Agricultural Crop Production in the Urban Community: Its Opportunities and Challenges

This quantitative study examined the opportunities and challenges in agricultural crop production within urban school communities, specifically Jalandoni Memorial National High School and Iloilo City National High School during the school year 2024-2025. Grounded in Republic Act No. 10618, the Rural Farm Schools Act, which promotes experiential agricultural education, the research applied a descriptive-correlational design involving 352 Grade 10 students enrolled in the Agricultural Crop Production specialization under the TLE curriculum.Data were gathered using a validated, researcher-made questionnaire anchored in legal frameworks and related literature. The instrument addressed student demographics, learning opportunities, and challenges in urban gardening. Statistical analysis employed non-parametric tools including frequency count, percentage, rank, chi-square tests, and Spearman’s rho.Findings showed that most respondents were male from lower-income families, with fathers working in manual labor and mothers having mid-level education. The learner developed practical skills, improved food access, environmental awareness, and community engagement as opportunities in urban gardening. However, they reported challenges related to limited space, inadequate skills, resource gaps, and weak support systems. Gardening opportunities were consistently rated across all demographic categories, while reported challenges varied by father’s occupation No statistical relationship was found between opportunities and challenges in agricultural crop production in the urban community. The study concludes that urban gardening provides educational value, though its collaborative and long-term potential is underrecognized. It recommends curriculum enhancements, inter-agency collaboration, resource mobilization, and active learner engagement to strengthen the sustainability of school-based urban agriculture.