Research & reports

Alice Franck · Revue internationale des études du développement · Sudan

A study of market gardeners in Khartoum, Sudan, sheds light on thinking about the integrating capacity of urban agriculture. The uncontrolled urbanization now under way in the Sudanese capital is causing unprecedented competition for property, pointing to limits on the potential integration of these farm-workers in the downtown area. The fact that this activity is strictly commercial and carried out mainly by a migrant population makes the analysis more notable still.

The Nobel Foundation · NobelPrize.org (The Nobel Foundation) · Bangladesh

Grameen Bank, founded in 1976 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Muhammad Yunus, half each, 'for their efforts to create economic and social development from below'. By establishing the bank in 1983 Yunus sought self-support for the very poorest through loans on easy terms. Where conventional banks avoided lending without security, Grameen assumes even the poorest can manage their own finances given suitable conditions. At the time of the prize more than seven million borrowers had received such microcredit, the average loan was $100, repayment was very high, and over 95 per cent of loans went to women or groups of women.

André Viljoen, Katrin Bohn, Joe Howe · Architectural Press / Routledge · Global

A pioneering work proposing the concept of 'Continuous Productive Urban Landscapes (CPUL)' that integrates urban agriculture into urban spatial planning. It frames urban agriculture as green infrastructure linking food-producing sites with other open spaces into a continuous linear landscape across the city, and has become a theoretical starting point for productive green infrastructure and edible-city research.

· BMC Plant Biology · Global

A technical report presenting build plans and circuitry to inexpensively fabricate tunable red-green-blue LED arrays, with two fixture designs (small-scale and expandable growth-chamber versions) for adjustable plant lighting.

Troy D. Glover, Diana C. Parry, Kimberly J. Shinew · Journal of Leisure Research · Global

This study aimed to understand how social relationships formed within community garden settings assist community garden leaders in accessing resources. Findings suggest that "leisure episodes" are particularly important for building strong ties, which are a common source of social capital. These episodes therefore serve as the social lubricant for social capital production, aiding the preservation and advancement of grassroots associations.

LDK. Awono, Sebastian Bernal Hernandez, J. Gockowski, T. Dongmo, Mbang à Moudon · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cameroon (Yaounde)

This study examines peri-urban agriculture in Yaounde, Cameroon, highlighting its importance for employment and food security due to rapid urbanization and underdeveloped systems. It supplies perishable goods like leafy vegetables and bulky items such as fresh cassava, and provides employment for over four thousand women in marketing. Major constraints include pests, diseases, lack of producer credit, and inadequate extension services.

Peter Houston · Geographical Research · Australia

This study used Agricultural Census data to calculate the economic value of agricultural production in Australia's peri-urban regions. The analysis suggests these regions in the five mainland States produce almost 25% of Australia's total gross value of agricultural production, though other evidence indicates this may be an underestimate. The study notes that peri-urban agriculture is poorly served by the Agricultural Census and often overlooked in public policy deliberations.

Nkawkaw Afriyie, Kofi Adziri, Yaw Asare, Amoako Gyamfi · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · Ghana

A thematic analysis synthesized existing studies on community gardening impact measurement in Accra, Ghana, focusing on methodologies. While varied methods were reported, a notable theme emerged regarding the mixed results and challenges in accurately gauging the impact of community gardening on urban food security indicators, such as vegetable consumption rates among participants. This review underscores the importance of empirical data for understanding the effectiveness of urban agricultural interventions, but highlights methodological inconsistencies.

Guo Chun-hua, Hongbin Li, Pingsheng Leng · · Global

This study analyzed the principles of landscape construction for urban agriculture tourism. It discussed how to construct an ideal urban agriculture landscape, focusing on settlement landscapes, rural scenery, and agricultural gardens for tourism.

Ángela Borroto, Águeda C. Arencibia, J.L. López, Liliam J. Leyva, Carlos Mazorra, Gladys E. Dopico, R. Maurelo, A. Caraballoso · Redalyc (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México) · Cuba

A two-year study in Florencia, Cuba, examined 32 randomly selected backyard producers involved in urban agriculture. While 90% applied scientific techniques to animal feed, only 10% kept records, and no sustained work was done with animal species in existing associations. Productive results were encouraging, but achieved with low productive efficiency, and sustainable management methods for breeding and waste were unknown in practice.

Levon T. Esters, Blannie E. Bowen · Journal of Agricultural Education · Global

This study investigated factors influencing career choices among graduates of an urban agricultural education program. While former students identified parents and friends as influential, and cited various reasons for their career paths, a discriminant analysis model could not distinguish between those who chose agricultural careers and those who did not after completing the secondary agricultural program.

Ranasinghe · The International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management · Sri Lanka

This paper expands knowledge on urban agriculture through literature analysis and feedback from implementing the Family Business Garden concept in Sri Lanka. It argues that traditional home gardening distracts urban planners from the economic and social value of small-to-medium agro-entrepreneurship. The paper emphasizes the necessity of formal acceptance for micro-farming activities by mainstreaming urban agriculture in the development sphere.

Gil Doron · Architectural Design · Global

This paper by Gil Doron explores urban agriculture's potential ecological, economic, and social benefits for city dwellers. It notes that horticulture, often overlooked by architects, exists at various scales in most cities globally, from window boxes to large farms. The author suggests urban agriculture could be a significant design revolution.

P. H. Bayemi, M. J. Bryant, David Puewoh Pingpoh, H Imele, Jean Claude Mbanya, Tanya Tanya, D. Cavestany, J Awoh, A Ngoucheme, D Sali, F Ekoue, H. NJAKOI, E.C. Webb · CentAUR (University of Reading) · Cameroon

A Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted in dairy farms of the North West Province of Cameroon to understand prevailing dairy systems, identify problems, and set priorities for research and development to improve production. The research team visited farmers' groups and conducted farm and village walks, noting direct observations. Results showed five small-scale dairy production systems (transhumance, improved extensive, semi intensive, zero grazing, and peri-urban) exist in the region, with agriculture well integrated into dairying. Main constraints, in order of importance, included poor marketing opportunities, limited grazing land, poor reproductive management, inadequate knowledge in processing and milk preservation, and limited health control.

Arquímides Luna López, Alberto González Infante, Osvaldo Leyva Santiesteban, Mileidys Martínez Hernández · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cuba

This research investigated the influence of forced vibrations on the energy requirements for soil preparation in terroponic crops. Experiments conducted at UNAH using an MTZ-80 tractor at approximately 20 cm depth demonstrated that the energy requirements for scarifying organs could decrease by more than 25% with vibrations. This finding may enable the development of tillage equipment capable of being coupled to existing low-power sources in urban agriculture.

D.C. Little, Stuart W. Bunting · CABI Publishing eBooks · Global

A review chapter surveys the concept, opportunities and constraints of urban aquaculture in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), using the "extended metropolitan region" (EMR) and "waste economy" models to outline three development trajectories: opportunistic development within a changing aquatic landscape as urbanization proceeds, continuation of existing aquaculture in modified form as urbanization occurs around it, and strategic siting of new enterprises to exploit resources such as nutrients, markets or information. Urban aquaculture is described as providing benefits at household, local and municipal levels including waste disposal, food production, flood control, employment, environmental quality and recreation, while constraints include loss of suitable physical locations, changes in waste disposal practices, shifting attitudes and demand as urban areas grow more affluent, and vulnerability to contamination and theft due to the openness of aquatic systems.

Eduardo Spiaggi · · Global

Research conducted in the Empalme Graneros neighbourhood of Rosario, Argentina, a city of 1.1 million people located in the Pampa Húmeda region where the country's main agricultural production is concentrated. The abstract provided states only the study location and does not report methods, measurements, or findings.

Madaleno I.M., Gurovich A. · Cities · Chile (Santiago)

Using periurban Santiago's La Pintana district as a case study, this paper demonstrates that the urban–rural dichotomy is inadequate for capturing agro-residential realities, where cooperative smallholder farming coexists with urban uses in what the authors call a living ecocity laboratory.

Troy D. Glover · Leisure Sciences · Global

This 2004 global narrative inquiry explored a community garden as a social context for social capital among gardeners. The study found that social capital can be both a benefit and a cost, depending on an individual's position within the social network. This suggests a potential for inequitable or corrupt application of social capital within community garden groups.

Beatriz Vera O., Juri Zencovich O. · Agro Sur · Chile (Valdivia)

This study aimed to characterize urban agricultural small enterprises in Valdivia city, Chile, and define the jobs they create. Using a Snowball poll, 22 small enterprises engaged in urban agriculture were identified and analyzed for their economic, productive, and commercial aspects.

Chhean Sokhen, Diep Kanika, Paule Moustier · Agritrop (Cirad) · Cambodia (Phnom Penh)

This study investigated vegetable market flows and chains in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, through rapid market surveys conducted on approximately one-fifth of traders in three major markets. Surveys were carried out three times in 2002 and four times in 2003, collecting data on supply origin, intermediary functions, supply calendar, and quantities sold for eight key vegetable commodities. The research aimed to quantify the origins and flows of vegetables available in the market.

M. R. S. Mlozi · UNISWA Research Journal of Agriculture Science and Technology · Tanzania

This paper examines whether urban agriculture (UA) contributes to alleviating income poverty among practitioners in Tanzania. Based on literature and empirical evidence, it shows that people of all socio-economic statuses undertake UA for food provisioning and income poverty alleviation due to declining real incomes of urban dwellers. The reasons for UA's persistence reside at four contextual levels: government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, city/town councils, and the individual, with government and individual levels being the most important.

Marian Goslinga · Cuban studies · Cuba

This entry from "Recent Work in Cuban Studies 2003" lists several publications related to Cuban agriculture and urban agriculture from 2003. It includes books such as "Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba" and master's theses on user benefits of urban agriculture in Havana and sustainable livelihoods in Cienfuegos. The entry also references articles discussing land-use planning, economic reform, and agricultural policy in Cuba.

Tacoli, C. · Environment and Urbanization 15(1), 3–12 · Global

A classic synthesis of urban-rural interactions, systematizing flows of people, goods, capital and information between countryside and city, and showing—via South Asian and sub-Saharan cases—that cities are essential to rural development.

Zavisca J.R. · Slavic Review · Russia

An ethnographic study showing that dacha food cultivation among urban Russians serves as a discursive arena for debating the rationality and morality of the post-Soviet transition to capitalism, not merely an economic survival strategy.