Research & reports

Daniela S. Gómez-López · ECORFAN Journal Republic of El Salvador · Global

A paper providing a comprehensive analysis of the state of convergence between the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and sustainability, covering 2009 to 2023, using a combined heuristic and hermeneutic literature review methodology. SSE, built on principles of cooperation, equity and citizen participation, is presented as a key tool for addressing inequality and promoting decent employment, while sustainability is framed as improving living conditions without compromising the future. The paper argues that SSE promotes sustainable economic practices aligned with the 2030 Agenda, and illustrates SSE's application through regional case studies spanning urban agriculture, circular economy, recycling cooperatives, and socioeconomic development projects.

Arun Kafle, James Hopeward, Baden Myers · Horticulturae · Global

A study modeling the social, economic, and environmental potential of urban agriculture (UA), based on information from 40 distinct locations in each of two regions: Adelaide, South Australia and the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Modelling estimated equivalent employment, scale appropriateness, and earnings relative to labor use from commercial urban farming and gardening-style UA, together with carbon dioxide emissions for two vegetable types. The study examined the influence of distance and production scale under manual-to-modest mechanization for urban vegetable production, finding that the interplay between labor use and mechanization can favor scale-appropriate UA practices with better labor productivity and economic and social advantage. Distribution — assumed to be by car for UA — contributed the largest share of emissions, while the production component, even with mechanization, contributed a relatively small portion per unit of production. The study recommends that governments and planners facilitate scale-appropriate mechanization through better planning and policy instruments to support UA's sustainability.

Fan Xu, Fangke Xu, Pu Xu, Min Liu, Yufeng Li · Sustainability · China

A study of 106 questionnaire responses from new urban agricultural business entities in Shanghai, China (Sustainability, 2023) combined the Theory of Planned Behavior with the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability model and a binary Probit regression to examine online sales intentions and behavior for low-carbon agricultural products. Economic expectations and social norms significantly improved online sales intention at the formation stage, while behavior control was found not to be conducive to improving online sales intention. The study also identified a gap between operators' willingness to sell online and their actual behavior, and found that strengthening policy conditions and management capacity helped convert stated willingness into actual online-selling behavior.

Amy Hui‐Mei Lin, Andrea Gómez‐Maqueo · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Global

A review paper (2023) examines the challenge of strengthening food security — especially production of staple food carbohydrates — in places with limited or unavailable land and natural resources, using the city-state of Singapore as its case. Unlike some alternative foods such as cultured meat, producing carbohydrate foods through conventional agri-food approaches requires substantial natural resources unavailable in regions like Singapore, so the paper argues for developing new, sustainable methods to increase the quantity and nutritional quality of carbohydrate-rich foods. It reviews technology developments such as indoor vertical farming and urban farming used to improve crop quality and production, and recommends exploring underutilized and unconventional resilient, nutrient-dense crops, identifying hidden resources in local ecosystems such as revalorizing agri-food processing byproducts, and producing alternative carbohydrates including microbial and synthetic sources, suggesting Singapore's experience and approaches may serve as an example and inspire creativity for other regions.

Nancy Harlet Esquivel-Marín, Leticia Myriam Sagarnaga Villegas, Octavio T. Barrera-Perales, Juan Antonio Lugo Machado, José María Salas González · Acta Universitatis Sapientiae Agriculture and Environment · Europe

This bibliometric review analyzes the systemic structure of multifunctional agriculture (MFA) and its relationship to sustainability, based on a sample of 432 documents published on the Web of Science platform. Using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to map scientific collaboration networks, the review identified the authors, journals, and countries shaping the current knowledge structure and four thematic clusters: (a) MFA and sustainability, (b) ecosystem services and biodiversity, (c) European public policies, and (d) governance and urban agriculture. It concludes that, despite an increase in publication rates, research remains concentrated in Europe with few collaborative networks across disciplines, indicating that SDG 17 (partnerships) is not being achieved.

NOVI EFRIYANTI, Ratna Komala Dewi, IDA AYU LISTIA DEWI · Jurnal Agribisnis dan Agrowisata (Journal of Agribusiness and Agritourism) · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This study identifies internal and external factors and derives priority strategies for urban farming development in the Cempaka Farmers Group in South Jakarta, Indonesia, using IFE, EFE, SWOT, and QSPM matrix analysis. Among internal factors, the group's already having a defined vision and mission was the main strength (score 0.197), while insufficient urban farming production, much of it not worth selling, was the main weakness (score 0.083). Among external factors, government assistance in the form of programs, training, and agricultural tools for urban agriculture actors was the main opportunity (score 0.370), while the agricultural land not being owned by the Cempaka Farmers Group was the biggest threat (score 0.164). The resulting priority strategy is to maximize the farmer group's own activities while drawing on support from outside parties, the government, and developing technology.

Miguel Borja Bernabé-Crespo, Jorge Olcina Cantos, Antonio Oliva Cañizares · Water · Spain

This paper proposes the concept of a "wastewater use basin" as a smaller-scale working unit than a traditional river basin, aimed at better managing sewerage-network water and urban stormwater in semi-arid and arid regions where water scarcity drives competition among urban, agricultural, industrial, and tourism demands. It is a geographically-focused proposal for integrated management of wastewater and stormwater that ultimately reaches a treatment plant for treatment and reuse. The study area is the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Spain — the Campo de Cartagena–Mar Menor district (Murcia) and the Vega Baja district (Alicante). Analysis of recent torrential rainfall episodes in the Segura river basin found a clear tendency for these episodes to occur in coastal and pre-coastal areas, meaning the water does not reach the headwaters where the reservoirs are located. Based on the capacity of existing and planned environmental tanks, the study estimates that four cubic hectometers of additional water could be incorporated into the hydrological planning of the Segura basin. It concludes that rainwater collection adds a supplementary water volume that complements resources from treatment plants, serves as an adaptation measure to climatic extremes such as droughts and floods and to climate change, and supports circular management of water resources.

Junaidi Junaidi, Mahadi Bahtera, Halil Akmal, Maisarah Maisarah · Jurnal Agroristek · Indonesia

This study examined income levels and the internal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats affecting horticultural urban farming development in the city of Sigli, Indonesia, using descriptive and SWOT analysis. Using a census sampling method, respondents comprised 8 people total: 3 farmer-group officials and 5 horticultural farmers. The results placed Sigli's horticultural urban farming in "Quadrant I," indicating internal strengths, and the study recommends an aggressive strategy that maximizes strengths and exploits available opportunities.

Arun Kafle, James Hopeward, Baden Myers · Sustainability · Global

An integrated modelling framework using proxy measures for economic benefit (net margin), social benefit (full-time farmer employment equivalent per consumer) and environmental benefit (CO2 emission reduction) was applied to two contrasting development settings, Adelaide, Australia, and the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, to examine the characteristics of urban agriculture (UA). Using two-stage optimisation across three mechanisation levels (non-mechanised, garden tiller, garden cultivator), two purposes (gardening or commercial), two crop-value categories and two market mechanisms, the model found that no single UA form maximises economic, environmental and social (employment) objectives simultaneously: commercial UA, in which both land and labour are costed, was favoured for maximising profit or reducing CO2 emissions, while gardening-form UA was favoured for maximising employment participation. In Adelaide the model favoured commercial UA for best-case profit and carbon emissions but gardening UA for employment maximisation, while in the Kathmandu Valley the model selected gardening UA under the given assumptions.

Ada Górna · Prace i Studia Geograficzne · Europe

A discussion piece examines vineyards as a specific form of urban agriculture, focusing on their spatial and functional dimensions through a case study of Vienna. Drawing on data from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board and field observations conducted in April 2022, it analyzes Vienna — described as "the king of urban viticulture" — to determine the spatial distribution of vineyards within the city, their production structure, and the functions they perform. It concludes that viticulture and winemaking in Vienna display a multifunctionality that combines production with recreational, tourist, landscape and cultural functions, which contributes to the preservation of vineyards within the city's space.

Fransisca Listyaningsih, Devan Adi PAWOKO, Nurul HIDAYAH · ICCD · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This activity report describes the use of limited urban land for agriculture, women's empowerment, and family food independence in North Meruya, West Jakarta, Indonesia. The activity consisted of hands-on practice of a hydroponic method usable on limited land, together with ongoing guidance provided to women and housewives.

Mokoena Oratilwe Penwell, Ntuli Thembelihle Sam, Ramarumo Tshepo, Seeletse Solly Matshonisa · International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Studies · Global

A conceptual paper argues that crowdsourcing and synergy (CSS) platforms could optimize activities for small-scale dairy farmers (SSDFs) in low- and middle-income economies, where market withdrawal by small farmers is disrupting producer-consumer relationships. Built on logic-based reasoning rather than empirical data, the paper contends that crowd-collaborative farming (CCF) could improve local market performance depending on member composition, and calls for further research on revenue-distribution mechanisms and for training SSDFs in CCF, particularly those facing high failure rates and debt.

P. Post, H. Hengsdijk · · Global

This study inventoried and characterized food production systems in Rincon, Bonaire, combining literature review and online key-informant interviews with biophysical analysis and calculations of land and water requirements for several production scales, and applying a SWOT analysis to multiple production systems. It found that increasing year-round fruit and vegetable production in Rincon, and Bonaire more broadly, is challenging and may not be feasible without support, given limited and irregular water availability, an unsupportive business environment, and harsh conditions from pests, diseases, and weather; without sufficient support to expand water availability, local agricultural knowledge, and a suitable business environment, neither capital-intensive nor small-scale crop production is likely to improve the availability of healthy food or employment opportunities.

Habtamu Serbessa · International Journal of African and Asian Studies · Ethiopia

This study examined how vegetable production supplements food and income for residents of urban Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using household-level quantitative data analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Of respondents, 99.2% said vegetable production provides fresh food for their households, 41.9% earned up to 10,000 birr per production cycle, and 30.7% of producers hired up to ten employees, with seeds and pesticides being the more expensive inputs; multivariate analysis found households earning around 10,000 birr per production cycle were significantly affected by farming in residential areas (p = 0.008), and households were found to prioritize food consumption over profiting from sales.

Laura Ospina, Paula Parra · Pensamiento udecino · Colombia

A documentary literature review examines the importance of urban agriculture, urbanization and community participation in the context of community gardens in Colombia. It draws on high-quality scientific texts from portals including Scielo, Publindex and Scopus, plus undergraduate, master's and doctoral theses, along with a review of statistical data for each variable studied. The results point to social, economic and environmental implications and the importance of participation in these spaces. The review concludes that urban gardens are a strategy that can offset negative externalities of the current capitalist urban model -- environmental degradation, pollution, poverty, inequality -- and can positively affect residents' quality of life, becoming consolidated as spaces linking social and environmental concerns and enabling new territorial configurations.

Jordan Ashby, Clarissa Libertelli · Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) · United States

Just after NYC announced expansion of mandatory residential organics collection by 2024, the mayor's office eliminated funding for the city's community composting program. The article identifies three failures reflecting national trends: government 'composting' programs that actually rely on anaerobic digestion, centralized processing that concentrates environmental burdens in vulnerable neighborhoods, and mandatory government programs undercutting community composters' viability.

Cole Rosengren · Waste Dive · United States

California's Little Hoover Commission recommended pausing SB 1383, the state's organics recycling law, citing concern the state will miss its 2025 targets, but CalRecycle, industry and environmental advocates strongly opposed the pause, noting roughly $500 million already invested. 445 of 614 jurisdictions now have residential food-waste collection programs, and waste costs rose 20% for residential and 30% for commercial customers.

Li Jiacheng · Eco-Business / Dialogue Earth · China

China's mandatory waste-sorting policy, launched in Shanghai in 2019, improved diversion and recycling but created a new problem: overbuilt waste-to-energy incineration capacity. Shanghai diverted 54% of its waste (6.46 million tonnes) in 2021, up from 21% in 2018, while the number of national incinerators grew from 130 in 2011 to 927 by 2023, pushing 2022 national overcapacity to 100.99%.

Savills · Savills · Global

A September 2023 Savills report estimating the total value of global real estate (residential, commercial, and agricultural land) at $379.7 trillion in 2022 — more than global equities ($98.9tn) and debt securities ($129.8tn) combined, and nearly four times global GDP ($100.6tn). Residential property accounts for 76% ($287.6tn) of the total, which fell 2.8% from 2021 but remained 18.7% above pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Jena Brooker · Planet Detroit (via BridgeDetroit) · United States

Hantz Woodlands, a large-scale tree farm on Detroit's east side, acquired roughly 2,600 parcels and still holds about 2,000. It bought an initial 1,550 parcels for $540,000 and later resold about 10% of its holdings for $9.5 million — nearly nine times its original cost — while paying only $7,035 of the $33,110 it owes in blight-violation fines. Critics note the Detroit Land Bank Authority never reclaimed a single Hantz property despite missed deadlines, even as it repossessed land from ordinary residents who fell behind.

NJBIZ · NJBIZ · United States

NJBIZ reported that Newark, New Jersey-based vertical farming company AeroFarms filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware federal bankruptcy court on June 8, 2023. It cited significant industry and capital-market headwinds, secured $10 million in debtor-in-possession financing from an existing investor group, and had announced 82 layoffs at its Newark headquarters two months earlier. Founder and CEO David Rosenberg stepped down, with CFO Guy Blanchard taking over.

AgFunderNews · AgFunderNews · United States

AgFunderNews reported that controlled-environment agriculture company AppHarvest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 24, 2023. It posted a $176.6 million net loss for fiscal 2022, planned to sell its Berea farm to Mastronardi Produce for about $3.75 million, and aimed to sell its Morehead, Richmond, and Somerset facilities as well. It secured $30 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Equilibrium Capital, enabling operations to continue for 60 more days.

The Rockefeller Foundation · The Rockefeller Foundation (Bellagio Bulletin, From the Archives) · Global

An archive piece from the Rockefeller Foundation recounting how meetings at its Bellagio Center in October 2007 and June 2008 defined 'impact investing' — using profit-seeking investment to generate social and environmental good — and led to the founding of the GIIN in 2009. The Obama administration committed over $2.3 billion to impact investing initiatives from 2009, and the G8 hosted its first Social Impact Investing Forum in 2013, the same year the Foundation closed its own impact investing programme. By 2013 more than 40 funds and 15 investors managing nearly $3 billion worked with GIIRS, and the total impact capital tracked by the GIIN stands at $1.164 trillion.

Corporación de Promoción Económica CONQUITO · CONQUITO · Ecuador

CONQUITO's 2023 annual accountability report. It confirms the corporation's founding under Quito Metropolitan Council Resolution No. C 0193 (March 28, 2003), and reports that the AGRUPAR urban agriculture project's 2023 target of training 20,000 people in production techniques and food security was exceeded, reaching 20,808 people (104.04% of goal), with a month-by-month breakdown of participants trained.

Superintendencia Nacional de Servicios de Saneamiento (SUNASS) · Superintendencia Nacional de Servicios de Saneamiento (SUNASS), Plataforma del Estado Peruano · Peru

Peru's sanitation services regulator (SUNASS) reported on 18 January 2023 that more than 635,000 people in Lima Metropolitana (6% of its population, including 180,000 children under 11) lack access to Sedapal's public drinking water network. Those without network access buy water from tanker trucks at 16-18 soles per cubic meter, up to six times the roughly 3 soles per cubic meter paid by network-connected users. SUNASS also published a district ranking of daily per-capita water consumption, with San Isidro highest at 280 liters and Lurigancho lowest at 32 liters.