shanghai Guoxing Nong company's "Internet+Agriculture" approach uses a "five-ring linkage" business model that integrates agricultural production, technology and services with internet information technology to support the pre-production, production, post-production and sales stages. The article argues that Changshu, which already has a solid agricultural base, should draw on this model and the "Internet+" strategy to build platforms that raise agricultural quality and efficiency.

Arti Bhatia, Shivdhar Singh, Amit Kumar · Water Environment Research · India (Delhi)

A study in Delhi, India, investigated heavy metal contamination (cadmium, lead, zinc, copper) in irrigation water, soil, and vegetables from four peri-urban and one wholesale site. Most samples from peri-urban areas exceeded safe limits for lead and cadmium. Vegetables from the wholesale market showed only higher lead concentrations. Among peri-urban vegetables, only okra exceeded the safe limit for cadmium, while several wholesale vegetables (potato, coriander, chilies, pea, carrot) exceeded the limit for lead regarding health risk.

Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Yuji Hara, Danai Thaitakoo · Landscape and Urban Planning · Thailand (Bangkok)

This 2015 study in peri-urban Bangkok, Thailand, used field interviews and GIS analysis to examine food-related behaviors and land use changes. It found that traditional wet markets remained important hubs, but there was little connection between farmers and nearby wet markets in the same district. This lack of connection constricted positive feedback between producers and consumers in peri-urban areas.

赤峰市委党校课题组, 盖文学 · 松州学刊 · China (Chifeng)

This study examined the development of Chifeng city's central urban area in China, acknowledging significant achievements since 1995 but also identifying issues such as weak industrial support, water supply crises, and talent shortages. To address these, the study proposed seven specific strategies, including developing suburban urban agriculture by establishing industry-academia-research bases, aiming to build a regional central city with a million inhabitants.

I Ketut Sardiana · Bumi Lestari Journal of Environment · Indonesia

A field survey using subak (traditional Balinese irrigation) units as sampling points, with soil properties analyzed by standard laboratory methods, evaluated land suitability for horticultural and medicinal crops in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, to support agricultural planning that protects the subak system amid land conversion to tourism development. Land was found "very suitable" (S1) for rice, and "suitable" (S) for vegetables, fruit and medicinal plants with two limiting factors — poor drainage and fine soil texture — leading to recommendations for drainage improvement, organic matter addition, and zoned land-use planning by season and location (rice in the rainy season, flowers in the north, fruit and vegetables in the central area, and vegetables and secondary crops in the south).

M. Osman, G. Ravindra Chary, S. S. Balloli, Shaik Haffis · Indian Journal of Dryland Agricultural Research and Development · India

This study, conducted in three districts of Telangana State, India (Adilabad, Nalgonda, and Warangal), used net returns from crops, fruit trees, and livestock to identify sustainable and profitable land uses, estimate credit requirements, and formulate a credit investment action plan, surveying 270 respondents (90 per district). Based on system index and benefit-cost ratio (BCR), the study identified profitable crop and livestock enterprises, with BCR ranging from 1.58 for cotton-pigeonpea intercropping in rural Adilabad to 3.98 for soybean-pigeonpea intercropping in peri-urban Adilabad. For fruit trees (15-year lifespan), payback periods of 5-7 years were found, with BCR of 1.61-2.07 and net present values (at 2010 prices) of 267 crore for sweet orange in Nalgonda and 109 crore for mango in Warangal. Returns per rupee invested in large ruminant (dairy) rearing ranged from 3.04 to 3.44, and for small ruminants from 4.05 to 5.54 across the three districts. The study reports large credit demand from the farming community and formulates a district-level investment action plan with policy implications.

王东升, 刘家琴 · 果农之友 · China

A journalistic feature marks the first anniversary of Beijing's first "urban agriculture science courtyard," jointly established by the Beijing and Changping soil-fertilizer stations and China Agricultural University at the Xinchengyuan fruit cooperative in Changping district. The article describes on-site visits documenting the courtyard's work extending urban agriculture technology, training new-type professional farmers, and hosting researchers and graduate students on-site to provide free, barrier-free, immediate technical services aimed at boosting strawberry yields, resource efficiency, and farmer income, without giving specific quantitative results.

Prem José Vazhacharickal, Sumita Gupta Gangopadhyay · Kobra (Universitätsbibliothek Kassel) · India

This paper examines urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in India, focusing on wastewater irrigation and its associated human health risks. The study identifies potential health hazards for farmers, laborers, and consumers, including microbial pathogens and helminth (intestinal parasites). While UPA is presented as an option to address urban food demand, the paper emphasizes that "good practice UPA" requires integrated approaches and suitable risk reduction mechanisms to improve safety.

郑书剑 · 国际城市规划 · China (Pearl River Delta)

This paper discusses "Cheng Bian Cun" (peri-urban villages) in China's Pearl River Delta region, identifying them as distinct settlements with diverse functions like housing low-income residents, suburban commerce, small industries, and urban agriculture. It argues that these functions are crucial for the overall human settlement system, but the current urban-rural dual system hinders their flexibility. The paper proposes that urban-rural planning should focus on integration, address land system limitations, and meet the needs for upgraded services and land resource market entry to improve residential rights and guide free operations in these villages.

Tian Ming-hu · Beijing Linye Daxue xuebao · China (Beijing)

This paper surveyed 872 residents in Beijing from August to October 2012, using the contingent valuation method to estimate the potential value of Beijing's community gardens. Results showed that the average amount people were willing to pay for community gardens was 1002.62 RMB per person, the average area people tended to rent was 38.80 m² per person, and the total amount people were willing to pay was 12.301 billion RMB.

Tô Thi Thu Ha, Paule Moustier, Nguyễn Thị Tân Lộc · Agritrop (Cirad) · Vietnam (Hanoi)

A 2009 survey in Hanoi, Vietnam, involving 47 agricultural households, 14 cooperative heads, 83 non-agricultural households, and 13 public officials, appraised perceptions of peri-urban agriculture. Farmers and agricultural officials were more optimistic about urban agriculture's future than non-farm residents. While most respondents believed agriculture should be maintained for food and employment, residents showed little desire to be involved in urban planning decisions, suggesting that the potential extinction of peri-urban agriculture might not elicit a strong reaction until it is too late.

Shengqi Xu · Shipin yanjiu yu kaifa · China

A 2014 paper examines development strategy for the modern agricultural food product industry in Wuqing District, Tianjin, China. It proposes developing Wuqing into a supply base for high-quality agricultural products and a comprehensive urban agriculture demonstration area for the Beijing-Tianjin region by drawing on university scientific talent, research outputs, and platforms, raising the level of industrialization, standardization, systemization, branding, and functionalization of agricultural facilities and zones, and strengthening characteristic agriculture in vegetables, cattle, fisheries, livestock and poultry, and forestry and fruit.

남선모 · · South Korea

Against the background of a growing population of people returning to farming or rural villages in South Korea, this paper reviews problems such as overlapping burden fees and terminological confusion arising from farmland conversion. In connection with the implementation of the Act on the Promotion of Urban Agriculture, it notes that the number of urban residents cultivating home gardens in city centers is projected to reach about 2 million by 2017, and that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs had formulated a first Five-Year Urban Agriculture Promotion Plan (2013-2017) that would revise the Act on Urban Parks and Green Areas — previously cited as an obstacle — to allow urban agriculture facilities to be installed within city parks.

Zakir Hussain, Markus Hanisch · Journal of Environmental Planning and Management · India

This paper describes the adaptation of agricultural management practices in the urban periphery of Hyderabad, India, due to structural changes. Based on 120 farmer interviews, the study found that increasing costs for agricultural inputs like labor and land motivated farmers to intensify water, machine, and chemical use, which created problematic environmental impacts. Farmers also adapted by resorting to part-time farming and organizing efforts to share family labor.

王冬灵, Genxu Wang, 车生泉 · 上海交通大学学报：农业科学版 · China (Shanghai)

This article discusses the feasibility and optimization design of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) type urban agricultural tourism parks in China, using Chongming Happy Farm in Shanghai as an example. It analyzes issues to consider when developing such parks and explores design optimizations across five aspects: agricultural production systems, tourism systems, overall layout, functional spatial structure, and operation management. The study suggests that CSA-type urban agricultural tourism parks can optimize urban agricultural tourism development and expand suburban agricultural development paths.

Tathagata Chatterji · South Asia Journal of South Asian Studies · India (Gurgaon)

A case study of Gurgaon, India, examined how local political factors, the rural-urban divide, and inter-governmental conflicts influenced the governance of a rapidly globalizing urban region. The study found that Gurgaon's real estate-driven transformation from a rural town to an outsourcing hub, involving the conversion of peri-urban agricultural land, has resulted in a fragmented landscape with glaring inequalities. This rapid urban makeover created everyday tensions and contradictions, particularly evident with the formation of a new municipal corporation.

남윤철 · · South Korea

The Ecovillage 'Sanneoul' in Seocheon-gun, South Korea, was developed for urban dwellers returning to rural areas and to prevent rural population decline. The village incorporates ecological elements such as rainwater recycling, rooftop gardens, and ecological sewage disposal plants, and residents utilize sunlight and solar heat systems, garbage recycling, and pellet boilers. While residents are content with the village's ecological elements, significant dissimilarities among residents in age, profession, and previous living environments pose an obstacle to community maintenance.

Heng Shi, Ya Jun Shi, Guang Cai Xu · Applied Mechanics and Materials · China (Beijing)

This study proposes a non-weight agricultural information index model based on the analytic hierarchy process, developed in the context of Beijing's agricultural information development. It suggests that agricultural information promotes the economic growth of urban agriculture, particularly peri-urban agriculture, by facilitating the transition from traditional to modern agriculture.

K.G. Rosin, Ravinder Kaur, Sushma Singh, Prabhat Kumar Singh, Digvijay Dubey · Procedia Environmental Sciences · India

A study was conducted in peri-urban agricultural sites around Faridabad, Haryana, India, to assess groundwater contamination and the contribution of salt/trace metal-laden irrigation waters. Mean EC, Cl, and F concentrations in root zone leachates were found to be far beyond permissible limits, and some trace metals posed a threat to deep percolating waters. However, due to existing cropping patterns and deeper water table depths, the groundwaters were not yet vulnerable to these salts/trace metals, and the presence of salts in the groundwaters was primarily geogenic.

舒显奇梁建琼官智茹陈丽 · 农村经济 · China (Chengdu)

This study briefly outlines the advantages and current status of urban agriculture development in Qionglai, a major agricultural county in Chengdu's outer suburbs. It discusses the problems encountered in developing urban agriculture and proposes countermeasures for Qionglai to advance its "Urban Agriculture Demonstration Project." The research is based on an understanding of urban agriculture's connotations, functions, and development status at home and abroad.

Jaap Evers · · Vietnam (Hanoi)

This paper discusses the transfer of international commitments on green sustainable growth to local levels, focusing on integrated urban wastewater management in Hanoi, Vietnam. It highlights the substantial potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to reuse urban wastewater for nutrient recovery and to serve as environmental service providers within urban sanitation systems. However, it notes that many local policymakers are unaware of the significance and opportunities of this practice.