Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
254 results(6 / 11)
Global urbanization and food production in direct competition for land: Leverage places to mitigate impacts on SDG2 and on the Earth System
2019Stephan Barthel, Christian Isendahl, Benjamin N. Vis, Axel Drescher, Daniel Evans, Arjan van Timmeren · The Anthropocene Review · Global
Global urbanization and food production are in direct competition for land. Displacing crop production from urban and peri-urban land due to soil quality issues will demand a substantially larger proportion of the Earth’s terrestrial land surface than the area lost to urban encroachment. This risks triggering distancing effects, unfair social-ecological teleconnections, and amplifying effects within the Earth System, potentially leading to food riots in cities of the Global South. The paper identifies multi-level leverage points, specifically an advisory global policy aligned with regional policies enabling robust common property rights for bottom-up actors in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), to navigate urban expansion away from fertile croplands.
Governance failurePolicyUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceCropping Practices and Their Drivers in Various Cropping Systems in Peri-urban Areas of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
2019Delphine Bernadette Ouédraogo, Delwendé Innocent Kiba, Zacharia Gnankambary, Sheick K. Sangaré, Diakouba Sirima, Hassan Bismarck Nacro, Michel Papaoba Sédogo · Journal of Agricultural Science · Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
This study investigated cropping practices and their drivers in 133 peri-urban farms near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Soil sample analysis revealed that monoculture led to low soil organic carbon, while polyculture led to low soil available potassium. The socio-economic conditions of the farms explained up to 60% of the variability in cropping practices.
Environmental trade-offsPeri-urban agricultureEconomicsOrganic cycleFood sovereignty & justicePlanning for Healthy Eating
2019Jennifer Kent, Susan E. Thompson · · Australia
This chapter reviews the link between the built environment and eating habits, noting that where people live and work influences food types and prices. It examines how urban planning in Australia supports local food production to encourage healthier eating. This support includes protecting peri-urban agricultural lands and promoting food cultivation in community gardens, verges, and homes.
HealthPolicyCommunityPeri-urban agricultureUrban and Peri-Urban Agriculture as A Pathway to Food Security: A Review Mapping the Use of Food Sovereignty
2018Michelle Tendai. Chihambakwe, Paramu Mafongoya, Obert Jiri · Challenges · Zimbabwe
This review maps the use of food sovereignty principles in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in Zimbabwe, addressing its potential for food security. Despite UPA being ingrained in urban households' livelihoods, institutional arrangements governing the practice remain ambivalent. The review underscores that the failure to involve all stakeholders undermines UPA, leading to heightened food insecurity and unsustainable practices.
Governance failureFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture in Australia
2018Rachel Carey, Sarah James · · Australia (Sydney, Melbourne)
This chapter examines peri-urban agriculture in Australia, focusing on case studies in Sydney and Melbourne. It explores the pressures on peri-urban fringes, noting that while food needs are increasing due to population growth, the capacity of these areas to meet them is decreasing due to urban sprawl. The research highlights policy and planning options to protect these regions, emphasizing their potential contribution to urban sustainability and resilience amidst climate change and water scarcity.
Peri-urban agriculturePolicyClimate changeFood sovereignty & justicePeri-urban agricultural land vulnerability due to urban sprawl – a multi-criteria spatially-explicit scenario analysis
2018Suranga Wadduwage · Journal of Land Use Science · Australia (Adelaide)
A multi-criteria spatially-explicit study in the Adelaide metropolitan area, Australia, investigated agricultural land vulnerability to urban sprawl under opposing policy directions. The study showed higher agricultural land vulnerabilities in “Business-As-Usual” and “Accelerated Economic Development” scenarios, extending into rural areas with a leap-frog effect. This confirms the need to sacrifice farmland uses to maintain land supply for urban development under these conditions.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyUrban–rural linkageAgriculture urbaine et périurbaine (AUP) et économie des ménages agri-urbains à Dakar (Sénégal)
2018Ayinde BA, Nicola Cantoreggi · International Journal of Environment Agriculture and Biotechnology · Senegal (Dakar)
This study focused on the commercial dimension of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in the Dakar region, Senegal, involving 214 market gardeners across three production areas. Results showed that UPA, specifically urban market gardening, constitutes a full-fledged commercial activity with monetary income significantly higher than Senegal's minimum wage. This almost exclusively commercial orientation allows agri-urban households to cover their food and non-food expenses inherent in urban living.
EconomicsFood sovereignty & justiceUrban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureSoil Properties on Farmers’ Fields Amended with Untreated Solid Urban Wastes in Ouagadougou Peri-urban Area, Burkina Faso
2018P.S. Bouda, Edmond Hien, A. Dioma, Hyacinthe Kambiré, Yacouba Maïga, Der Adolphe Somé, Sylvie Nazaret, A.S. Ouattara · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Burkina Faso
A study in Ouagadougou sub-urban agricultural fields, Burkina Faso, assessed the impact of using untreated Solid Urban Wastes (SUW) as agricultural fertilizers on soil properties and crop production. SUW amendment significantly increased pH, total C, N, P, and available P, and maize height and biomass yield were 124% and 164% higher in amended plots, respectively. However, trace metal elements (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr) concentrations were higher in amended fields, indicating that urban waste carries contaminants posing public health risks.
Contamination & food safetyOrganic cycleHealthPeri-urban agricultureLOS BENEFICIOS PARA LA SALUD, MEDIO AMBIENTE Y ECONOMÍA FAMILIAR DE LA AGRICULTURA URBANA
2018Doris Laury Beatriz Dzib Moo, Gerardo González García, Analuisa González Dzib · · Global
This paper proposes urban gardens for Colonia Lindavista in Tabasco, Mexico, to demonstrate the benefits of urban agriculture. The project aims to raise awareness and secure institutional support, highlighting the advantages of daily consumption of organic vegetables for health and family economy. This initiative seeks to increase the resilience of the Colonia Lindavista community, which was chosen as a pilot site starting in January 2017.
HealthEconomicsClimate changePeri-urban agriculturePeri-urban food production as means towards urban food security and increased urban resilience
2018E. Gunilla, Annika Olsson · · Sweden (Gothenburg)
This chapter focuses on peri-urban food production and provisioning as overlooked aspects of urban sustainability in developed countries. It discusses how agricultural production for urban consumption in peri-urban areas is often abandoned and replaced by urban sprawl and recreational activities. The chapter elaborates on the multiple dimensions of sustainable local food systems as an alternative to globalized systems, including results from a European research project with a case study from a peri-urban region in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Peri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justiceClimate changeFood, landscape, and urban design
2018Susan Parham, Jacques Abelman · · Global
This chapter explores urban design in developed countries, viewing food as a critical social, economic, and cultural factor influencing and being influenced by urban space design. It broadly defines food spaces to include diverse settings like streetscapes, markets, restaurants, urban gardens, and peri-urban farming. The authors suggest that food-conscious urban design is central to sustainable urban space.
CommunityPeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomic Crisis and Peri-Urban Agriculture: A Socio-Environmental Vision
2018Luca Salvati, Silvia Pili · Journal of Sociological Research · Greece (Athens)
This study proposes an approach to understand new food production strategies in fragmented peri-urban landscapes, focusing on local primary sector actors. A preliminary survey in the Athens metropolitan region, Greece, aims to identify trends in peri-urban farming and their implications for farmers and citizens, considering urban sprawl and land-use conflicts.
Peri-urban agricultureEconomicsPolicyUrban–rural linkageImplication of Urban and Peri-Urban Agricultural Wastewater Irrigation to Malaria Transmission in Kumasi
2018Amina Abubakari, John Asiedu Larbi, Robert Clement Abaidoo · Journal of Tropical Diseases · Ghana (Kumasi)
A 2018 study in Kumasi, Ghana, assessed 7017 health facility data from 77 communities to investigate malaria transmission in areas with wastewater irrigation. It found approximately 3698 malaria cases in wastewater irrigation areas and 3319 in areas without, with a P-value of 0.1914, indicating no statistically significant difference. However, Anopheles spp. mosquito densities were high in furrows, followed by ponds, suggesting that anthropogenic activities related to urbanization and wastewater irrigation may contribute to malaria transmission.
Environmental trade-offsHealthPeri-urban agricultureAquaponic System: A sustainable production form in Family Farming and periurban area
2018Renan Borro Celestrino, Silvia Cristina Vieira · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Global
This study surveyed the implementation cost and presented the step-by-step operation of small-scale aquaponic systems for family agriculture and peri-urban areas. As a descriptive and experimental research, a practical experiment involved feeding 27 kg of fish, with their waste nourishing 144 Crespa Lettuce seedlings. The findings suggest that aquaponic systems tend to be a sustainable alternative due to low implantation costs, practical management, and healthier production from organic plant nutrition and the non-use of chemicals.
Peri-urban agricultureDIYClimate changeAchieving Resilience through Water Recycling in Peri-Urban Agriculture
2017Roger Attwater, Chris Derry · Water · Australia
This paper presents a case study in Western Sydney, Australia, examining the role of water recycling for agricultural use within the peri-urban water cycle. It identifies and discusses aspects that enhance resilience, such as water resource security, avoidance of wastewater discharges, enhanced landscape ecology, and provision of ecosystem services. The study also considers environmental risk management, local agricultural products, social values, livelihood opportunities, and the industrial ecology of recycled organics.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleClimate changeEconomicsSmells like politics: planning and the inconvenient politics of intensive peri‐urban agriculture
2017Andrew Butt, Elizabeth Taylor · Geographical Research · Australia (Victoria)
This paper analyzes planning appeals and media from 2011–2016 in Victoria, Australia, regarding intensive poultry developments, revealing tensions between planning processes and local politics. Planning for intensive farming assumes stability and agricultural primacy, but concerns about agricultural industrialization are live local issues in dynamic peri-urban areas. Code-based planning's certainty does not negate the ongoing, inconvenient politics of intensive peri-urban agriculture.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyCommunityLE MARAICHAGE EN MILIEU URBAIN ET PERIURBAIN : CAS DE LA VILLE DE N’DJAMENA AU TCHAD
2017Alhadj Markhous Nazal, Abdelsalam Tidjani, Yassine Doudoua, Abdourahamane Balla · · Chad (N'Djamena)
This study characterized urban and peri-urban market gardening in N'Djamena, Chad, through a focus group with 92 market gardeners on development constraints and individual surveys of 61 producers on techniques. Producers were mostly men (67.21%) with an average age of 35, operating on administrative reserves (34.43%) and private property (65.57%). While holdings were diversified, leafy greens dominated (47% of products), and many problems were identified as obstacles to the sector's development.
Governance failurePeri-urban agricultureEconomicsCommunityMonitoring of heavy metal residues in cauliflower and their respective health hazards
2017Muhammad Asif Khan Rai Muhammad Amir · International Journal of Biosciences (IJB) · Pakistan (Faisalabad)
To investigate heavy metal residue levels in cauliflower grown in the peri-urban area of Faisalabad district, Pakistan, 30 cauliflower samples were collected from 10 selected farmers. Analysis revealed variable heavy metal residue levels (nickel, lead, zinc, copper, arsenic, and mercury) in the samples, indicating that the cauliflower was contaminated with multiple heavy metals. This contamination is attributed to the use of untreated sewage water for cultivation, which is the single largest contributor to heavy metal accumulation in cauliflower.
Contamination & food safetyHealthPeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justicePerformance study of sprinkler irrigation system in Sudan
2017Hosham S. Yousif, El-Syed I. Gaber, Goma A. Bakeer, Abbas E. Rahma, Fathi G. EL-Ebabi · مجلة الدراسات الأفريقية · Sudan (Khartoum)
Sprinkler irrigation has been gaining popularity in Sudan since the mid-1990s, primarily adopted in urban and peri-urban farming in Khartoum state for fodder and vegetable production. The method is mainly used due to its high efficiency and flexibility in applying small depths of water. Water conservation, particularly for farmers using groundwater for irrigation, is another motive for its spread.
Peri-urban agricultureOrganic cycleMapeo de la agriricultura urbana y periurbana en el área metropolitana Santa Rosa-Toay: aproximaciones metodológicas para la lectura territorial
2017P. V. ERMINI, M. R. DELPRINO, B. GIOBELLINA · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Argentina (Santa Rosa-Toay)
In the Santa Rosa-Toay metropolitan area of Argentina, urban and peri-urban agriculture is noted for its scarce recognition in urban development policies and food security policies. Despite the region's urbanization, the absence of political recognition as a metropolitan area has hindered planning and management of land use and occupation according to its potential and limitations. This study developed and applied a methodological proposal to generate information on urban and peri-urban agricultural activities, integrating a spatial perspective with participatory procedures.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyHealthFood sovereignty & justicePaisaje rururbano en el borde sur de Bogotá, Usme, veredas la Requilina y el Uval : lineamientos de ocupación para la consolidación de un paisaje agroecológico sostenible
2017Daniel Balcero Benitez · · Colombia (Bogotá)
This study proposes a rururban landscape (urban-agricultural) for the Usme district in southern Bogotá. It is based on a model for ordering rururban fringes and sustainable occupation typologies for these territories, responding to expansive pressures from high environmental impact uses (mining, landfill) and urban growth on peasant territories. The proposal starts from the preservation and strengthening of the environment and current peasant ways of life.
Peri-urban agricultureUrban–rural linkageFood sovereignty & justicePolicyClient selection and combination for farm perishable products
2017Nicolas Brulard, Van‐Dat Cung, Nicolas Catusse · IFAC-PapersOnLine · Global
This paper addresses the problem of selecting the most profitable client combination for a vegetable farm's perishable production. Farmers pre-qualify potential clients with varying product mixes, prices, contract durations, and labor requirements. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming model is presented to maximize farm sales profit, considering production and workforce capacities, and submodels describe demand characteristics for four client categories: farmers’ market, community supported agriculture, contract demand, and wholesalers.
EconomicsCSA & TeikeiPeri-urban agricultureReview – Cities and Agriculture
2017Aloysius Clemence Mosha · Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance · Global
The book 'Cities and Agriculture' presents experience and evidence on key dimensions of urban food challenges and types of intra- and peri-urban agriculture across 15 chapters. This book illuminated the urban challenge of food provisioning, which has long been overlooked in urban studies, policies, and planning. Neglecting the dynamics and sustainability of food provisioning in scientific research on sustainable urban development is identified as a serious omission, given its significant social and physical impact.
Urban–rural linkagePeri-urban agricultureFood sovereignty & justicePolicyA systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agriculture for a better integration of agricultural stakes in urban planning
2017Esther Sanz Sanz, Claude Napoléone, Bernard Hubert, Aruna Popuri · · Global
Existing urban planning documents inadequately consider the specificities of peri-urban agriculture as an economic activity requiring arrangements not always adapted to an urban vision of agricultural spaces. This paper proposes a systemic methodology to characterize peri-urban agricultural spatial units, aiming to provide an inventory of peri-urban agricultural areas tailored to urban planning practitioners' constraints. The approach seeks to focus public action on areas where it is most likely to be efficient within a territorial project.
Governance failurePeri-urban agriculturePolicyEconomicsUrban households' engagement in agriculture: implications for household food security in Ghana's medium sized cities
2017Hayford Mensah Ayerakwa · Geographical Research · Ghana
This paper descriptively analyzed the contribution of household engagement in agriculture to urban food security in Techiman and Tamale, Ghana, using household data. The study found that nearly half (43%) of urban residents participate in food production, primarily for consumption and surplus sale. For households engaged in both urban and rural agriculture, agricultural income was the highest, contributing 43% of total cash income in Techiman and 33% in Tamale.
Food sovereignty & justiceWelfareEconomicsPeri-urban agriculture