The potential role of farmer women’s groups as community-based urban farming in addressing the risk of stunting

This article explores the potential role of women’s farmer groups (KWT) as community-based urban farming (Kelompok Wanita Tani) in addressing the risk of stunting in children through an analysis of prerequisite factors: community participation in maintaining and managing urban farming, joint efforts to reduce stunting, strengthening social solidarity, and practices to prevent stunting risk. The intersectional issues of community participation/KWT, Urban Farming (UF), and stunting have not been widely examined in urban farming discourse, which is why this paper aims to fill that gap. The study, conducted in Bandung, West Java, and Denpasar, Bali, between 2023 and 2024, employed a qualitative approach for collecting field data. The findings suggest that urban farming has the potential to contribute to reducing stunting risk by providing a portion of its harvest, including vegetables and catfish. Community-based urban farming plays a crucial role in this effort, particularly through the involvement of KWT, which grows vegetables, raises catfish, and processes these products into highly nutritious food for pregnant women and toddlers. By outlining these four prerequisite factors, the relationship between UF, KWT, and stunting can be shown more clearly qualitatively.