Perceptions of Urban Farming Actors on Hydroponic-Based Agricultural Development within Urban Agrifood Systems
Keywords:
actor perceptions, food sustainability, household food, hydroponic cultivation, institutional support, market integration, urban agricultureAbstract
Urban farming is increasingly promoted as an adaptive response to food system challenges in rapidly urbanizing areas. This study analyzes the perceptions of urban farming actors toward hydroponic-based agricultural development within urban agrifood systems. A census-based survey was conducted among hydroponic practitioners participating in an urban farming program in Parepare City, Indonesia. Data were collected using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed descriptively to capture technical, economic, institutional, and market-related perception dimensions. The results show that hydroponic urban farming is perceived as technically feasible and well-suited to limited urban spaces, with positive contributions to household food provision. However, perceptions of income potential, market integration, and program continuity remain moderate, indicating structural constraints that limit wider agrifood system impacts. These findings suggest that hydroponic urban farming currently functions mainly as a complementary food production strategy rather than a fully commercial activity. The study highlights that long-term sustainability depends not only on technological adoption but also on sustained institutional support and stronger integration with urban food markets, emphasizing the need for system-oriented development approaches.
References
Abdelfatah, M. T., El-Arnaouty, S. M., & Zayan, A. A. (2024). Vertical farming: A key to sustainable compact cities. Mansoura Engineering Journal, 49(5), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.58491/2735-4202.3229
Aldilla, D., Nuddin, A., Yusriadi, & Suherman. (2024). Strategi pemberdayaan wanita tani penyangga ketahanan pangan perkotaan melalui program pekarangan pangan Lestari. Integrated and Sustainable Agriculture, 1(1), 1-11. https://journals.eduped.org/index.php/insagri/article/view/639
Al-Kodmany, K. (2024). The Vertical Farm: The Next-Generation Sustainable Urban Agriculture. In Sustainable Urban Agriculture (pp. 223-236). CRC Press.
Berti, G., & Mulligan, C. (2016). Competitiveness of small farms and innovative food supply chains: The role of food hubs in creating sustainable regional and local food systems. Sustainability, 8(7), 616. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8070616
Cabannes, Y. (2012). Financing urban agriculture. Environment and Urbanization, 24(2), 665-683. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247812456126
Charatsari, C., Lioutas, E. D., De Rosa, M., & Vecchio, Y. (2022). Technological innovation and agrifood systems resilience: The potential and perils of three different strategies. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 6, 872706. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.872706
Farhangi, M., Farhangi, S., van de Vlasakker, P. C., & Carsjens, G. J. (2021). The role of urban agriculture technologies in transformation toward participatory local urban planning in rafsanjan. Land, 10(8), 830. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080830
Fatmawati, F., Ammar, M., & Suherman, S. (2021). Eksplorasi Bakteri Pendegradasi Timbal Pada Tanah Tercemar Air Lindi dari Tempat Pemrosesan Akhir (TPA) Sampah Perkotaan. Journal Galung Tropika, 10(1), 119-125. https://doi.org/10.31850/jgt.v10i1.719
Gashgari, R., Alharbi, K., Mughrbil, K., Jan, A., & Glolam, A. (2018, August). Comparison between growing plants in hydroponic system and soil based system. In Proceedings of the 4th World Congress on Mechanical, Chemical, and Material Engineering (Vol. 18, pp. 1-7). Madrid, Spain: ICMIE. DOI: 10.11159/icmie18.131
Gernert, M., El Bilali, H., & Strassner, C. (2018). Grassroots initiatives as sustainability transition pioneers: implications and lessons for urban food systems. Urban Science, 2(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci2010023
Godfray, H. C. J., & Garnett, T. (2014). Food security and sustainable intensification. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society B: biological sciences, 369(1639). https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0273
Gren, Å., & Andersson, E. (2018). Being efficient and green by rethinking the urban-rural divide—Combining urban expansion and food production by integrating an ecosystem service perspective into urban planning. Sustainable cities and society, 40, 75-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.02.031
Gulyas, B. Z., & Edmondson, J. L. (2021). Increasing city resilience through urban agriculture: Challenges and solutions in the Global North. Sustainability, 13(3), 1465. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031465
Hamdaoui, H., Hamdi, I., Hsana, Y., AL Kaddouri, H., Kouddane, N. E., & Zarrouk, Y. (2024, May). Harnessing Hydroponic Innovation for Water Management and Plant Growth Optimization: A Comparative Study with Soil-Based Cultivation Method. In International Conference on Electronic Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems (pp. 499-507). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-0644-3_45
Hosseinifarhangi, M., Turvani, M. E., van Der Valk, A., & Carsjens, G. J. (2019). Technology-driven transition in urban food production practices: A case study of Shanghai. Sustainability, 11(21), 6070. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11216070
Ivascu, L., Frank Ahimaz, D., Arulanandam, B. V., & Tirian, G. O. (2021). The perception and degree of adoption by urbanites towards urban farming. Sustainability, 13(21), 12151. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112151
Kiran, Saikanth, D. R. K., Saikai, A. R., Chintey, R., Talukdar, N., Bahadur, R., & Vasuki, S. (2023). Smart agriculture: Technologies, practices, and future directions. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 13(12), 689-695. DOI: 10.9734/IJECC/2023/v13i123730
Lambin, E. F., & Meyfroidt, P. (2011). Global land use change, economic globalization, and the looming land scarcity. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 108(9), 3465-3472. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1100480108
Lin, B. B., & Fuller, R. A. (2013). Sharing or sparing? How should we grow the world's cities?. Journal of applied ecology, 50(5), 1161-1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12118
Naresh, R., Jadav, S. K., Singh, M., Patel, A., Singh, B., Beese, S., & Pandey, S. K. (2024). Role of hydroponics in improving water-use efficiency and food security. International Journal of Environment and Climate Change, 14(2), 608-633. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijecc/2024/v14i23976
Orsini, F., Kahane, R., Nono-Womdim, R., & Gianquinto, G. (2013). Urban agriculture in the developing world: a review. Agronomy for sustainable development, 33(4), 695-720. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-013-0143-z
Patel, J. B., & Raval, Z. (2024). The impacts of urbanization on ecological systems: a comprehensive study of the complex challenges arising from rapid urban growth. Research Review Journal of Indian Knowledge Systems, 1(1), 1-10. https://rrjiks.co.in/index.php/RRJIKS/article/view/4
Poulsen, M. N., McNab, P. R., Clayton, M. L., & Neff, R. A. (2015). A systematic review of urban agriculture and food security impacts in low-income countries. Food Policy, 55, 131-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.07.002
Preiss, P., Charão-Marques, F., & Wiskerke, J. S. (2017). Fostering sustainable urban-rural linkages through local food supply: A transnational analysis of collaborative food alliances. Sustainability, 9(7), 1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9071155
Reardon, T., Echeverria, R., Berdegué, J., Minten, B., Liverpool-Tasie, S., Tschirley, D., & Zilberman, D. (2019). Rapid transformation of food systems in developing regions: Highlighting the role of agricultural research & innovations. Agricultural systems, 172, 47-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.01.022
Reardon, T., Tschirley, D., Dolislager, M., Snyder, J., Hu, C., & White, S. (2014). Urbanization, diet change, and transformation of food supply chains in Asia. Michigan: Global Center for Food Systems Innovation, 46.
Schuster, M., Rincón, J., Koloffon, R., Serfilippi, E., Chimwaza, G., Porciello, J., & Savilaakso, S. (2024). Assessing the impact of agrifood systems interventions on resilience-a protocol for a rapid evidence assessment. agriRxiv, (2024), 20240338125. https://doi.org/10.31220/agriRxiv.2024.00264
Siegner, A., Sowerwine, J., & Acey, C. (2018). Does urban agriculture improve food security? Examining the nexus of food access and distribution of urban produced foods in the United States: A systematic review. Sustainability, 10(9), 2988. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10092988
Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., ... & Dierich, A. (2014). Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and human values, 31(1), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-013-9448-4
Thornton, A. (2017). “The Lucky country”? A critical exploration of community gardens and city–community relations in Australian cities. Local Environment, 22(8), 969-985. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2017.1317726
Xi, L., Zhang, M., Zhang, L., Lew, T. T., & Lam, Y. M. (2022). Novel materials for urban farming. Advanced Materials, 34(25), 2105009. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202105009
Zhang, Z., Xu, M., Fan, Y., Zhang, L., & Wang, H. (2024). Using microalgae to reduce the use of conventional fertilizers in hydroponics and soil-based cultivation. Science of the Total Environment, 912, 169424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169424
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Yusuf Bakri, Nurhapsa, Andi Erna Sri Wahyuningsih
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
