Urban Agriculture for Environmental Sustainability: Perception of City Dwellers

Urban agriculture (UA) is the part and parcel of modern farming system which plays a pivotal role in underpinning food security for the global population. This study investigated the perception of city dwellers on the role of urban agricultural system for environmental sustainability. Data were collected from 200 randomly selected respondents from Bangladesh by face-to-face interview method utilizing structured questionnaire in 2024. Statistical analysis was performed employing statistical package for social science (SPSS), version 29. Findings reveal that the majority (34.5%) of respondents belonged to early adopter categories in adopting urban agricultural practices. It was also found that the most adopted urban farming practice is rooftop gardening (93.5%) followed by homestead gardens (80%), container gardens (66.5%) and so forth. Results explored that most (94.5%) of city dwellers perceived a medium to high role of UA on environmental sustainability. Conversely, reducing the cost of living (92.5%) was perceived as the most potential role of these interventions. However, innovativeness, training exposure, access to extension services, media contact, education, group membership, and access to market were identified as the potential factors in adoption of UA. Surprisingly, a significant portion (89%) of respondents confronted medium to high constraints in adopting this innovation. The outcomes explore the present scenario of urban agriculture to the concerned authorities, policymakers, researchers and city dwellers. Therefore, well-planned, and appropriate strategies such as awareness and motivational programs, capacity building initiatives, subsidies for innovations and integration of UA in city master plan can strengthen adoption of urban agricultural interventions.