Research & reports

Amanda C. J. Vincent, Saravanan Raj, B Suchiradipta · · India

A study in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, India, examining information sources used by urban farming practitioners and the impact of urban farming on the cityscape. Online content and virtual knowledge were found to be the most important sources of agricultural knowledge, with practitioners using ICT services such as Facebook groups, online agri stores, and WhatsApp groups; neighbors with similar interests were also a major source of crop production knowledge. The study further found that urban farming was capable of recycling waste, restoring the urban ecosystem, and stabilizing the health of both residents and the cityscape.

Wojciech Mrozik, Soydoa Vinitnantharat, Thunchanok Thongsamer, Nipapun Pansuk, Pavinee Pattanachan, Parinda Thayanukul, Kishor Acharya, Marcos Quintela‐Baluja, Charles R. E. Hazlerigg, Aidan Robson, Russell J. Davenport, David Werner · The Science of The Total Environment · Asia

A study of three family-owned peri-urban aquaculture operations downstream of Bangkok, Thailand — spanning extensive, semi-intensive and intensive practices — used micropollutant analysis, genetic markers and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to assess water quality against aquaculture standards. Canals draining Bangkok did not meet quality standards and were sources of faecal coliforms, Bacteroides, Prevotella, human E. coli, tetracycline-resistance genes and nitrogen entering the ponds, causing algae blooms. The aquacultures in turn discharged salinity and the herbicide diuron into the canals; diuron was detected in shrimp, though not at a level of concern to human health. The extensive aquaculture attenuated an estimated 20 population equivalents of nitrogen pollution and trillions of faecal coliform inputs per year.

Defira Suci Gusfarina, Irham Irham · Jurnal Kawistara · Indonesia

A descriptive, qualitative study in Yogyakarta City, Indonesia, surveyed 113 households using a Likert-scale questionnaire to measure motivation for using home yards to grow vegetables and fruit. Motivation for yard-based farming ranked, from highest to lowest, health motivation, environmental motivation, social/community motivation and economic motivation.

Ahmad Rifqi Fauzi, Casdi, Warid Warid · Jurnal Hortikultura Indonesia · Indonesia

A factorial randomized block trial at Universitas Trilogi's Kebun Bergizi garden and agroecotechnology laboratory in Indonesia (September-October 2018) tested five urea doses (0, 25, 50, 75, 100% of the recommended 250 kg/ha) against five concentrations of liquid organic fertilizer made from fisheries waste (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 ml/L), with 25 treatment combinations, six plants per experimental unit and four replications, totaling 600 sampled plants, on pakcoy. The combination of 50% urea dose with 2 ml/L fisheries-waste liquid fertilizer produced better growth results than the other control treatments, yielding 19.11 consumable leaves and 220.77 g fresh weight, both higher than the treatment using the full 100% urea dose.

Rahmat Rejoni, Andrianto Kusumoarto, Agus Gunawan, Devi Libriati · Lakar Jurnal Arsitektur · Indonesia

A neighborhood park in the Villa Bogor Indah housing complex in Bogor City, Indonesia, was designed and built through resident participation, using descriptive qualitative methods and a community-based design approach. The park covers 1,680.749 square meters. Residents wanted the space to function as urban farming (55%), a plant collection/arboretum (40%), and passive recreation (5%).

Julfi Restu Amelia, Ira Mulyawati, Lisa Ratnasari · Agrokreatif Jurnal Ilmiah Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia

This community-outreach report describes an activity in Kelurahan Tengah, Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, Indonesia, combining training in verticulture (vertical cultivation suited to narrow land) with development of processed food products from the harvested vegetables — spinach/carrot/pineapple drink ("Batelnas"), okra/honey/ginger drink ("The Kraduu"), ginger/sesame dodol ("Dojawi"), and ginger/carrot dodol ("Dojawo") — plus training in online marketing. The technology transfer and mentoring increased participants' interest and participation in greening activities and produced new processed-food products with added economic value, which the report states could raise household income if continued.

Qijiao Xie, Yang Yue, Daohua Hu · Forests · China

Questionnaire surveys in eight sample communities in Wuhan, China, examined residents' attention to and awareness of urban edible landscapes. Nearly one-third of respondents were unaware of edible landscapes before the interview; 57.26% thought they could promote efficient land use and 54.64% valued their ornamental effect, but 37.10% did not believe edible landscapes could increase food output and 40.12% did not believe they could improve food quality. Among growers, 45.65% cultivated in private space and 32.73% in semiprivate space, and lack of public areas for agriculture was cited as the main barrier by 55.86% of growers and 59.51% of non-growers, alongside concerns about property manager opposition and conflicts or complex relationships with neighbors.

Masito Masito, Irawan Setyabudi, Rizki Alfian · Fakultas Pertanian · Indonesia

A qualitative study sampling 20 houses in the Lowokwaru sub-district of Malang, Indonesia, examining vertical-garden facade designs that apply verticulture and urban farming concepts to narrow housing plots. It produced design applications using wall-mounted, hanging, fence-mounted and shelf verticulture along with hydroponics and aquaponics for home front yards, intended to address the loss of garden space to other uses.

Haryati Haryati, Ameilia Zuliyanti Siregar, Suzanna Fitriany Sitepu, Jamilah Jamilah, Alida Lubis · ABDIMAS TALENTA Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat · Indonesia

A five-month training program (July–November 2019) at two elementary schools in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia—SD Model Al Azhar and SD Namira—taught students to convert used bottles, wood, cans, plastics, shoes, trousers, and oil packaging into vegetable-planting containers, run by the University of Sumatera Utara. The program covered problem identification, site preparation, training, hands-on practice, field guidance, and media dissemination. Reported outcomes were increased student knowledge and understanding of repurposing used materials into planting containers, which were then placed in a corner of the school garden.

R. Deiny Mardian, Suhartati Agoes, Erby Virta Joseph Paays, Abi Falaki, Nur Hudantomo · · Indonesia

For urban residents growing plants as a hobby, an automated irrigation system was developed that activates a water pump based on soil moisture readings and refills a water tank automatically when its level drops to a minimum threshold, monitored and controlled remotely via a dedicated Android smartphone application. The application's performance was evaluated by measuring its response time over a 4G cellular network, which ranged from approximately 4 to 9 seconds.

H N Vidya · Iconic Research and Engineering Journals · Asia

This is a discursive paper arguing for the need to raise awareness of women's empowerment through home gardening as a means of household food security. It presents home gardening as a form of urban agriculture offering self-sufficiency from home-grown produce, increased self-confidence, and household food security, while noting that expanding home gardens in metro cities is constrained by water supply shortfalls, insufficient garden space, deficient sunlight, and competing land use as apartments and shared housing outnumber individual homes. No specific study population, sample size or data-based results are presented.

Bjorn Low · OpenEdition (OpenEdition) · Asia

A case study reports on Edible Garden City, launched in 2012 in Singapore — a hyper-urbanized city-state that imports 90% of its food — which has built urban gardens with the aim of increasing the country's resilience and people's connection to food. Combining commercial activities with socially driven projects, from consultancy to community farming, the company had built 200 edible gardens and states its "Citizen Farm" could potentially produce 150 kg of leafy greens and 150 kg of mushrooms per month, an effort supported by a public-private partnership that made unused spaces available and reformed regulations; it also runs a farm on the rooftop of the Raffles City shopping mall supplying local restaurants.

Zatalini Putri Permatasari, Ninuk Herlina · Jurnal Produksi Tanaman · Indonesia

Conducted from April to June 2016 in Pandanrejo Village, Bumiaji District, Batu City, Indonesia, this study aimed to determine the appropriate planting-media composition and plant number to increase the growth and yield of kailan (Brassica oleracea var. Alboglabra) in a vertikultur (vertical cultivation) system. Using a randomized complete block design, the results showed that planting-media composition and plant-number treatments significantly affected plant height, leaf number, leaf area, total fresh weight per plant, fresh root weight per meter, and total and root dry weight per plant and per meter, but did not significantly affect total fresh weight per meter, fresh consumable weight per plant and per meter, or fresh root weight per plant.

Ana Raihan Putri · Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Arsitektur dan Perencanaan · Indonesia

The design of low-income housing (perumahan dhuafa) in Lhokseumawe city, Indonesia, is presented as an effort by the city government and community to provide livable housing for residents classified as below the poverty line, proposing a design concept that embodies harmony between the living environment and society. The planned housing forms a "fostered area" intended as a new district where Lhokseumawe's poor can develop their economic quality of life by drawing on surrounding environmental resources; it will include public facilities such as a mosque, commercial space, hall, early-childhood education center, and park, alongside facilities for the fostered economy, including skills-training rooms for processing organic and inorganic waste into commercial goods, fish farming, and urban farming. The design's goal is to create better-organized urban space free of slums while raising living standards through livable housing equipped with facilities that support the poor's economic activities, applying a contextual architecture approach emphasizing local wisdom and natural materials in local vernacular style, intended to bring harmony among culture, the natural environment, and society within a framework of modern development.

Reni Nurjasmi, Siti M. Sholihah, Suryani Suryani, Luluk Syahr Banu, Maria Aditia Wahyuningrum · Jurnal Pelayanan dan Pengabdian Masyarakat (Pamas) · Indonesia (Jakarta)

A community outreach program at RPTRA Bambu Petung in the Bambu Apus urban village, Cipayung district, East Jakarta, Indonesia, trained 20 members of the Bambu Apus Cipayung farmer group (Poktan) using pre- and post-tests alongside lectures, discussion and hands-on demonstration, covering hydroponic cultivation in basins, onion cultivation in polybags and polyculture vegetable cultivation in polybags. Before the activity, participants already had knowledge of urban farming and some already practiced polybag cultivation at home (growing ornamental plants, vegetables and family medicinal plants), though only in their spare time. Afterward, participants reported gaining more knowledge of urban farming techniques, including simple technologies, and expressed enthusiasm for applying them at home and sharing the results with neighbors.

World Economic Forum · World Economic Forum · South Korea

This 12 April 2019 World Economic Forum article reports that South Korea's food waste recycling rate rose from about 2% around 1995 to 95% today, attributing the shift to a 2005 landfill ban and a 2013 pay-as-you-throw system using biodegradable designated bags (costing a typical family of four about $6 a month, with bag sales covering 60% of recycling program operating costs). It cites Seoul's rollout of 6,000 automated weighing bins as reducing waste by 47,000 tons over six years and saving $8.4 million in collection costs.

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group · C40 Cities · China

This case study describes how Chengdu's Xingrong community converted an unused rooftop space into a vegetable garden in 2014. The project uses three environmentally friendly methods—rainwater irrigation, food-waste composting, and natural pest control—with 23 of more than 50 households participating in shared cultivation and harvest distribution.

Vij S., Narain V., Karpouzoglou T., Mishra P. · IIED Working Paper, International Institute for Environment and Development · India

This paper examines rural-urban transformations in India's neglected peri-urban areas in relation to food production, access, consumption, and nutritional quality, arguing peri-urban agriculture could be a major contributor to pro-poor food security and poverty alleviation.

Sabki M.H., Lee C.T., Bong C.P.C., Klemeš J.J. · Chemical Engineering Transactions, 70:49-54 · Asia (Indonesia, China)

Cost-benefit analysis of composting operations across Indonesia, China and Asian countries, evaluating economic viability of circular economy approaches in urban farming.

Blake T. Moskal, Sean T. Berthrong · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems · United States (Indianapolis)

The study tested a barrier strategy used by urban farmers in Indianapolis—layering wood chips between contaminated or low-quality background soil and healthy growing media—for protecting urban growing beds. Despite a limited sample, barriers appeared effective at separating contaminated soils from growing beds, and farming with barriers or in non-contaminated soil improved soil nutrients and physical characteristics, though phosphorus was very high in many beds, posing a potential risk to waterways.

Timo Falkenberg, Deepak Saxena · Indian Journal of Community Medicine · India (Ahmedabad)

A 12-month case-cohort study of 187 households in four communities of Ahmedabad, India, purposively selected by irrigation water type (groundwater, surface water, wastewater), with bimonthly self-reported health diaries and most-probable-number measurement of Escherichia coli in water. Mean E. coli concentrations per 100 mL were 3.04×10^4 (groundwater), 9.28×10^5 (surface water) and 4.02×10^9 (wastewater) — all exceeding international irrigation water standards. Diarrhoea incidence was 7.92 episodes per 1000 person-weeks in the groundwater area versus 13.1 (wastewater) and 13.4 (surface water), with a positive correlation between irrigation water quality and diarrhoea. Wastewater reuse is often promoted as a water-scarcity fix for urban agriculture; this study shows it carries a health cost borne by the farming households themselves.

Camille Frazier · Journal of Political Ecology · India (Bengaluru)

This article examines the motivations and practices of organic terrace gardeners (OTGians) in Bengaluru, India, who grow food in private spaces. While OTGians successfully create a vibrant community driven by food safety and environmental concerns, their efforts are limited to the middle class due to class-specific concerns and production practices. The study highlights that urban gardening in this context remains an intervention primarily for the middle class.

박상희, 우은희, 황경미, 제의숙 · 인간식물환경학회 학술대회 · South Korea (Seoul)

This study investigated the current operational status of rooftop gardens in Seoul, South Korea. It aimed to present the situation of rooftop gardens across the 25 districts of Seoul, as the city expands various urban agriculture projects.

Evelyne Riandini · Biota · Indonesia

This study investigated the diversity and phylogeny of bananas (Musaceae) in Bengkulu City, Indonesia, across three districts. Researchers collected 22 specimens representing 10 varieties from wild and cultivated plants in home yards and community gardens. Morphological analysis revealed two main phylogenetic groups: Musa acuminata Colla and Musa acuminata x Musa balbisiana, with similarity coefficients between 0.45 and 0.60.

In-Kyoung Hong, Young Chae, Yoonah Jang, Sangmi Lee, Jung Nam Su · Journal of people, plants, and environment · South Korea

A study in South Korea surveyed 115 urban citizens to analyze urban agriculture's effects based on income level, identifying socially sustainable, negative, and economically sustainable factors. Findings showed psychological stability, connection with nature, and local agricultural vitalization correlated significantly with income level. However, the negative effect of urban agriculture showed no significant correlation with income level.