A comprehensive conceptualisation framework for assessing metropolitan peri-urban agriculture

Abstract

Peri-urban agriculture offers multiple benefits for food security, farm viability, environmental stewardship, and landscape and socio-cultural preservation. These are non-commodity outputs insufficiently acknowledged by the free market despite playing an essential role in agricultural development. The double vulnerability of peri-urban agriculture dictated by urban pressure and agricultural systemic changes has led to myopic policy interventions. To address this gap, we propose a comprehensive assessment framework integrating the concepts of multifunctional agriculture, resilience, climate-smart agriculture and alternative food networks to provide a unified evaluation. The framework comprises 21 enabling features across five dimensions derived from the core objectives of the building concepts. The primary purpose of the paper is to address the declining agricultural activity in peri-urban areas and pave a way for policy discussions. The objective is to deliver new insights into how peri-urban agriculture can be re-evaluated, ultimately informing policymakers on a range of issues leading to targeted strategies.