Research & reports

Jaqueline Lopes Pereira, Bárbara Lellis de Sá Frizo, Denise Miguel Teixeira Roberto, Gabriela Rigote, Clara Ribeiro Camargo, Fabrício Muriana, Gabriela Mariano Mendonça, Maurício Alcântara, Roberta Moraes Curan, Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni, Aline Martins de Carvalho · Revista de Saúde Pública · Brazil (Belém)

This study analyzed the sustainability of the food system in the Belém Metropolitan Region, Brazil, focusing on public institutional purchasing policies in 2022. Municipalities allocated 31 million reais to the National School Feeding Program, with 43.5% from family farming, exceeding the legal target. The Food Acquisition Program saw the Abril Vermelho settlement sell 28 tons of food, prioritizing permanent crops and agro-ecological practices.

Carlos Luiz Vieira · · Brazil

This study analyzes protected cultivation and hydroponics in Brazil as technologies enabling full control of environmental variables and eliminating dependence on climate seasonality. These technologies demonstrate 80-95% reductions in water consumption, 300-500% increases in productivity compared to open fields, and complete elimination of agrochemical residues. However, the study also points out implementation challenges for these technologies, concluding they are fundamental for food security in contexts of accelerated urbanization, water scarcity, and global climate change.

Nazareno José de Campos · Revista Campo-Território · Brazil (Florianópolis)

This article examined the strong urbanization process in Florianópolis and neighboring municipalities in Brazil. Using various bibliographies, information, empirical analysis, cartographic instruments, and practical activities such as visits to production areas, it showed that despite the transformation of rural areas into urban spaces, rural elements persist within urban areas, supplying regional and national markets for agricultural and livestock products. Despite extensive urbanization, the rural presence remains within the urban fabric, characterizing what is known as urban and peri-urban agriculture.

R P Mula, Molly Doane, Gabrielle Powell, Myer G. Mula · Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension Economics & Sociology · United States (Chicago)

This study visited, documented, and described 15 community gardens in Chicago, Illinois, and interviewed their leaders. It found the utmost importance of saving traditional crop seeds (heirlooms) for diversity, climate change mitigation, and health, as these are grown organically. Insights include reorienting mindsets, crafting garden requirement manuals, consolidating the value chain, and educating health workers on promoting community gardening.

Marcos Antonio Vieira Batista, Anne Stefany da Silva Vieira, Josefa Aparecida Araujo Lima, Jaziel Batista Gomes, Luiz Henrique Aguiar, Helena Higino Bezerra Fernandes, Antonia Luana da Silva, Marcos Antônio Dantas · Revista Contemporânea · Brazil

An experiment conducted at IFCE - Campus – Iguatu - CE, Brazil, from April to May 2019, investigated the decomposition rate of mata-pasto (Senna uniflora) as green manure for chives (Allium fistulosum L.). Five treatments with different incorporation periods were tested. The results showed that incorporating mata-pasto 21 days before planting yielded the greatest plant height (33.7 cm), number of leaves (22.2), and aerial dry mass (1.54 g plant⁻¹), not statistically differing from 28 days before planting.

Elías Machado · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Brazil (Guarapuava)

This study examines the relationship between climate change, urbanization, and urban and peri-urban agriculture in Guarapuava-PR, Brazil. It emphasizes how regional atmospheric variability intensifies existing socio-environmental vulnerabilities. Guarapuava's climate, characterized by high thermal amplitude, frequent frosts, and irregular rainfall, significantly conditions agricultural production systems, especially in urban and peri-urban areas, negatively affecting productive cycles.

Candice M. Duncan, Fatemeh Ghezelsofla, Hlengilizwe Nyoni, Jazmin Escobar, Odette Mina · Toxics · United States

A study measuring per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in irrigation water at two organic farms in Maryland, USA, with no known direct PFAS input, and assessing health risk via a Hazard Index (HI). At agricultural site 1 (AG1), the most abundant compounds were PFBS (37 ng/L), PFBA (24 ng/L) and PFHxA (22 ng/L); the HI showed compliance for branched PFHxS (0.39) but non-compliance for linear PFHxS (1.51). At agricultural site 2 (AG2), despite no known industrial or PFAS-related facilities nearby, HFPO-DA (GenX) was detected at 28 ng/L, and the HI exceeded the compliance threshold (HI = 2.83), with GenX accounting for most of the calculated risk. The findings show HI exceedances occurring at small farm sites with no identifiable contamination source.

Montgomery Planning (Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission) · Montgomery Planning · United States

Montgomery Planning's overview of the Agricultural Reserve, created in 1980 by Montgomery County Council action and covering 93,000 acres — nearly a third of the county's land. The Reserve combines dedicated agricultural zoning (limiting residential density to one unit per 25 acres in the AR zone), a transfer of development rights (TDR) program, and a Building Lot Termination (BLT) easement program to prevent farmland fragmentation, sustaining more than 500 farms.

Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) · State of Oregon, Department of Land Conservation and Development · United States

Oregon's state land-use agency page explaining the state's farmland protection framework. Statewide Planning Goal 3, established under Senate Bill 100, defines agricultural land based on soil capability, and all 36 counties apply Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) zoning, with minimum lot sizes typically 80 acres for cropland and 160 acres for rangeland. As of 2015, Oregon's farmland totaled 16.3 million acres (over 26% of the state), with the farm economy valued at $5.7 billion, about 11% of the state economy, supporting more than 326,000 jobs.

César Nunes de Castro · Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Ipea) eBooks · Brazil

This chapter aims to provide an overview of urban and peri-urban agriculture (AUP) in Brazil and evaluate the inherent challenges of the activity, including the potential role of the National AUP Program (PNAUP) in promoting its development.

Sergio Osorio Cañadas, Ek del Val de Gortari · Dialnet (Universidad de la Rioja) · Mexico (Morelia)

This study investigated pollinators in seven urban and periurban orchards in Morelia, Mexico, during an annual agricultural cycle from October 2022 to June 2023. Monthly 5-hour censuses at each site revealed a considerable diversity of pollinators, with an average of 60 different species including bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles, and hummingbirds, visiting the orchard flowers. It was also observed that each plant species attracted different pollinators.

Ayari G. Pasquier Merino, Simone Buratti · · Mexico (Mexico City)

This study analyzed the conditions and challenges in the logistics of transporting merchandise from production areas to commercialization spaces, using a case study of Mexico City’s peri-urban agricultural producers. Qualitative research, conducted from 2019 to 2022, involved 60 interviews with production and distribution project managers, a discussion workshop on transportation issues, and visits to production and distribution spaces. Results indicate that infrastructure and logistics for goods transportation are a key issue for the successful integration of small, peri-urban producers into urban markets. It was suggested that transport and logistics must be addressed for these producers to become viable economic actors.

Moschella Miloslavich, Paola · Portal de Revistas PUCP (N/A) · Peru (Cajamarca)

This study in Cajamarca, Peru, analyzed the expansion of the city onto vital agricultural land, examining perceptions, consequences, and solutions through surveys and interviews. It found that weak regulations and external factors accelerate informal subdivision of rural properties, leading to future urban areas lacking public spaces and services. Despite high regard for agricultural land, comfort and the land market override beliefs in decision-making, and initiatives to protect the valley were unsuccessful due to permissive regulations and a lack of political will.

Peter Nixon, Anu Ramaswami · Environmental Research Letters · United States

This paper quantifies environmental benefits and disbenefits from various vegetable farming localization scenarios across 378 US metropolitan areas. While scenarios found few significant land constraints and revealed net environmental benefits to groundwater overdraft and fertilizer-related PM2.5 emissions in 11%–55% of metros, the model also revealed where relocalization would exacerbate existing environmental vulnerabilities. This indicates potential environmental tradeoffs depending on the location.

José Arturo Méndez Espinoza, Martín Neri-Suárez, Karen Italia Ruiz-López · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Mexico (Puebla)

A case study in Cuautlancingo, Puebla, Mexico, revealed an adverse context for the reproduction of peri-urban family farming. Urban expansion, neoliberal policies, and real-estate speculation have displaced traditional agricultural practices and fostered land-tenure changes. Between 2005 and 2021, over 40% of agricultural areas were lost due to industrial and housing growth. The study concludes that without effective protection and territorial planning, peri-urban agriculture in Cuautlancingo is at risk of disappearing under urban and industrial pressures, with implications for local food security.

F. Xavier Medina, José Antonio Vázquez–Medina, Marco Covarrubias · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · Mexico (Mexico City)

This chapter discusses the factors linking food production, social and environmental problems, and future challenges in the chinampas of Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage wetland area in Mexico City's peri-urban zone. It examines strategies implemented by stakeholders and their effects to envision future scenarios for sustainable food systems. The insularity of the chinampas imposes a particular character on agri-food production and the life of inhabitants, highlighting existing social and environmental problems.

Andrés Barsky · · Latin America

This chapter assesses the current state of threats to and measures to protect periurban agriculture around cities in Latin America. It highlights the social and spatial vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture and its increasing appearance on Latin American food and urbanistic agendas. Examples of strategies for the concrete management of peri-urban agriculture in Latin American cities include the institutionalization of relevant organizations, the enactment of specific laws, the implementation of programs for small-scale production, and the generation of territorial intervention instruments. The conclusion argues for the need to generate new public intervention instruments to preserve and design spaces of high productive and environmental value in periurban areas.

Suzana Márcia Souza dos Santos, Clecia Simone Gonçalves Rosa Pacheco · Editora Científica Digital eBooks · Brazil

This study analyzed the experience of the Vila Galvão Women Workers' Benevolent Association in Casa Nova, Bahia, Brazil, which produces organic vegetables in urban and peri-urban contexts. The study aimed to characterize the productive, commercial, and sociocultural aspects related to organic vegetable production and commercialization, identifying main marketing channels and understanding difficulties faced by producers. It concluded that organic production, combined with collective organization and the strengthening of the solidarity economy, represents a viable alternative for a more just, sustainable, and female-led rural development model.

Letícia Englete de Mello, Dirlane de Fátima do Carmo, Daiane Cecchin, Leonardo da Silva Hamacher, Marcel Carvalho Abreu, R. M. Anjos, Mariana Vezzone · Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental · Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

This study investigated the profile of 159 urban and peri-urban agricultural producers across 29 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, using quantitative interviews and statistical analysis. Producers were predominantly men over 50 with limited education, cultivating small plots with organic methods but receiving little technical support. Key challenges identified were a lack of assistance and resources, and urban agriculture's potential is hindered by the absence of effective public policies.

Vázquez-García, Amparo, Elizondo, Cecilia · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · Mexico

Home gardens in San Felipe Ecatepec, San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico, are systems with diverse plant species and areas ranging from 600m² to 2500m². This study aimed to identify forms of resistance against neoliberal policies and urban sprawl, finding that home gardens provide healthy, fresh food, create useful spaces, and preserve agrobiodiversity. These gardens are considered spaces of resistance based on traditional knowledge, helping to bolster food sovereignty. The research was conducted during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Justin B. Richardson, Eric Vukicevich, Eric C. Sirkovich · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology · United States

Soils, sap, and maple syrup were collected from four artisanal maple syrup producers in four suburban areas across the northeastern United States to assess nutrient and trace element concentrations. Soil arsenic and lead concentrations approached or exceeded EPA limits. Sap and syrup arsenic, cadmium, nickel, lead, and zinc concentrations reached or exceeded FDA limits for food.

Camila Urbina Lavajos, Oscar Vargas Chozo · Devenir - Revista de estudios sobre patrimonio edificado · Peru

A qualitative, descriptive study of the Tumino ravine in Moyobamba, Peru, examined the degradation of its evolving cultural landscape caused by inappropriate land use and informal settlement. Results showed 41% of the ravine area under conservation while another 41% faced unsustainable uses such as dumping and drainage discharge, with landscape fragmentation found to be affecting ecological connectivity and biodiversity. In response, the study proposes a system of ecological patches including urban gardens, green corridors, paths, boardwalks, viewpoints, wetlands and urban lagoons.

Julio César Alcántara Cornejo · Communities in DSpace (Pontifical Catholic University of Peru) · Brazil

Lima, on Peru's coast, faces both seismic hazard and a shortage of drinking water, and many residents live on hillsides in informal housing built on terraces supported by dry-joint stone walls (pircas), which creates vulnerability to heavy loading, particularly seismic loading, and drives up the cost of or lack of basic services. Building on earlier proposals to use these vernacular terraces for environmental improvement and urban agriculture on Lima's hillsides, this study set out to experimentally evaluate the performance of pirca-supported terraces intended for urban agriculture. The procedure involved establishing a baseline, characterizing a base terrace prototype, designing and constructing a test specimen, and then load-testing it. The stated aim of the resulting test data is to build a technical basis for the structural viability of such terraces so that local governments and other interested organizations can support their large-scale implementation.

Eduardo Cesar Silva, Daniel Leite Mesquita, Paulo Henrique Montagnana Vicente Leme · Revista Brasileira Multidisciplinar · Brazil

Using a competitive-intelligence approach drawing on both academic and journalistic sources, this study conducted an exploratory analysis of global urban agriculture trends to identify the main technologies and models in use. It found that urban agriculture is expanding worldwide and is practiced through diverse models, notably community gardens, rooftop gardens, controlled-environment food cultivation, and cellular agriculture.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service · United States

USDA NASS's 2025 survey found the average value of U.S. cropland was $5,830 per acre, up 4.7% from 2024 and up 96% since 2011. Pastureland averaged $1,920 per acre, up $90 from 2024 and 79% since 2011. Overall farm real estate value averaged $4,350 per acre, up $180 from 2024. The average cropland cash rent was $161 per acre nationally (up $1), with irrigated cropland at $244 and non-irrigated at $147; pastureland rent was unchanged at $15.50 per acre.