Research & reports

David Anaafo, G. A. Akolgo · · Ghana

A study on urban agriculture in Ghanaian cities found that it faces challenges including difficult access to land and water resources, and a lack of extension services and credit support. Despite these issues, urban agriculture may help reduce flooding impacts, improve water infiltration, and enhance environmental sanitation. The study recommends policy measures to address these challenges.

IdaNaziera Ngahdiman, Rika Terano, Zainalabidin Mohamed, Juwaidah Sharifuddin · International Journal of Advanced Research · Global

Urban farming is becoming an important activity among urban dwellers in most developing countries. This is to ensure full utilization of available space for agriculture and for sustaining.

Camila Bevilaqua · Ponto Urbe · Brazil (São Paulo)

Fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, accompanied three indigenous people from "Aldeia Vertical." Since 2016, these individuals have been developing a community garden in the Complexo de Favelas do São Carlos. The garden is constructed as a space for "dissemination of indigenous culture" through relationships involving bodies, food, and techniques. The study focused on the relationships between "culture" and "learning" as established by these individuals, dialoguing with Amerindian ethnology and Afro-indigenous approaches.

Andrea Oyuela, Arnold van der Valk · Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems · Honduras (Tegucigalpa)

This study questions the adequacy of Tegucigalpa's top-down planning system in Honduras and explores urban agriculture (UA) as a potential building block for a bottom-up strategy. While UA is organized in Tegucigalpa due to residents' need to overcome food insecurity and hardship, the concept of active citizenship and bottom-up development is not yet consolidated. Furthermore, challenges exist regarding the resources needed for practicing UA and the diffusion of knowledge to the population.

Maria Luiza de Andrade Benini · Cadernos de Agroecologia · Brazil (Campinas)

This study examined how place and space influence the consolidation and configuration of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group, using the example of a group in Barão Geraldo, Campinas, Brazil. CSA is a consumer group where consumers finance agricultural production and share benefits like food health, as well as risks like production losses. Field research, using observation and open interviews, showed that the configuration and appropriation of a space are essential for strengthening the CSA group.

· Policy Press eBooks · United States (Detroit)

In this interview chapter, Grace Lee Boggs discusses revolution, evolution, and change in Detroit, reflecting on her life's work. Boggs states that revolutions stem from communities claiming spaces to realize their desired world, rather than from seizing power. She views urban agriculture and other grassroots movements as acts of revolution that help "grow our souls," highlighting Detroit's pioneering role in this new approach.

Amara Roca Iglesias · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Asia

This research explores the possibility of introducing urban gardens into the former floodplains of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, integrating them into a planned river park. It investigates how urban agriculture could reduce the Kathmandu Valley's dependence on neighboring countries for food and enhance self-sufficiency. The study suggests changing current government policy to promote urban agriculture, shorten food supply chains, and foster social and citizen participation.

Megan Betz, Jacob Mills, James Farmer · Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · United States

This study conducted a qualitative, inductive survey of community orchard organizations in the U.S. (42.64% response rate) to establish a baseline understanding. Participants were identified via internet presence, meaning little is known about orchards without an online presence. Findings showed that community orchards are primarily established on public land, with primary motivations including environmental concern, education, and a sense of community. Organizers reported that fruit and nuts produced feed residents in the immediate surrounding area.

Jason Byrne, CM Pickering, DA Guitart, R Sims-Castley · eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) · Australia

This chapter addresses the implications of urban cultivation initiatives for land-use planning and policy, against a backdrop of renewed interest in urban agriculture due to global urbanization impacts such as dwindling green spaces, food insecurity, land shortages, and loss of biodiversity. These initiatives are often framed around the social benefits of local food growing and sustainability, with residents clamoring for better access to places to grow safe and healthy food, spaces that foster social inclusion, and improved environmental quality.

Devon A. Mihesuah · American Indian Culture and Research Journal · United States

In Oklahoma, tribes have initiated numerous food projects over the past three decades aimed at achieving food sovereignty. However, Oklahoma's complex history, environmental issues, and current politics present challenges such as uneven food quality, poor indigenous health, intratribal factionalism, racism, and a stark dichotomy of affluence and extreme poverty. These factors complicate the creation of self-sufficient food systems and the reconnection of tribal members with traditional foodways.

Mirle Rabinowitz Bussell, James Bliesner, Keith Pezzoli · California Agriculture · United States

This study collaborated with the San Diego Community Garden Network to analyze the production, distribution, and consumption of produce from eight community gardens in San Diego County. UC San Diego researchers and students worked with county residents and community-based organizations to develop a survey. Interviews with gardeners and survey data documented how community gardens contribute to individual and household health, well-being, and community development. The findings suggest that community gardens have the potential to contribute meaningfully to community development, particularly in low-income neighborhoods.

Suryani Suryani, Reni Nurjasmi, Siti M. Sholihah, Ayu Vandira Candra Kusuma · Jurnal Pelayanan dan Pengabdian Masyarakat (Pamas) · Indonesia

A community service program in Ceger Village, Indonesia, provided training and outreach on urban agricultural technology to 39 members of farmer groups and community representatives. The program aimed to raise awareness of urban farming's importance, optimize narrow urban land use, and facilitate knowledge of cultivation techniques. Participants responded positively, and the program offered solutions for leisure time and family food security.

Masahiro Nakajima · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan

This paper reviews trends in urban agriculture development and conservation in Japan, noting that urban agricultural land has been encroached upon by residential buildings due to population growth, creating mixed-use areas. While measures to promote urban agriculture are being adopted following the 2015 Basic Act, the paper emphasizes the need to highlight its food supply function. It also suggests classifying urban agriculture by different actors: urban farmers, collaborations between farmers and citizens, and citizens using urban agricultural land.

Shirin Yajam, Mohammad Taghi Alebrahim, Roghaye Majd, Mehrdad Sabouhi · · Global

A study examining the role and benefits of urban agriculture was conducted based on library resources, documents, and evidence of successful examples in other countries. It was shown that urban agriculture can play an important role in increasing food security, improving nutrition, reducing poverty, developing local economies, creating jobs, and recycling municipal waste. The study concluded that urban agriculture can be considered an appropriate solution for sustainable urban development in environmental issues and for improving food security and safety.

José Elvis Sierra Borras, Nubia Esperanza Suárez Suárez, Diana Bocanegra, Blanca Restrepo de Peña · · Colombia (Soacha)

In the Loma Linda neighborhood of Altos de Cazuca, Soacha, Colombia, participatory action research was conducted with 62 randomly selected families living in extreme poverty. The study found that 49.9% of the population was 60 years or older, 50.1% was between 40 and 60 years old, with an absence of young people. The horticultural component of the basic family basket was 50% supplied by artisanal or rudimentary activities, but production volumes could not be quantified, preventing the measurement of production capacity for marketable surpluses.

Edina Vadovics, Matthew Hayes · · Hungary

A case study of the Open Garden Foundation, a local organic producer-consumer network in Hungary, was conducted. The foundation developed within a Central Eastern European socioeconomic context not supportive of radical solutions for the agricultural sector and rural communities. The study focused on the development of organic agriculture in Hungary, food consumption trends, opportunities for purchasing local organic products, and people's awareness of organic products. The Open Garden's management transitioned from the not-for-profit to the for-profit sector, while the main actors remained consistent.

Vina Febriani, Evy Nasrika, Tri Munasari, Yoan Permatasari, Talitha Widiatningrum · Journal of Creativity Students · Global

This paper introduces "Mba-Gening," an urban gardening innovation for cultivating Brassica oleracea microgreens, as a solution for limited land and the demand for organic food. Microgreens are harvested in 10-14 days and possess up to six times the nutritional value of mature green vegetables. This production is said to meet the demand for organic broccoli and offers a good business opportunity due to a wide market and lack of competitors.

Rattan Lal · · Global

This chapter describes the nature, properties, restoration, and sustainable management of urban soils to enhance food security and environmental quality. It notes that urban ecosystems are rapidly expanding and changing, with urban soils often classified as Anthropic soils. Drastic human-induced disturbances to urban soils hinder ecosystem functions, but restoration strategies aim to create novel soil types that improve vegetative production, denature pollutants, reduce salinization, and strengthen biogeochemical and biogeophysical cycling.

Marie T. Ruel, James Leo Garrett, Sivan Yosef, Meghan Olivier · · Global

This chapter reviews poverty, food security, and malnutrition in urban versus rural areas, noting a rapid shift of poverty to urban areas and high prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition among urban dwellers. It highlights alarming rises in urban overweight and obesity, alongside persistent undernutrition. The review identifies critical knowledge gaps regarding factors shaping urban food security and calls for new research and data to inform policies supporting urban agriculture, healthy food access, and income generation to address these challenges.

Izquierdo Acosta, Daniel Francisco · · Colombia (Bogotá)

This study examined five urban agriculture experiences in Bogotá, Colombia, focusing on productivity (species richness and market prices), resource use and management (water, energy, land, waste), and human organizational forms. The research aims to make these contexts known to farmers and academia, providing insights for better implementation of urban agriculture.

Isabel Miralles, Domenico Dentoni, Stefano Pascucci · Agriculture and Human Values · Spain (Valencia)

This study investigated the organization of sharing economy initiatives in agri-food systems by conducting a comparative case study across 18 alternative food networks (AFNs) in Valencia. It compared AFN organization in terms of leadership, bureaucracy, shared resources, and participants’ engagement, identifying five sharing economy models: consumer groups, commercial community gardens, and network-based, privately owned, and publicly owned self-consumption community gardens. These models displayed notable differences in their origins, participants’ goals, and constraints.

Aloysius 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.

Cecília Delgado · Moravian Geographical Reports · Portugal

This article analyzes 29 urban agriculture (UA) initiatives in Portugal, finding that UA primarily involves allotment gardens, urban farms, and short food chains, focusing on vegetables and fruit. It predominantly occurs on public and institutional land, championed by municipalities and civil society. UA is a recent metropolitan phenomenon that expanded rapidly after the 2008 economic crisis, organizing activities around food production, processing/distribution, and capacity building.

Immaculate Mugisa, Bernard Fungo, S. O. Adur, O. Ssemalulu, A. Molly, Jackie Atim, W. Nakyagaba, T. Kizza, Ruth Kabanyoro, Godfrey Sseruwu, B. Akello · African Journal of Plant Science · Uganda

A household survey of 297 farming households in Kampala, Wakiso, and Masaka districts, Central Uganda, investigated urban and peri-urban crop farming characteristics and trends. Cropping activities contributed an average of 40% to household income, with major crops including vegetables, maize, and bananas. Sixty percent of households practiced irrigation and fertilizer application, and 64% recycled waste, with 75% of those converting kitchen waste into manure.

Javier Fernández Andrés · · Global

The abstract is too short to provide a meaningful summary. It only states that cities grew unprecedentedly in the last century, leading to an urbanized world population, and that agriculture adopted industrial methods.