Research & reports

Naiane Modri Fuzinatto, Jaciney Aparecida Danielli, Daniela Preschlak, Augusto Fischer · Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente · Brazil

This study presented a proposal for organic strawberry cultivation in urban spaces for a small producer and evaluated the financial viability of local sales. Through a qualitative and quantitative case study in Santa Catarina State, results indicated social and environmental benefits from adopting urban strawberry cultivation under an organic production system. Furthermore, the entire investment could be recovered in just over two years, representing a medium-term return on investment.

Nancy Karanja, Mary Njenga · · Kenya (Nairobi)

The urban agriculture efforts of Alice Wairimu and her husband Michael Macharia, who migrated to Nairobi, Kenya, are presented. They raised livestock but lost a cow during political unrest and sold the rest for hospital bills. They also attempted wastewater farming on government-owned land, which was repossessed in 2010. Subsequently, they used their meager savings to rent land nearby and continue practicing urban agriculture.

Solomon Wuyep, Isaac Tebogo Rampedi, AP Ifegbesan · African Journal of Food Agriculture Nutrition and Development · Nigeria (Jos)

This study assessed the role of urban vegetable production as a source of livelihood for 94 small-scale farmers in Jos, Nigeria, by randomly selecting 40% of urban vegetable farmers and using questionnaire-administered interviews with a mixed-method approach. Results indicated that vegetable farming provides 84% part-time and 5% full-time employment opportunities and reduces food insecurity among participants. However, lack of credit facilities, seasonal variations, and high costs of farm inputs and equipment were identified as serious problems, and small-scale urban farming also entailed negative environmental impacts that could undermine long-term sustainability.

Cristina Electra Mâcnea, Asănică Adrian, Fabian Claudia, Peticilă Adrian, Julia Nerantzia TZORTZI · AgroLife Scientific Journal · Global

This abstract discusses urban degradation caused by human nature and industrial growth, considering urban horticulture as a potential strategy to partially reverse these problems and recover the human-nature relationship. It proposes that urban horticulture can be an alternative solution to issues such as poverty, lack of public spaces, deteriorating food and life quality, and climate change in cities.

Gabriela Ledesma, Jelena Nikolic, Oriol Pons · Building and Environment · Ecuador (Quito)

This study developed a co-simulation model incorporating plant heat and mass balances into building simulations to assess the thermal effect of rooftop farms on building thermal performance. Applied to two free-running schools in Quito, Ecuador, integrated rooftop greenhouses improved thermal comfort and air quality, reducing thermal load by 42% and CO2 exceedance hours by 40%, despite a 2.94 kWh/m2 rise in electricity demand.

Mariana Portilho, Camila Rodrigues, Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez · Cidades, comunidades e território/Cidades comunidades e territórios · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This study describes the formation of Arranjo Local da Penha, a community network created in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro's Penha favela complex, focused on urban agriculture and led by women. Through fieldwork and participant observation, the study analyzed themes of women and agroecology, health, and healthy eating. The network promoted women's empowerment and access to healthy food, but faced limits in the mobilization and development of urban agriculture.

Carlos Carranza, Martha Cecilia Vinasco Guzmán · Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia eBooks · Colombia

This paper contextualizes relevant experiences and technical tools for implementing urban and peri-urban agroecological orchards, noting that urban and peri-urban agriculture has positive results in alleviating food insecurity, improving sustainability, and creating jobs. It highlights that Colombia currently lacks government policies to support these processes. The paper aims to transfer knowledge on crops to urban and peri-urban communities to strengthen food security through vegetable production.

Michelle Brener Mizrahi · European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy · Europe

This paper analyzes how Incredible Edible Todmorden (IET), a community-led project, operated notions of sustainability through permaculture and urban farming to focus on community building and its impacts on education and local culture. The paper puts forth the argument that the discursive operationalization of sustainability can produce important effects in community building, education, and local culture at a local level.

Doris Friedrich · · Global

This chapter examines three Arctic vegetable farming projects: Calypso Farm in Alaska, Arviat's community gardens and greenhouses in Canada, and Polar Permaculture in Norway. These projects aimed to improve health or increase food security and independence, experimenting with various growing techniques such as greenhouses, hydroponics, growboxes, and outdoor fields. Many of these projects were successful in improving their own and their community's quality of life.

Martin MASSOUANGUI-KIFOUALA · International journal of innovation and applied studies · Republic of Congo (Pointe-Noire)

This article analyzed precipitation data in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, using agronomic criteria and frequencies to understand rainy season behavior for agricultural planning. The study found that Pointe-Noire has a bimodal rainfall regime, allowing for two cultivation periods annually. However, the rainy seasons are very random, with increasingly late starts, early endings, and shortening durations over the years.

Maria Marciene Costa Da Silva, Maurício Ferreira Mendes, Luciano da Silva Guedes · Geografia em Questão · Brazil

This exploratory research diagnosed horticulture practices in the urban perimeter of Ananás/TO, Brazil, from April to June 2019, using semi-structured interviews and secondary data. It found that urban horticulture in Ananás provides a healthy food alternative for producers and consumers, distributes income, and contributes to social, food, and health development.

Elvrida Rosa, Daniel Daniel, Yasid Arianda, Hendra Hendra, Khalid Alfarasi · · Indonesia (Banda Aceh)

This community service activity provided aquaponics technology training to housewives in Lamglumpang Village, Banda Aceh City, Indonesia, focusing on fish and vegetable cultivation. The training aimed to offer solutions for optimal use of yard land to support family nutrition and food security, especially for urban communities. Using participatory methods, the activity resulted in an increase in the community's ecological intelligence, with the average ecological competence value rising to 47, categorized as very good.

Diego Armando Masaquiza Moposita, Juan Carlos Santillán Lima, Carlos Roberto López-Paredes · Dominio de las Ciencias · Global

This review aimed to compile and update information on urban gardens and their effects on sustainability, socioeconomic, and agri-food impacts. Databases including Sciencedirect, Google-scholar, Scopus, and NCBI were reviewed, emphasizing articles from the last five years. The review describes the origin and importance of urban gardens, their environmental, economic, and agri-food effects, and the benefits families receive from their production, contributing to food security and improved lifestyles.

Boglarka Z. Gulyas, Jill L. Edmondson · Sustainability · Global North

A systematic review of literature on urban agriculture (UA) in the Global North identified factors determining its success in enhancing city resilience and challenges limiting it. UA's success in increasing city resilience was defined as dependent on five factors: institutional and public support, a sufficient knowledge base, communication and collaboration among actors, and resourcefulness in efficient space and resource use. However, comprehensive assessments of UA's potential are still lacking, suggesting challenges in its effective implementation.

Ivanio Folmer, Gabriella Eldereti Machado · Diversitas Journal · Global

This theoretical study proposes a discussion on contemporary urbanity and agriculture, focusing on food through the lens of agroecology and its relationship with socio-environmental dynamics. It discusses conceptual issues involving territory, urbanity, agroecology, and food production, as well as public policies for healthy food and a balanced socio-environmental environment. The research aims to characterize contemporary urbanity and its potential for creating new spaces for agriculture, such as urban agriculture.

Claudinei da Silva Pereira · GEOUSP Espaço e Tempo (Online) · Brazil (Presidente Prudente)

This paper analyzed agricultural production in Presidente Prudente, Brazil, from two essential dimensions: urban morphology and socioeconomic conditions. A typology for urban agriculture analysis was constructed by mapping the incidence of agriculture and applying questionnaires to commercial producers. The study demonstrated the different functions that agricultural practice performs for individuals and cities.

Esteve Gaelle Giraud, Sara El-Sayed, Adenike Opejin · Sustainability · United States (Arizona)

This paper examines the potential of sustainable gardening to enhance Food Well-Being (FWB). It uses three studies of sustainable food gardeners in Arizona, USA, including children and teachers in school gardens, sustainable gardeners and farmers, and gardeners during the pandemic. Results indicate a connection between sustainable gardening and eudemonic well-being, impacting five FWB dimensions (physical, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social). However, the paper notes that without appropriate policies, funding, and infrastructure, the impact might remain minimal, volatile, and subject to tokenism.

Mi Sun Park, Seongmin Shin, Haeun Lee · Forest Policy and Economics · Democratic People's Republic of Korea

This research examined urban greening policies in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by applying media content analysis to articles on urban green spaces published in the Rodong Shinmun newspaper from 1959 to 2018. The analysis, using an ecosystem service approach, identified three media frames: diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational. Findings revealed edible trees highlighted as provisioning services, disaster control and environmental protection as regulating/supporting services, and recreation/landscape as cultural services, with frames also proposing strategic planning and encouraging public participation.

Dilip Kumar, Sukham Munilkumar · · Global

This article discusses Urban and Peri-urban Aquaculture (UPA) as a means to address urban food security, given the projected increase in urban populations. It states that urban households involved in UPA are generally more food secure, and UPA increases the availability of fresh, healthy, and affordable food. UPA also contributes to income and employment, particularly for women and migrants, and offers opportunities to use urban organic wastes, wastewater, and collected rainwater productively.

Cláudio José Bertazzo, Guilherme Papini da Silva, Gabriela Ferreira de Souza · Para Onde!? · Brazil (Catalão)

A theoretical and practical study, including field visits and surveys, was conducted to understand urban agriculture (AU) practices in Catalão, Goiás, Brazil. The study aimed to identify AU's particularities and quantify what, how, and for what purpose produce was grown. Findings indicated that AU is a reality, widespread in the territory, and has the potential to provide access to safe and nutritious food for citizens with yards or small cultivation spaces.

Solomon Tulu Tadesse, O. Oenema, Christy van Beek, Fikre Lemessa Ocho · Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering · Ethiopia

This study in Jimma, Ethiopia, from 2015-2050, used an N mass flow model and field experiments to explore manure recycling from urban livestock farms under four scenarios. It found that livestock manures are the main organic wastes in urban areas, and manure production in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is projected to increase 3 to 10 times. Critically, only 13% to 38% of manure nitrogen will be recycled in croplands, and intensification of urban livestock production greatly increased nitrogen surpluses, indicating a significant environmental tradeoff.

M. S. Swaminathan · · India

This study examines the agricultural situation in West Bengal, noting that livestock ownership is more egalitarian than land ownership and that the region has abundant fish ponds. It emphasizes the importance of adopting integrated pest management procedures to prevent pesticide pollution in fish cultivation water. The abstract also states that socially underprivileged communities gaining access to agricultural and homestead land through land reforms is a significant step in eliminating poverty.

Salvatore Engel‐Di Mauro, George M. Martin · · Global

This chapter examines urban cultivation across diverse global contexts, finding that global South cities often experience declining food production due to displacement by financiers and landowners. It notes that urban cultivation is frequently associated with unacknowledged pollution problems, and its overall ecological impacts are not necessarily positive. Furthermore, urban food production, with the exception of Cuba, does little to reduce social inequality and can sometimes exacerbate it.

Fatiha Hakimi, Mohamed Brech · International journal of food science and agriculture · Morocco

This study assessed peri-urban agriculture practices, roles, and challenges in Rabat Metropolis, Morocco, by surveying 50 respondents using purposive and stratified random sampling. Major practices included horticulture, crop farming, and livestock rearing. Peri-urban agriculture contributes to economic development by generating income, creating employment, supplying food, and enhancing land use and environmental beautification. However, it faces legal constraints, such as a lack of regulating laws and housing taxes, and technical constraints, including insufficient workforce, high labor costs, difficult access to irrigation water, and lack of training and support.

Hongqiang Chen · OALib · Global

This paper summarizes the concept of productive agricultural landscape and analyzes the feasibility and advantages of its design in urban residential areas. Productive agricultural landscape integrates agricultural products and activities as design elements, addressing urban residents' needs to participate in planting, enjoy organic food, and build harmonious neighborhood relationships. This promotes the localization of urban food production and plays an important role in the sustainable development of cities.