Research & reports

최윤지, 김경미, 강경하, 이진영 · · South Korea

This study calculated the economic effects of Women-Farmer's Centers in South Korea, which provide services like childcare, after-school learning, education, and counseling. Based on the business plans of 14 centers, the total economic income effect was estimated at 2,784 million won. The services contributed to the ease and quality of life for women farmers and generated economic benefits for the community and country.

B. Setiawan dan Dwita Hadi Rahmi · Gadjah Mada University Library (Gadjah Mada University) · Indonesia

This study investigated urban farming in six Indonesian cities (Bandung, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Cirebon, Salatiga, and Pacitan). The 1997 economic crisis demonstrated that urban food security is not always guaranteed, with urban poor spending over 50% of their income on food. Research findings indicated that urban farming helped the urban poor increase food security, raise income, and create job opportunities. However, urban farming activities face many problems, including access to finance, skills and knowledge, lack of government support, and no associations for urban farmers.

Shaohua Yin · Economic Geography · China

This essay discusses a development strategy for building green cities in Hunan, China, proposing four aspects: relying on green concepts, developing the green economy, establishing scientific urban layout, and emphasizing urban agriculture. It argues such a strategy must be treated not as a slogan but as a systematic science, concept, belief and way of life requiring everyone's effort and comprehensive coordination, without presenting specific data or study findings.

Kenny Lynch · · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This piece reviews the literature on urban agriculture (UA), noting that Bryceson (1993) provides documentary evidence from as early as 1939 of UA's importance during and after the Second World War, and that the UN University's Food Energy Nexus research programme in the mid-1980s prompted researchers to examine agricultural cultivation within city boundaries more seriously. Since then, a significant body of literature has developed around a central debate over whether urban agriculture is beneficial, summarized by Lynch (2002). This summary is described as having two problems: it assumes urban agriculture is a homogenous activity with universally similar impacts, and it is largely viewed from the perspective of a city's population, so urban agriculture tends to be seen as beneficial for food, employment and the environment with little consideration of its impacts on the rural-urban food supply. This led Lynch, Binns and Olofin (2001) to argue that urban agriculture should instead be considered part of the broader urban food supply system.

XI Yu-kun · · China

A policy discussion of Jinan, capital of Shandong province and an economically strong city, argues for how Jinan's urban agriculture should draw on its basic conditions and advantages under a policy of integrating urban and rural areas, developing service-oriented functions such as ecological environment, leisure, tourism, experience and education alongside production and livelihood functions, so that agriculture becomes an organic part of the city.

Liao Minghui · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · China (ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan)

This paper discusses the essentiality of urban agriculture development in urban compact districts, highlighting its multiple efficacies including economic, social, and ecological benefits. Based on an analysis of typical examples in ChangshaZhuzhouXiangtan, the paper describes the current status and identifies many problems in urban agriculture. Finally, numerous countermeasures are proposed for these issues.

Han-Cheol Hwang, Soo‐Myung Choi · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea (Seoul)

A study in Seoul examined farmers' views on the Green Belt policy. Leaseholders did not want changes, while landowning farmers desired revision or dissolution, with both groups citing development delays and difficulty changing land use. The Green Belt policy was found to cause development delays and land use change difficulties, indicating negative impacts on farmers.

Zhou Xiao · · China (Guiyang)

This paper summarizes the concepts of urban agriculture and urban agriculture tourism, discussing its development in China and its particularities in Karst areas. It examines the development of urban agriculture tourism in Guiyang city, identifying five advantages and five types of agricultural tourism development. Based on these, the article proposes three zones corresponding to resource allocation for urban agriculture tourism in Guiyang and offers suggestions for its development.

吳宗瓊, 鄭智鴻, 楊淑涓, 莊庭禎 · · Taiwan

This study examined visitor characteristics, recreation motives, experiences, and satisfactions in Taiwanese citizen farms, and analyzed product service strategies. It found significant differences in visitor characteristics and visiting patterns between "Farm-practices-oriented" and "Recreation-oriented" types of citizen farms. The paper discusses product service and marketing strategies for both types based on these empirical findings.

Han-Cheol Hwang, Sun-Yong Park, Kyongsoo Han · Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning · South Korea (Seoul)

This study examined farmers' intentions and attitudes towards farming in Seoul to support urban agricultural development strategies, using survey data analyzed with contingency tables and Chi-square tests. It found that leaseholders were more satisfied with their jobs than landowning farmers, and small-scale farmers with greenhouses showed greater job satisfaction than ordinary large-scale farmers. Farmers' views on farming in Seoul varied by their status, suggesting that agricultural strategies should consider these differing attitudes.

Chen You · Forestry Science and Technology · China (Kunming)

This paper investigated the harm caused by important pests and endangered hosts on garden plants in Kunming communities, China. It identified that the low level of pest and disease control is due to an unsound forecast system, an unreasonable management system, and a shortage of knowledge among working personnel. Corresponding countermeasures proposed include establishing a sound forecast system, changing the current management system, and improving the knowledge of working personnel.

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.

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.

Fiona Nunan · · India (Hubli-Dharwad)

Urban agriculture in Hubli-Dharwad, India, is characterized by tradition and links with rural areas. The majority of urban agricultural activities in India involve keeping livestock, particularly in urban dairies, rather than vegetable growing by low-income communities. Urban and peri-urban agricultural activities in India are strongly associated with urban-based sources of waste, both in terms of consuming waste and producing dung.

N. Purnomohadi, N. Bakker, Marielle Dubbeling, S. Gündel, U. Sabel-Koschella, H. de Zeeuw · · Indonesia (Jakarta)

This piece's abstract describes the physical conditions of Jakarta's Special Capital City Region (DKI): an average annual temperature of 27C, humidity of 80-90%, annual rainfall of about 2,000 mm (highest in January, lowest in September), an area of about 650 km2, a population density of 12,495 people per km2, population growth of 2.4% per year, and low, flat land of 0-50 m elevation with fertile alluvial soils.

杨鹤鸣 · 城市问题 · China (Beijing)

This report reflects on the author's participation in urban agriculture research in Beijing's Chaoyang District since August 1997. The author found the experience profound, recognizing the urban agriculture experiment in Chaoyang District as representing the reality of suburban agriculture in China.

Christine Furedy · Water Science & Technology · India

This 1986 paper argues that sociocultural factors — the attitudes and behaviors of both planners/administrators and service recipients — need more attention in waste disposal and treatment policy in developing countries, drawing examples from Calcutta and Lucknow, India, and contending that more research on informal waste reuse practices, including in aquaculture and urban agriculture, could inform how reuse is integrated into community waste disposal systems, which would require changes in officials' attitudes toward established informal practices.