Urban agriculture: local government stakeholders’ perspectives and informational needs

Abstract

In many US states, the power to regulate urban agriculture (UA) rests in local governments. Although there has been increased interest in UA, some local governments have been slow to adopt policies or ordinances to foster food production in urban areas or have actively sought to limit UA in their municipalities. To learn more about the disconnect between resident interest and local government policy, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension and Center for Public Issues Education conducted a statewide survey of local government stakeholders (LGS) to assess their attitudes toward UA, subjective knowledge of UA, perceived benefits of and barriers to the implementation of UA and educational needs. Responses were collected using 5-point semantic differential and Likert-type scales. Overall, respondents displayed positive attitudes and moderate knowledge of UA, and they identified a number of benefits of and barriers to implementing UA in their communities. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that lack of basic knowledge about UA is one difficulty in fostering UA. Despite being positively disposed toward UA, LGS may not fully understand how to effectively develop and implement policies to foster UA. This finding may also help explain reluctance to adopt local government policies to support UA. Efforts to provide LGS key information and enhance their knowledge of UA may support the development of UA activities.

¿Qué es la agricultura urbana?

“…• Mercados de agricultores, agricultura apoyada por la comunidad (CSA) o camiones móviles de productos agrícolas (Campbell & Rampold, 2021) En el cuadro 1 se enumeran las definiciones de los tipos de agricultura urbana.…”

Beneficios socio-comunitarios y limitaciones de la agricultura urbana

“…• Mercados de agricultores, agricultura apoyada por la comunidad (CSA) o camiones móviles de productos agrícolas (Campbell & Rampold, 2021) Para obtener más información sobre los tipos de agricultura urbana, así como dónde se encuentran y qué productos producen comúnmente, consulte la publicación de Ask IFAS, "¿Qué es la Agricultura Urbana? "…”

The Effectiveness of the Implementation of the Urban Farming Program in Indonesia

“…Literature studies divide the sociocultural benefits of urban agriculture into four (four) components: community involvement, health and welfare, education, and the economy (Atmaja & Akagi, 2021). Furthermore, research (Pölling et al, 2017) shows that urban farming is more successful and sustainable in urban areas that are adapted to urban areas compared to urban areas that are not (Campbell & Rampold, 2021). This is because local government networks fail to provide information to the public about urban farming in Florida due to a lack of basic knowledge and necessary coaching, as well as a lack of available resources.…”