Peri-urban Agriculture Research Articles

Landscape Change Analysis: Ecosystem Services in the Peri-urban Agriculture of Bangkok

Over the past decades, Bangkok peri-urban has been transformed from agricultural villages to urban development communities. Within the flat terrain and poor drainage characteristic of Chao Phraya Lower Floodplain, peri-urban agricultures are considered to be one of landscape patches and areas that creating and adding ecosystem services and values for mega urban areas. The significant loss of agricultural landscape of Bangkok peri-urban means that the loss of seasonal water retention areas, productive landscapes, as well as habitat for urban wildlife. This research classifies and analyzes landscape transformations especially agricultural landscape structures and functions of eight selective sites surrounded by the urban fringe of Bangkok. By tracing over the landscape change patterns backs form 1952 to 2018, the study areas include; 1) Rangsit Klong Sam and Klong Si, Pathumthani 2) Bang Kradi, Patumthani, 3) Lum Lukka Klong Hok Wa, Patumthani, 4) Klong Chorakea Noi and Klong Lat Krabang, Bangkok, 5) Bang Pla, Samut Prakarn, 6) Kok Kham, Samutsakorn, 7) Tha Mai, Samutsakorn, and 8) Klong Mahasawat, Nakorn Pathom. It is also critical linking and discussing on the ecosystem functions and services toward sustainable landscape management. This paper concludes the research gap between the lack of policies to practices for promoting the ecosystem services linking to the preserving and focusing on peri-urban agriculture landscape of Bangkok.

Typology of Peri-urban Agricultural Farms in Tahoua Reguoin, Niger Republic

This article presents a typology of peri-urban farms in Tahoua region in Niger. It concerns also peri-urban households distributed according to the agro-ecological zones of this region. The results were obtained investigations carried out in five villages with 21 heads of household per village, which gives 105 heads of households located in urban communes of the Tahoua region. From the analysis of the results, the issues of urbanization in the rural sector, marital status, level of education, the capacity of granaries, the different food productions, the workforce and the composition in TBU per peri-urban areas emerge and agroecological. The Study will establish a diagnosis of these areas present around the secondary cities of Tahoua. The tests of normality and equality of variances allowed us to establish an ANOVA between peri-urban agro-ecological zones.

‘I lost my job suddenly, but I was prepared’: the significance of urban and peri-urban agriculture in Benin City, Nigeria

ABSTRACT In the rapidly growing cities of the Global South, and Africa in particular, urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is increasingly recognized as a survival strategy both by researchers and international development organizations. While UPA is well researched, direct links to economic crisis and class variations in participation have only received limited attention in the Nigerian context. This study focuses on Benin City, the second largest city in Nigeria’s southern oil producing region, where repeated and unpredictable fluctuations in oil prices have significant implications for livelihoods. The paper discusses the results of field-based data collected using qualitative research methods (observation, in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys) in Benin City, Southern Nigeria, where there is a dearth of published material on the practice of UPA . The paper reveals that in the context of unpredictable and frequent exposures to economic shocks, households at all socio-economic levels depend significantly on food production activities, not only for their immediate survival, but as a means of reducing household vulnerability and building resilience against future shocks.

Insights into the diversity of cow milk production systems on the fringes of coastal cities in West Africa: A case study from Benin

In sub-Saharan Africa, rapid population growth, urbanization, increasing incomes, and changing dietary preferences are the main drivers of the rising demand for livestock products, especially fresh milk and derived products. To meet this demand, there is an increasing number of dairy cattle farms in the densely populated coastal zone of Benin, where the country's largest city and commercial capital Cotonou is located. To identify and characterize the peri-urban dairy production systems in this region, 190 cattle keepers were surveyed, using the snowball sampling method, in four municipalities neighboring Cotonou. Information on their socio-economic characteristics, cattle herd sizes, and herd management practices were collected through questionnaire-based face-to-face interviews. Factor analysis of mixed data followed by hierarchical clustering on principal components, implemented in R statistical software, were applied to classify the surveyed farms into homogeneous groups. Results revealed six types of peri-urban dairy cattle farms differing mainly in their cows' breeds, herd sizes, and daily amount of milk produced. Most herds (88%) were owned by urban dwellers, mainly civil servants and traders, who entrusted the management of their cattle to hired professional herders. Irrespective of farm type, cows were of local taurine (65%) or Sahelian zebu (35%) breeds and were exclusively fed on communal natural pasture. Mineral supplementation was provided to the animals on 42% of farms, with significant variation across farm types. About 45% of the farms integrated cattle production with other agricultural activities, including coconut plantations (22%), where cow manure was used as fertilizer. The herd structure was similar across farm types, with average proportions of cows and heifers ranging from 37.6 to 47.5% and from 13.1 to 19.7%, respectively. With significant differences across farm types, the produced milk was either transformed into traditional cheese (32% of farms) or sold raw (85%). Milk and cheese sales represented 84% of the total farm income for three out of the six farm types. In the current context of rapid urbanization, communal grazing lands alone cannot provide sufficient feed to support increased milk production. In addition to improved feeding strategies, herd structure should be balanced in terms of the ratio between milk-producing and non-producing animals.

Modeling drivers of farming system trajectories in Mediterranean peri-urban regions: Two case studies in Avignon (France) and Pisa (Italy)

CONTEXTMediterranean peri-urban regions have changed considerably in recent decades, leading to different farming system trajectories. The high level of heterogeneity and complexity of these areas are particularly challenging in terms of understanding the ongoing processes and their drivers, including the effects of spatial interactions, in order to make an initial assessment of the possible levers for territorial management. OBJECTIVEWe aim to show a new modeling approach to assess the factors explaining farming system trajectories on Mediterranean peri-urban areas, including an analysis of the spillover from neighboring areas, which is often neglected in these kinds of methods. The model was tested in two urban regions, located in Pisa (Italy) and Avignon (France), leading to very different perspectives, given the differences in terms of farming systems and environmental characteristics. Our model also highlights the factors acting on peri-urban farming system trajectories. METHODSWe first analyzed the farming systems characteristics and their trajectories, based on a land parcel identification system database and agricultural census. Then, we estimated explanatory factors at the farm level applying a spatially explicit model which takes into spatial autocorrelations into account: a Spatial Autoregressive Probit model. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur results provide new evidence supporting the hypothesis that peri-urban farming systems trajectories are influenced by other variables than the distance to the city center and the urbanization processes. Although urban sprawl characterizes medium-sized regions, this factor is not relevant on farming systems trajectories in the region of Pisa, where structural agro-pedoclimatic drivers contribute more significantly to the probability of change and, therefore, highlighting the greater stability of these farming systems. The region of Avignon reveals different aspects: a dense road infrastructure and favorable environmental conditions (availability of irrigation water during warm periods, adequate temperatures in winter, deep soils) increase the probability of intensification within the farming system. SIGNIFICANCEOur methodological approach, which is based on a spatial probit model, measures the effect of the spatial dependence of the dependent variables. In addition, the preliminary classification in terms of farming systems improves our understanding of the land trajectories. The results obtained provide new insights into the processes underway in Mediterranean peri-urban areas.

Climate change and its impact on urban agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa: A literature review

Abstract Recent surveys have shown that the global urban population is increasing at an accelerated rate. As a result, the associated increased demand for food items has pushed up the overall cost of living for urban dwellers. To mitigate this increased cost of living urban dwellers increasingly find solace in agricultural activities. This surge in urban agricultural activities comes at a time characterized by long term shifts in temperatures, rainfall patterns and general weather conditions. While many researchers have presented evidence of increased urban agricultural activities, there remains a paucity of integrated literature that summarizes climate change issues on urban agriculture. This research reviewed literature on the influence of climate change on urban agricultural operations in sub-Saharan African cities. A narrative review approach was employed to summarize and synthesize findings and make recommendations for future research. The review employed the key terms ‘urban farming’, ‘urban agriculture’, ‘climate change’, ‘peri-urban agriculture’, and ‘urban agricultural production’ to search relevant literature indexed in databases: Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journals, Web of Science, Google Scholar and Academic Search (EBSCO). The choice of these keywords was informed by the authors’ specialist understanding of urban agriculture and climate change. There is consensus among the reviewed literature that climate change affects urban agriculture from production to processing, storage, and distribution. This study also established that the extent and magnitude of climate change impacts differ from one region to another. Therefore, adaptation and mitigation strategies ought to be context specific and not universally applicable. This is important because Africa is a climatologically diverse continent so that the impact of climate change faced by one sub-Saharan African city may be different from that for other cities in other regions. A framework that simplifies the effects of climate change on urban agriculture-dependent households in sub-Saharan Africa was produced. More specifically, this framework is recommended to those urban farmers and policymakers that are involved in mitigating the consequences of climate change as well as achieving food and nutritional security. The authors also recommend this framework for unpacking the knowledge of the influence of climate change on urban agriculture as well as exposing directions for future research. This work adds to the growing body of knowledge in the domain of climate change on urban agriculture-dependent households.

Future impacts of Urban and Peri-urban agriculture on carbon stock and land surface temperatures in India

Over the last two decades, cities in India have seen significant urban growth accompanied by green cover loss. Recently however, there has been a growing interest in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in these urban areas. The extent to which UPA mitigates the effects of urbanization is unclear. The present study aims to quantify the impact of UPA in the cities of Chennai and Bengaluru in India. Past trends of urban growth and green cover depletion are used to predict how urbanized Chennai and Bengaluru will be in the future, using CA Markov techniques on GIS data. A survey was then carried out to understand the general perception and growth trends pertaining to UPA. This survey data was then combined with our land use model to predict the growth of UPA in Chennai and Bengaluru in the future. These ‘future maps’ were then used to quantify the impact of UPA on biomass and land surface temperatures. We find that UPA can play a small, but not insignificant role in augmenting carbon stock and bringing down land surface temperatures and propose that urban development policies consciously include the role of UPA.

The nitrogen budget of an urban watershed: Zeekoevlei, Cape Town

Urban watersheds receive excessively high Nitrogen (N) loads predominantly via N deposition, fertilizer use, stormwater runoff, treated effluent discharge and sewage leaks. Beyond engineered solutions, the capacity of these systems to remove this excess N is largely dependent upon the functioning of riparian and wetland ecosystems, which in urban areas are highly modified, fragmented and increasingly under pressure. Appropriate management of urban watersheds needs to consider N flux and process rates that occur within the urban landscape. This research provides a preliminary quantification of the relative magnitudes of N flux in the context of a small urban watershed comprising key features of cities in the Global South: a mosaic of informal and formal residential, peri-urban agriculture and stressed service delivery. For a watershed system of 88 km2, total N inputs amount to 2.82 Gg N yr−1, 78 % of which is in the form of household food. N outputs amount to 2.35 Gg N yr−1 with 86 % of that coming out of wastewater streams either as treated effluent or during the denitrification process. An estimated 0.17 Gg N yr−1 accumulates in the system as plant biomass, in groundwater, soils and landfill. The Zeekoevlei wetland system is hypothesised to remove 76 % of total N which drains off the urban landscape, indicating an important service provided to the City, in addition to other well documented ecosystem services. In this urban system, our estimates indicate N flux rates almost 3 times higher than what would be here naturally in a nutrient-deplete Fynbos system. This work daylights important monitoring and research needs in order to better understand the role of the urban landscape and wetland ecosystems in a highly human-mediated N cycle.

Grafting observation of tomatoes on potatoes for urban and peri-urban agriculture in North Wollo Sirinka

Pomato is a grafted plant developed by grafting tomato and potato with an objective to achieve both potato and tomato yield from a single plant for urban and peri- urban agriculture. In the study grafting between tomato and potato was done during october, 2018 at the screen house of Sirinka. 30 days old tomato seedlings were cleft grafted in a 20 days old potato seedling. Successful graft union was observed after two weeks of grafting. The grafted plants produced new branches and flowers. Mature fruits were ready to start harvest in about 110 days after grafting and harvesting was continuing up to 150 days. The result also showed that average fruits per plant in tomato were 18, average fruit weight 53 gram and an individual plant produce about 954 gram fruits. Edible potato tubers were ready to harvest at 120 days after grafting and yielding about 4-5 number of potato around 219.27 gram tuber from each plant (table 2). Though the experiment was conducted just as observation interest to show whether the graft succeeds or not. But after the completion of the study, it may be suggested that any home gardener, urban agriculture can practice this technique as an amazing satisfaction which may fulfill home requirement to some extend for both tomato and potato.

Microbial contamination in surface water and potential health risks for peri-urban farmers of the Bengal delta.

Ensuring safe irrigation practices is vital to sustaining food production in water-scarce delta areas. Bangladesh and many other developing countries discharge untreated wastewater into their surrounding surface water bodies, serving as the primary irrigation source. This indirect irrigation of wastewater is believed to pose threats to the farmers, consumers and market vendors and may also affect crop and soil quality. To assess the risk, peri-urban farmers who use surrounding water bodies of Khulna city, Bangladesh, for crop irrigation were selected for the study. The microbial and heavy metal concentrations were measured in water samples collected from various locations over different seasons. For heavy metals As, Co, Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb, concentrations were below the detection limit, whereas Al, Fe, Mn, Ti and Zn were present but below the FAO recommendation limit for safe irrigation. The mean concentrations of microbial parameters were above the thresholds of WHO guidelines for crop irrigation intended for human consumption. Significant temporal variations in Faecal Coliform, E. coli and Enterococcus concentrations in the water samples were observed. The annual risk of infection for farmers was determined using the screening-level Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA). The results indicated that the annual probability of infection with pathogenic E. coli in different seasons ranges between 5×10-3 to 5×10-2, above the WHO's acceptable threshold for annual risk of infection for safe water reuse in agriculture. During the farmers' survey, around 45% reported health-related issues and more than 26% reported suffering from water-borne diseases after getting in contact with polluted surface water. This illustrates the actuality of the risks in practice. To ensure safe irrigation, the health risks need to be reduced below the acceptable limits. Suggested technical measures include adequate treatment of wastewater before disposal into rivers and access to protective equipment for farmers. This should be complemented by raising awareness through education programs among farmers to reduce accidental ingestion.

Mapping direct N2O emissions from peri-urban agriculture: The case of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona

Mapping direct N2O emissions from peri-urban agriculture: The case of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona

Biofertilizer based on echinochloa pyramidalis (lam.), panicum maximum l., tithonia diversifolia (hemsel.) a. gray and cow dung, an alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers in urban and peri-urban agriculture in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

Rural agricultural production that feeds urban areas is supplemented by products from urban and peri-urban agriculture, which, to compensate for low yields, resort to practices that are not very environmentally friendly. The market belts of Brazzaville are no exception to these practices. Chemical fertilizers are used to raise production levels. The present study was undertaken to contribute to the mitigation of the excessive use of chemical fertilizers in these vegetable markets, through biofertilizers that could optimize crop yields. Two completely randomized blocks with six treatments each of E. pyramidalis, P. maximum, T. diversifolia and cow dung were set up. Each treatment had 30 plants in the first set-up and 81 plants in the second. The first set-up was first cultivated with Amaranthus hybridus L.. Mineral fertilizer NPK 15-15-15 and NPK 20-10-10 was used as control. Growth parameters of crown Height and Diameter were measured every seven days until harvest. The dry biomass was estimated with 35 plants per treatment and per replication for the second experimental design. Results obtained show case low overall mortality rates of about 1.1% for the first set-up and 2.05% for the second set-up. The variance analysis at the 5% threshold, during harvest, revealed a treatment impact on height (P<0.001), crown diameter (P<0.001) for both experimental designs, and total dry biomass (P<0.001). The combinations E. pyramidalis + T. diversifolia, E. pyramidalis + P. maximum + T. diversifolia + Cow dung and P. maximum + T. diversifolia were the best.

Exploring the attitudes and strategies of peri-urban vegetable growers in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile

Vegetable production is common in peri-urban agriculture where produce is sold in nearby towns, and the Santiago Metropolitan Region (SMR) in Chile is no exception. The objective of this article is to explore the productive, commercial and management strategies of small-scale vegetable growers at the SMR, their attitudes towards their activity, and to identify different profiles. We surveyed in person 170 farmers. The data was analyzed using descriptive and multivariate techniques. Results suggestthat different characteristics and strategies are concomitant to certain attitudes that vegetable growers hold towards key aspects such as innovation or willingness to associate.

Knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities among peri-urban livestock keepers in Barishal district, Bangladesh

Background: Bangladeshi farmers are not getting optimum outcomes from livestock farming due to various obstacles in farming, including a lack of modern technological and scientific knowledge. Therefore, this research was aimed at comprehending the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities among peri-urban livestock farmers in the Barishal district of Bangladesh. Methods: Data on the knowledge, perceptions, and practices of deworming and parasitic disease control activities of 207 peri-urban livestock farmers were collected randomly from different areas of the Barishal district. A pre-tested questionnaire was administered via a face-to-face interview between June 2020 and December 2020 to collect data. The frequencies were expressed in percentage (%) and the association between farmer’s education and knowledge of parasitic disease prevention, control, and deworming activities were evaluated by crosstab analysis in IBM SPSS software (version 25). Results: The study revealed that 27.5% of the farmers provided impure water to their animals. Almost 100.0% of farmers were found to wash their hands before and after contacting the animals. About 29.0% of farmers were not accustomed to cleaning the farms and excreta regularly. Only 18.8% of respondents permitted their animals to co-graze with other animals. Approximately 45% of participants used anthelmintics regularly, and 32.4% of participants were informed of the scheduled deworming practices for their animals. Surprisingly, 96.6% of respondents never participated in deworming and parasitic disease control training programs. However, 100% of farmers agreed that parasitic disease control is essential for profitable farming and increasing production. Conclusion: A large proportion of farmers rear their livestock without deworming practices, and they are not aware of helminthiasis control and prevention. Therefore, intensive extension work is needed to educate them on helminthiasis and deworming activities.

Farmers’ perceptions of major challenges to smallholder dairy farming in selected towns of Jimma Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia: possible influences, impacts, coping strategies and support required

Peri urban and urban small-scale dairy farming is playing a vital role in improving household income, nutrition, food security and employment for low income households in Ethiopia. However, it has been unable to meet the expected demand due to various production constraints. Thus, this study aimed to assess the farmers’ perception of major challenges of smallholder dairy production, possible causes, coping strategies and support needed in selected towns of Jimma Zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 52 randomly selected dairy farmers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to assess responses to questions in the survey. The results revealed that the main reason for dairy farming was milk production primarily for household consumption. Majority of respondents acquired their crossbred cows through purchases. The effect of demographic characteristics of respondents on herd size and milk yield showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). However, there was a tendency for male respondents with university education and retired to own larger herd size (9.33 ± 1.33 and 8.00 ± 4.00) and higher milk yield (8.67 ± 2.67 and 4.50 ± 3.50 L) per cow per day. Feed scarcity (weighted mean index value = 0.371), lack of land (x̄ = 0.311), diseases (x̄ = 0.077), lack of improved genotypes (x̄ = 0.061), lack of credit (x̄ = 0.058), low productivity (x̄ = 0.036), lack of or inefficient artificial insemination (x̄ = 0.034), low milk prices (x̄ = 0.025), labour shortages (x̄ = 0.023), and water scarcity (x̄ = 0.004) were perceived as the major challenges of dairy farming. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that proper planning and implementation of appropriate institutional, technical, and technological interventions in an integrated approach with multiple stakeholders and dairy farmers would be essential to overcome the identified constraints of dairy production and to improve food security of dairy farmers in the study area.

Incidence and Predictors of Calf Morbidity and Mortality From Birth to 6-Months of Age in Dairy Farms of Northwestern Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian government has initiatives for expanding the commercial and smallholder market-oriented urban and peri-urban dairy production systems to meet the demands for dairy products. However, there have been only limited on-farm studies on the health performance of commercial dairy breeds. The aim of this longitudinal study was to quantify the incidence and identify predictors of calf morbidity and mortality from birth to 6 months of age in urban and peri-urban dairy farms of Northwest Ethiopia. A total of 439 calves aged below 6 months from 174 dairy farms were included in the study. We collected data on 35 potential risk factors to determine their effect on calf morbidity and mortality in the area. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to summarize survival probability. The Cox proportional hazard regression model with shared frailty to account for unmeasured herd-specific heterogeneity was also used to identify and quantify factors associated with time to morbidity and mortality. Among 439 calves enrolled for 6 months of follow-up period, a total of 141 morbidities and 54 mortality events were recorded. This gives an overall morbidity and mortality incidence rates of 64 per 100-calf 6-months at risk (risk rate of 47.3%) and 19 per 100-calf 6-months at risk (risk rate of 17.9%), respectively. Diarrhea was the most frequent calf health problem with a risk rate of 25.2%. It was the cause of death for 33.3% of all the 54 calf deaths. Next to diarrhea, pneumonia ranked second with risk rate of 8.6% and was responsible for death of 12.9% of all the 54 calf deaths. Among 35 potential risk factors, calf age, vigor status at birth, calf breed, colostrum ingestion, and herd size were significant (p < 0.05) predictors of calf morbidity and mortality. The Cox-shared frailty model revealed that the herd frailty component had no significant effect on hazard estimates of the covariates of all-cause morbidity and mortality. This implies that the dairy herds participated in the study were homogeneous in the distribution of unmeasured random effects. In conclusion, the magnitude of calf morbidity and mortality was higher and above economically tolerable level in this study. This could impede the success of Ethiopia's dairy development initiative in general, and the livelihood of smallholder dairy producers in particular. Therefore, educating farmers aimed at mitigating the identified risk factors can reduce calf morbidity and mortality in the study areas.

Characterization of Wastewater Irrigated Soils of District Kota of Rajasthan

This study was conducted in Kota district for characterization of wastewater irrigated soils of Kota district of Rajasthan. In Kota, urban and peri urban agriculture fields depends on particularly during summer season. The water quality significantly varies according to varies conditions. A quarterly survey was conducted and different characteristics of wastewater and source of waste water irrigated soils were determined. The irrigation effects of wastewater on soil properties were observed. The observation of sand content, pH and dehydrogenase activity were decreased and the other properties like Porosity, EC, BOD, COD, OC, available-NPK, SO4, Cl and heavy metals viz. Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd, Pb and Cr were increased. Observation of the impact of waste water on soil properties were studied in comparison with the reference tube well water irrigated soils collected from ten source points in district urban site. A slight decrease was observed during monsoon, it might be due to dilution effect of monsoon. Highest values were observed in summer of all study sites. Some parameters found above as the prescribed permission limits of Indian standards. Present investigation aim to determine the irrigation effects of wastewater on soil EC, pH, available- NPK, dehydrogenase activity and micronutrient content of Kota district of Rajasthan in India.

Urban water as an alternative freshwater resource for matching irrigation demand in the Bengal delta

Rapid changes in climate patterns, population growth, urbanization, and rising economic activities have increased the pressure on the delta's freshwater availability. Bangladesh's coastal planes suffer from a shortage of good quality irrigation water, which is crucial for peri-urban agriculture and at the same time, a high volume of untreated wastewater is discharged into the surface water. This calls for a transition towards efficiently managing and (re)using available urban water resources for irrigation, which is addressed in this paper. A quantitative match between the irrigation demand and potential freshwater supply has been assessed considering different urban water generation scenarios. The FAO AquaCrop model has been used to calculate the irrigation water demand for Boro rice during the dry period. Results indicate that 7.4 million m3 of irrigation water is needed, whereas over 8.2 million m3 of urban water is being generated during the dry season. Simultaneously, mismatches between irrigation demand and alternative water supply mainly occurred in February and March, which could be resolved with water storage capacities. However, to make urban water reuse a reality, the water management policy needs to change to facilitate the construction of required infrastructures for collection, treatment, and storage. The proposed method helps realize the urban water's hidden potential to sustain agricultural activities in the delta areas.

Multiple evaluation of urban and peri-urban agriculture and its relation to spatial planning: The case of Prato territory (Italy)

• The study analyses contribution of urban and periurban agriculture (UPUA) to selected ecosystem services and food self-reliance. • Comparison between the current an agro-ecological scenario showed the increase of CO 2 storage, ecological connectivity and slight decrease of food provision. • Study revealed the importance of UPUA in reframing and re-embedding urban/rural interface. • Spatial planning policies and tools need to enhance the role of ES provided by UPUAs on an urban and peri-urban scale. • Scenario design methodology turned out as suitable to address and assess, at the proper scale, integration between land use planning, rural development and agroecological policies development. Urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPUA) can play a fundamental role in producing Ecosystem Services (ES) ES at the local level improving sustainability of urban / rural relations. Referring to the peri-urban areas surrounding Municipality of Prato (Tuscany - Italy), we assessed the potential of urban and peri-urban agricultural areas in providing some key ES: food supply, CO 2 storage and biodiversity / connectivity. We also analysed the planning tools operating in the area to foster the enhancement of the UPUA area within the planning processes. The study was conducted using the scenario method by comparing the current situation with an agroecological scenario and verifying the change in the delivery of these three ES. The results show an increase of CO 2 storage capacity and ecological connectivity with tolerable repercussions on food provision. Indeed, results highlights the potential of the UPUA in satisfying the food needs of almost 87.9% of the inhabitants of Prato for cereals and 27.9% for legumes whereas, in the agroecological scenario, these produce decrease by about 23% and 11%. Finally, the study suggests the need to integrate governance and territorial planning tools to promote and enhance the role of ES provided by UPUAs on an urban and peri-urban scale.

Urban Expansion Impact on Peri-urban Farm Households Welfare in Metropolitan Cities of Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of urban expansion on welfare of peri-urban farmers in Metropolitan Cities of Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. A total of 430 sample households were selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Out of the total samples, 183 (42.56%) were displaced while 247 (57.44%) were non-displaced farm households. Propensity score matching model was used to estimate the impact of urban expansion on peri-urban farm households’ welfare. Outcome variable to estimate the impact was welfare of household which was measured by a combined asset index and household consumption expenditure per adult equivalent. The result of the average treatment effect on the treated revealed that the displaced farm households’ consumption expenditure per adult equivalent was reduced by 6688.03 Ethiopian Birr and a combined asset index of the displaced farm households’ diminished by 0.022 as result of urban induce expansion.