Search Results (13)

This article provides a systematic literature review of the scientific literature on forms of communitization that feature alternative nutritional practices to reveal their organizational structures, opportunities, challenges, and transformative potential. The forms studied are alternative food networks and are characterized by their sustainable commitment in food production, distribution, and consumption practices. This review focused solely on articles investigating these forms of communitization in Germany. A systematic literature search was conducted using the databases Web of Science and Business Source Premier in accordance with the PRISMA statement guidelines. Forty-two articles were included in the final analysis, with the oldest article published in 2006 and the newest in 2025. The systematic literature review identifies five forms of communitization with alternative nutritional practices: community, urban and self-harvest gardens; food cooperatives or cooperative initiatives; food sharing and redistribution initiatives; community-supported agriculture and networks; and ecovillages, commune, food initiatives, and other partnerships. The review highlights key forms of communitization that feature alternative nutritional practices, the methods used, and the geographical areas involved. Using content analysis, the organizational structures, opportunities, and challenges of various forms of communitization that feature alternative nutritional practices are identified and their transformative potential discussed. Full article

Homegardens are traditional agroforestry systems that harbor genetic resources and ancestral knowledge, as well as contributing to food security and self-sufficiency in many rural communities. In this study, we analyze homegardens in a Mixtec community in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, to document their arrangement and components, the useful flora and fauna they contain, and the social, cultural and economic aspects associated with their management. We used snowball sampling to perform semistructured interviews with 36 women in charge of homegardens, which represented 10% of the total homes in the community. During guided tours, we diagrammed the homegardens and collected and identified plant specimens to compile a full floristic listing. Plant specimens were deposited in the CHAP herbarium. We also calculated the Jacknife alpha diversity index and Sorensen’s beta diversity index to quantify the diversity of the garden flora. We summarized the interview data using descriptive statistics and performed a multiple regression analysis to evaluate the effects of the size of the homegarden and the homegarden owner’s age, years of school attendance, and language use on the number of useful plant species in the garden. Additionally, we conducted a multiple correspondence analysis on the homegardens, the sociodemographic variables, and the plant species contained. The components of the homegardens were the main dwelling, patio, kitchen, bathroom, chicken coop, and pigpen. We documented 15 animal species from 15 genera and 13 families and 236 plant species from 197 genera and 84 families. The most represented plant families were Araceae, Fabaceae and Apocynaceae. The main plant uses were ornamental, edible, and medicinal. The multiple correspondence analysis and multiple regression both showed sociodemographic variables to make a very low contribution to homegarden species richness (evidenced by low percentage variance explained and no statistically significant effects, respectively). The first-order Jacknife diversity index estimated a total of 309 plant species present in the homegardens, indicating high agrobiodiversity. The Sorensen index value ranged from 0.400 to 0.513. Similarity among the gardens was mostly due to high similarity among edible plants. There was community-level resilience in family food self-sufficiency, as 80.56% of the interviewees use harvest from their homegardens to cover their families’ food needs. Women play a central role in the establishment and management of the gardens. Overall, our findings demonstrate that homegardens in this community are sustainable; have high agrobiodiversity; provide food, medicine, and well-being to residents; contribute to food self-sufficiency; and conserve agrobiodiversity as well as traditional culture and knowledge. Full article

Accurate detection of tea shoots in natural environments is crucial for facilitating intelligent tea picking, field management, and automated harvesting. However, the detection performance of existing methods in complex scenes remains limited due to factors such as the small size, high density, severe overlap, and the similarity in color between tea shoots and the background. Consequently, this paper proposes an improved target detection algorithm, RFA-YOLOv8, based on YOLOv8, which aims to enhance the detection accuracy and robustness of tea shoots in natural environments. First, a self-constructed dataset containing images of tea shoots under various lighting conditions is created for model training and evaluation. Second, the multi-scale feature extraction capability of the model is enhanced by introducing RFCAConv along with the optimized SPPFCSPC module, while the spatial perception ability is improved by integrating the RFAConv module. Finally, the EIoU loss function is employed instead of CIoU to optimize the accuracy of the bounding box positioning. The experimental results demonstrate that the improved model achieves 84.1% and 58.7% in mAP@0.5 and mAP@0.5:0.95, respectively, which represent increases of 3.6% and 5.5% over the original YOLOv8. Robustness is evaluated under strong, moderate, and dim lighting conditions, yielding improvements of 6.3% and 7.1%. In dim lighting, mAP@0.5 and mAP@0.5:0.95 improve by 6.3% and 7.1%, respectively. The findings of this research provide an effective solution for the high-precision detection of tea shoots in complex lighting environments and offer theoretical and technical support for the development of smart tea gardens and automated picking. Full article

This paper responds to the research question, “can urban farming in Nepal help create sustainable cities?” Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, urban residents have begun to realize that food transported from long distances is not always reliable. Urban farming can help produce fresh food locally and help urban residents become self-reliant by engaging in healthy eating habits and practicing sustainable agricultural techniques in food-desert areas, while creating a positive impact on the environment through regenerative agricultural methods. In doing so, urban farms can help the growers save on food expenditures and even earn some additional income, while also improving air quality and minimizing the effects of urban heat islands. This practice also helps reduce greenhouse gases through plant carbon use efficiency (CUE), as vegetation carbon dynamics (VCD) can be adjusted while supporting the circular economy. As urban lands command higher prices than agricultural land, urban farming usually happens on residential yards, roofs, balconies, community gardens, and dedicated areas in public parks. Rainwater harvesting and redirecting can help irrigate urban farms, which can be part of rain gardens. The national census of 2021 identified that 66% of Nepal’s population lives in urban areas. However, the World Bank (2018) showed that only 21 of Nepal’s population was projected to live in urban areas in 2021. It is not debatable that the urbanization process in Nepal is on the rise. Thus, urban agriculture can play an important role in supplementing residents’ food needs. Many cities in Nepal have already successfully adapted to urban farming wherein residents grow food on their building sites, balconies, and rooftop, often growing plants in pots, vases, and other types of containers. The UN-Habitat, with the support of the European Union and local agencies, published a rooftop farming training manual (2014), showing the feasibility of urban farming in Nepal. This paper discusses how public-private partnership (PPP) can promote urban agriculture and make the process more effective and attractive to urban-farming households. It also analyzes how a PPP approach also facilitates the use of better technology, advisory support, and use of research extension activities. This paper draws on a literature review, uses remote-sensing imagery data and data from National Census Nepal 2021, and the authors’ professional experiences related to best practices in the areas to analyze the benefits and challenges related to urban farming both in Nepal and Arizona, USA. The paper provides recommendations for Nepali cities to maximize the benefit provided by urban farming. It is expected to be useful to Nepali policymakers, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations which promote sustainability, and organic farming with a sustainable supply chain. Full article

This research aimed to compare some physicochemical and antioxidant properties in vegetables (chard, beet, coriander, spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot, and tomato) of ecological and commercial production. The ecological products were cultivated and obtained from three harvests in an ecology garden with standardized methodologies for implementation while the commercial samples were obtained from a local supplier. On the same purchase or harvest day, the color, texture, moisture, and ashes parameters were measured in the fresh produce without unpeeling. In the lyophilized samples, bioactive compounds (total phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, chlorophyll a and b, β-carotenes, anthocyanins, betalains, and lycopene) were determined, and antioxidant activity was found using the 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS^•+), 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, and chelating activity. The ecological vegetables presented better color (high luminosity and intensity) than commercial samples, and, according to the value of ΔE, this is a difference that can be perceived by the human eye. In the same way, the ecological vegetables were more turgid than the commercial samples (p < 0.05). The content of bioactive compounds was found in higher concentrations in ecologically produced vegetables and this was correlated positively with antioxidant capacity. It is important to carry out more studies to determine the effect on health of these vegetables when they are integrated into the diet and thus to be able to recommend their inclusion in the diet as a sustainability strategy in the production of vegetables for self-consumption. Full article

Urban agriculture can be shortly defined as the growing of plants and/or the livestock husbandry in and around cities. Although it has been a common occupation for the urban population all along, recently there is a growing interest in it both from public bodies and researchers, as well as from ordinary citizens who want to engage in self-cultivation. The modern citizen, though, will hardly find the free time to grow his own vegetables as it is a process that requires, in addition to knowledge and disposition, consistency. Given the above considerations, the purpose of this work was to develop an economic robotic system for the automatic monitoring and management of an urban garden. The robotic system was designed and built entirely from scratch. It had to have suitable dimensions so that it could be placed in a balcony or a terrace, and be able to scout vegetables from planting to harvest and primarily conduct precision irrigation based on the growth stage of each plant. Fertigation and weed control will also follow. For its development, a number of technologies were combined, such as Cartesian robots’ motion, machine vision, deep learning for the identification and detection of plants, irrigation dosage and scheduling based on plants’ growth stage, and cloud storage. The complete process of software and hardware development to a robust robotic platform is described in detail in the respective sections. The experimental procedure was performed for lettuce plants, with the robotic system providing precise movement of its actuator and applying precision irrigation based on the specific needs of the plants. Full article

The Camëntsá and Inga indigenous communities still rely on agroforestry systems for their livelihood attainment, although globalization effects have also reached their settlements. Agroforestry systems, especially home gardens, are experiencing reduced size and species diversity and therefore gradually disappearing. This research aims to determine the indigenous family labor contribution to agroforestry systems as a strategy to secure their livelihoods. The methods include a census, household survey, interviews with key informants, and direct observation. Family labor contributes to reducing production costs in agroforestry systems. Three groups of households were identified from the cluster analysis to determine the family labor contribution: smaller, medium-sized, and larger farms. The smaller farms register better economic indicators compared to the other two groups. In addition, they show a positive cost–benefit ratio and profitability, which is explained by lower production costs compared to the gross income generated. Although larger farms have higher gross revenues, these households also assume higher production costs and incur higher input costs. Medium-sized farms face the worst scenario. There is a relationship between the use of family labor and the achievement of livelihoods related to economic indicators and biodiversity and the variety of species harvested on farms and used for self-consumption. Family labor helps to ensure local food security and generate income. Full article

This study was conducted to investigate effects of a horticultural activity program based on a mediating variable model for improving vegetable preference among elementary students. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 136 students and 136 primary carers in Seoul, South Korea. Based on the mediation model for improving children’s vegetable preference, 12 sessions were conducted, including gardening, nutrition education, and cooking activities using harvests. The program was conducted weekly for 12 weeks from March to July 2019. To investigate the effect of this program, mediating factors of the children were evaluated before and after the program. Pearson correlation analysis was used to identify the mediating factors. The nutrition index, attitude, knowledge, and eating habits of the primary carers were evaluated. Results showed children’s nutrition and gardening knowledge, dietary self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and vegetable preference were significantly improved (p < 0.001). Primary carers showed significant improvement in the nutrition index, knowledge, and attitude (p < 0.05). The correlation analysis confirmed that most of the mediating factors had significant correlations (p < 0.05). Therefore, administering a structured program involving horticultural activities and nutrition education as mediating factors for 12 sessions was effective in improving eating behavior for vegetables elementary school students and primary carers. Full article

The pea (Pisum sativum L.) is one of the most important crops in temperate agriculture around the world. In the tropics, highland production is also common with multiple harvests of nearly mature seeds from climbing plant types on trellises. While the leafless variant caused by the afila gene is widely used in developing row-cropped field peas in Europe, its use for trellised garden peas has not been reported. In this study we describe a pea breeding program for a high-elevation tropical environment in the Department of Nariño in Colombia, where over 16,000 hectares of the crop are produced. The most widespread climbing varieties in the region are ‘Andina’ and ‘Sindamanoy’, both of which have high-biomass architecture with abundant foliage. They are prone to many diseases, but preferred by farmers given their long production season. This plant type is expensive to trellis, with wooden posts and plastic strings used for vine staking constituting 52% of production costs. The afila trait could reduce these costs by creating interlocking plants as they do in field peas. Therefore, our goal for this research was to develop a rapid breeding method to introduce the recessive afila gene, which replaces leaves with tendrils, into the two commercial varieties used as recurrent parents (RPs) with three donor parents (DPs)—‘Dove’, ‘ILS3575′ and ‘ILS3568′—and to measure the effect on plant height (PH) and yield potential. Our hypothesis was that the afila gene would not cause linkage drag while obtaining a leafless climbing pea variety. Backcrossing was conducted without selfing for two generations and plants were selected to recover recurrent parent characteristics. Chi-square tests showed a ratio of 15 normal leaved to one afila leaved in the BC₂F₂ plants, and 31:1 in the BC₃F₂ generation. Selecting in the last of these generations permitted a discovery of tall climbing plants that were similar to those preferred commercially, but with the stable leafless afila. The method saved two seasons compared to the traditional method of progeny testing before each backcross cycle; the peas reached the BC₂F₂ generation in five seasons and the BC₃F₂ in seven seasons. This is advantageous with trellised peas that normally require half a year to reach maturity. Leafless garden peas containing the afila gene were of the same height as recurrent parents and, by the third backcross, were equally productive, without the high biomass found in the traditional donor varieties. The value of the afila gene and the direct backcrossing scheme is discussed in terms of garden pea improvement and crop breeding. Full article

This study was conducted to develop and verify the effects of a garden-based integrated intervention for improving children’s eating behavior for vegetables. A pre-post-test experimental design was employed. The participants were 202 elementary school students (average age: 11.6 ± 1.5 years). The garden-based integrated intervention program was conducted during regular school hours for a total of 12 weeks. The program, based on a mediator model for improving children’s eating behavior, included gardening, nutritional education, and cooking activities utilizing harvests. In order to examine effects of the program, the mediating factors related to children’s eating behavior were evaluated using pre-post questionnaires. As a result of the program, dietary self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, gardening knowledge, nutrition knowledge, vegetable preference, and vegetable consumption were significantly increased, and food neophobia was significantly decreased. In addition, there were positive correlations between most mediating factors. Thus, the garden-based integrated intervention developed in this study was effective in improving children’s eating behavior for vegetables. Full article

Socio-economic viability of urban agriculture (UA) is, especially regarding non-commercially oriented initiatives, at most a generically treated issue in scientific literature. Given a lack of data on yields, labor input, or saved expenditures, only a few studies have described it either from a cost-avoidance or a specific benefit generation perspective. Our hypothesis is that hybrid roles of consumers and producers in urban agriculture challenge the appraisal of socio-economic viability. This paper presents an empirical study from three prevalent urban agriculture models: self-harvesting gardens, intercultural gardens, and community gardens, combining qualitative and quantitative survey data. A multi-value qualitative comparative analysis was applied to grasp the perception of socio-economic viability and its success factors. This allowed us to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for economic and social success. Results give an indication of the existence of different value systems and cost–benefit considerations in different urban agriculture models. A service-focused business relationship between farmers and consumers ensuring self-reliance is important for success for self-harvesting gardens, while self-reliance and sharing components are relevant for intercultural gardens. Community gardening builds upon self-governance ambitions and a rather individually determined success and failure factor pattern beyond explicit production output orientation. It is shown here for the first time with a quantitative approach that participants of urban agriculture models seem to go beyond traditional trade-off considerations and rather adopt a post-productive perception, focusing more on benefits than costs. Full article

Development initiatives often cite Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) as fundamental to water governance reform or the broad process of decentralizing responsibilities for management, supply and delivery. But the label of “WUA” indicates little about those who take on these duties as association members, suggesting all who use water in pursuit of life or livelihood are eligible to participate and benefit through collective action. Grounded in the belief that participatory projects can equitably empower and distribute resources, the enthusiastic introduction of WUAs continues despite critique that anticipated outcomes are overstated. Since borders opened to neoliberal development institutions in the 1990s, WUAs have been created throughout post-Soviet Central Asia. Yet, there has been limited reflection on how associations’ design and operation interact with physical or social structures to effect resource access across diverse groups. Drawing on fieldwork in Tajikistan, I demonstrate how WUAs reproduce exclusionary outcomes by requiring members to possess farmland in turn threatening rural food security. Held by a minority, farmland dedicated to commercial production stands in contrast to ubiquitous kitchen gardens, where crops sown for self-consumption form a buffer against hunger in the wake of labor migration and income inconsistency. Households’ inability to become members undermines their claim to water and voice in decision-making, ultimately constraining access to irrigation and a robust harvest. Full article

Homegrown fruits and vegetables are gaining popularity in many metropolitan areas with several facets connected to the wider urban agriculture phenomenon. At the same time, the relationship between urban food production and irrigation water is pivotal in terms of resource management. In this paper, we investigated water savings through the collection and use of harvestable rainwater from buildings’ rooftops to irrigate 2631 fruits and vegetables gardens in the urban area of Rome (Italy). The methodology makes use of existing geospatial data and data derived from satellite image classification to estimate food gardens’ irrigation requirements and harvestable rainwater from nearby buildings’ rooftops. The comparison of the annual harvestable rainwater with irrigation needs allowed for computing the proportion of water self-sufficient gardens as well as the amount of gardens whose water needs might be partially fulfilled with rainwater. Statistics were produced by land use type (horticulture, mixed crops, olive groves, orchards, and vineyards) and under the hypothesis that irrigation systems with low and high field application efficiency might be employed. We found that 19% and 33% of the gardens could be water self-sufficient for the low and high irrigation efficiency scenario, respectively. The remaining gardens, by using the available rainwater, could satisfy 22% (low efficiency) and 44% (high efficiency) of the water needs resulting in a reduction in the use of conventional water sources. Full article