Research & reports

Qianning, Liu · 亚洲农业研究：英文版 · China (Beijing)

With the development of urban agriculture and digital libraries, theoretical research and development of specialized databases on urban agriculture is described as an inevitable trend. Based on an analysis of the advantages of the urban agriculture special database built by the library of Beijing University of Agriculture, the study examines the current status and problems of that database and proposes a development path for it.

Cao We · Economic Geography · China

This study first divided Pukou District, Nanjing City, China into four land-use functional zones — an optimized/integrated zone, a key development zone, an urban agricultural zone, and an ecological tourism zone — based on each town's resource and environmental endowments and development intensity and potential. Using survey data from 201 households in the study area and a BP artificial neural network model, it then analyzed how farmers' willingness influenced urban-rural harmony development across zone types. Satisfaction with relocation and with social insurance were the main influencing factors in the optimized/integrated zone; willingness toward large-scale land operation, worry about retirement life, and satisfaction with relocation were the main factors in the key development zone; and worry about retirement life, willingness toward large-scale land operation, and satisfaction with relocation were the main factors in both the urban agricultural zone and the ecological tourism zone. The study concludes that urban-rural harmony development should be pursued through differentiated approaches tailored to regional characteristics and to differences in farmers' willingness.

YU Zheng-son · Journal of Northwest University · China

This research applies the "Point-Axis System" theory to the development and planning of urban agriculture in the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains in the core area of southern Xi'an City, China. Using major roads and rivers as axes and agricultural technology centers, leisure plantations, and agricultural science and technology parks as growth poles, it designs a planning model comprising eight centers, sixteen growth poles, one main axis, and six extended axes. The study also notes differences from prior applications of the theory, including a relatively single element flow, a loose relationship between poles and axes, a tight relationship between poles and their radiation areas, and high freedom in pole selection.

권용덕 · 경남정책 Brief · South Korea

A policy brief proposing a regional strategy for Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, to foster agricultural cooperatives ("nongdan" cooperatives). It classifies these cooperative groups into rural types (production, processing, forestry, etc.), urban types — including urban agriculture groups such as weekend farms, veranda gardens, rooftop gardens and school gardens — and common types (daily necessities), arguing that such cooperatives contribute to the economic sustainability and self-reliant development capacity of rural communities. It lists tasks including expanded education, strict adherence to cooperative management principles, strengthened regional alliances, legal and institutional groundwork, promotion systems, business area development, and phased cultivation.

Jae Yeon Kim, Yun Soo Kim, Yuen Sook Lee · KIEAE Journal · South Korea

This study sought to comprehensively identify evaluation items for measuring the effects of community gardens, which have emerged in South Korea as a response to environmental problems (climate change, green-space shortage) and social problems (weakened neighbor interaction) tied to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Through literature review of domestic and overseas sources and content verification via domestic case studies, it identified 39 measurement items, grouped into five categories, ecological, production/economic, physical, psychological and social effects, further divided into 12 types.

Qin Zhon · Shengtai kexue · China

This study applied SWOT analysis to examine the necessity, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of low-carbon agricultural development in Guangzhou, China. Based on the continuous optimization of urban agricultural structure, strengthened industrialized agricultural operation, accelerated agricultural scientific and technological innovation, strong agricultural infrastructure, and achievements in technology-dissemination systems, it proposes developing modern low-carbon urban agriculture as the strategic direction, to be pursued by improving technological innovation capability, promoting the demonstration and industrialization of new agricultural technologies, and continuously improving socialized service systems.

QI Airon · · China

Using entropy value analysis, obstacle degree analysis, and GIS spatial analysis, this study built an urban agro-ecological security evaluation system for Xi'an, China, and found the security index rose from 0.44 in 2002 to 0.68 in 2011. Urbanization had a large negative influence on the sustainability and system stability of urban agricultural resources but a positive influence on output growth and development assurance, while the average obstacle degree of the key limiting factors declined from 12.47% in 2003 to 7.05% in 2006 and 4.97% in 2011; the security index also varied spatially across districts, lowest (≤0.15) in Lianhu, Beilin, and Xincheng and highest (>0.35) in Chang'an and Yanliang, reflecting differences in agricultural production conditions, transport access, and linkage to the urban economy.

김희수, 강현경, 백승준 · · South Korea

Against the backdrop of expanding rooftop greening projects amid Seoul's rapid urban development, this study examined usage patterns and customer satisfaction and preferences at rooftop gardens of three hotels in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea. Satisfaction analysis found that C Hotel and P Hotel, both located in downtown Seoul, scored lower than H Hotel in Incheon on the number and variety of plants. Preference analysis showed that an ideal green space was expected to host cultural and community events, provide space and opportunities for physical exercise, and serve multiple other purposes.

周祥 · 农业工程技术：温室园艺 · China

This article describes Yunnan province's recent push to "vigorously develop plateau-characteristic agriculture" and how the province's specialty agriculture has progressed from scattered small-scale operations to scaled development and the emergence of specialty industrial belts, raising demands on agricultural facilities. It profiles Yunnan Xinli Greenhouse Engineering Co., Ltd., stating the company has worked since its founding on agricultural-facility development in southwest China, providing engineering solutions for modern agriculture, urban agriculture, and plateau-characteristic agriculture; no independent data or evaluation results are given beyond this company profile.

康庆丽, Jian‐Hua Xu · 四川劳动保障 · China

This practice report from Pixian county, China, describes the construction of a "1+3" modern agricultural talent workstation service model, aimed at linking experts, enterprises and farmers to create a combined effect exceeding the sum of the parts. Built around a central talent workstation supported by three agricultural service divisions, the model is presented as having achieved results through resource concentration and focus on distinctive features, but no quantitative outcome measures are given.

Hua Li · Nongye xiandaihua yanjiu · China

This study analyzes the industrial structure of agriculture in Xi'an, China — a city developing toward international-metropolis status — using location quotient and symmetric revealed comparative advantage indices to determine the comparative advantages of quality grain, organic vegetables, fruit, agricultural and animal products, and aquatic products across its districts and counties. Drawing on Xi'an's current urban agriculture development status and successful experience from domestic and foreign metropolises, it constructs a three-layer structure — landscape ecology, scale agriculture, and featured-plate circles — and proposes regional development modes based on featured geographical space, industry collaborative organization, and industry chain/network sharing.

Qin Shu-ying · Anhui nongye kexue · China

A bibliometric study of Chinese-language literature on urban agriculture indexed in CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from 1991 to 2012 (2013, China) analyzed publication-year distribution, author distribution, institutional distribution, academic influence, and subject distribution. It found that leading sources of research were concentrated in Beijing and developed eastern coastal provinces and municipalities, that contributing institutions were mainly higher-education institutions, and that the most-studied topics clustered around agricultural economics research. The study recommends increasing resource allocation and research in western China to promote urban agriculture research there.

DU Shan-sha · Journal of Beijing Union University · China

Starting from the long-standing connection between culture and agriculture, this paper analyzes the basic characteristics of Chinese culture across four dimensions — material culture, behavioral culture, institutional culture and spiritual culture — and examines how this multi-dimensional culture shapes the specific characteristics of urban agriculture during the transition from traditional to modern urban agriculture. The analysis finds that these multi-dimensional cultural influences make China's urban agriculture development characteristics substantially different from those in Western countries.

김윤수, 이연숙 · 한국생태환경건축학회 학술발표대회 논문집 · South Korea

This study examines a case in South Korea where, after removing derelict houses in a deteriorated urban residential area, a community garden growing flowers, diverse plants and vegetables was built and managed together with local residents. It was carried out to contribute to the "physical regeneration" of the residential environment, the "social regeneration" of the community through residents' active participation toward a harmonious community, and "economic regeneration" through productive cooperation with community enterprises.

徐骞 · 中国农资 · China

A symposium on building a diversified agricultural technology extension network was held in Beijing, China, in 2013, bringing together officials and experts from the Ministry of Agriculture's Rural Economy Research Center, the Urban Agriculture Key Laboratory, the China Green Agriculture Alliance, and the China Agricultural Technology Extension Association to discuss solving the "last mile" problem in extension services. Participants agreed on the need to build an innovative extension system suited to China's national conditions, building on the existing "one main body, multiple actors" model.

박진욱, 안계복 · · South Korea

This study analyzes the current state of urban farming in South Korea through its legal system, the implementation status of the urban farming act, on-the-ground conditions, and comprehensive plans, in order to identify institutional improvements. It concludes that securing more space for urban farming and improving the support system for urban farmers are the two essential factors for improvement, and that—beyond these institutional and systematic reforms—enthusiastic engagement from local governments, secured budgets, and cooperation with citizens are necessary to expand sustainable urban farming.

QI Airon · · China

A study of Xi'an, China, built indicators for urbanization and urban agriculture development and applied principal component analysis and correlation analysis to examine their interaction mechanism and quantitative coupling relationship. Urbanization was found to promote urban agriculture's commercialization and scale through market effects and information diffusion, but rapid urbanization's rising population and industrial land use also strained land and water resources and degraded soil and the urban ecological environment, constraining urban agricultural development.

Du, Xing-ying · 亚洲农业研究：英文版 · China (Huainan)

This paper analyzes the necessity of developing urban agriculture in Huainan City, China, identifying it as crucial for agricultural industry transformation, urban-rural integration, sustainable urban development, and effective resolution of issues concerning agriculture, countryside, and farmers. It also examines the city's endowments for urban agriculture and proposes a basic conception for its industrial form and spatial framework.

Xie Miya Qiong, 方爱国, 陈进, 刘海虹 · 武汉金融 · China (Wuhan)

This paper analyzes the financial challenges and their causes for modern urban agricultural development in Wuhan, China. It proposes a comprehensive and systematic financing support system with a "resonance" effect. This system includes an investment and financing platform centered on agricultural investment companies, guarantee companies, and industrial investment funds, an optimized credit finance system with new rural financial institutions and postal savings banks, and a strengthened insurance system combining policy-based and commercial models.

Haiyan Cai · Journal of Hebei Agricultural Sciences · China (Shijiazhuang)

This study analyzed the development situation of urban agriculture in Shijiazhuang City, China, which has seen rapid growth as an emerging industry. It identified existing problems from various angles and proposed reasonable suggestions for promoting urban agriculture in the city.

Zeng Fan-rong · Shanghai nongye xuebao · China (Shanghai)

This paper presented ideas and proposals for the future development of modern urban agriculture in Minhang District, Shanghai, particularly during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. These proposals focused on developmental orientation, adjustments to industrial structure and spatial distribution, and innovation in agricultural management systems.

Sarah Yixin Zhang, Zhang Zhi-xing · Journal of the Association for Information Systems · China

This study investigates how Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) pioneers in China use microblogging technology to engage members and develop their communities. CSA is a sustainable agriculture model where members support farms and share risks, making trust-building crucial. Microblogging platforms provide farmers with a channel to communicate updates, address member problems, and facilitate interactions among CSA members, especially when frequent farm visits are not possible. The study analyzed microblog posts from China's first CSA farm.

Danfeng Huang · Journal of Changjiang Vegetables · China

This paper analyzed the requirements of China's urban development and vegetable quality and safety, expounding on the important roles of organic vegetable production and marketing in urban agriculture development. After a full analysis of the quality and safety, ecological function of organic vegetables, and the relationships between price and organic product price, the paper provided suggestions for promoting the development of urban organic vegetable production, including production mode, key technology, and marketing strategy.

程存旺, 孙永生, 石嫣, 温铁军 · 绿叶 · China (Beijing)

This paper discusses the importance of ecological civilization in China's national development strategy, as highlighted by the 18th National Congress. It argues that Beijing's agricultural work should shift from industrialization to "social agriculture," moving beyond traditional GDP-focused strategies from 1956 and 1996. The paper advocates for promoting urban agriculture that combines citizens and farmers, aligning with ecological civilization and drawing on domestic and international transformation experiences.

Anthony M. Fuller, Theresa Schumilas, Zhenzhong Si · Digital Commons - Lingnan (Lingnan University) · Canada; China

This presentation examines innovations and contradictions in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in Canada and China, where farmers pursue economic, social, and ecological goals. It describes the evolving CSA movement in Canada and identifies three paradoxes, including the economic paradox of market-based social change, questioning if CSAs can maintain their alternative nature or if co-optation is inevitable.