Reading Room

Urban agriculture, farming, or gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. Although not predefined in an urban context, it has citizens, farmers, local communities, associations and companies as stakeholders and farming takes the form of backyard, roof-top and balcony gardening, community gardening in vacant lots and parks, and roadside urban fringe agriculture.

Background Resources Data and Statistics Glossaries and Encyclopedias News & Videos Blogs and photo essays Popular Writing by UPAGrI Team Open Access Books Working Papers Journal Articles Journals More Books
Background Resources

These resources will provide a broader context to urban agriculture--its definitions, scales and types of practices, and a ‘how-to’ guide for setting up your own urban garden.

Urban Agriculture: Definition, Presence, Potentials and Risks, and Policy Challenges Organic farming: Basic Principles and good practices Urban agriculture as a keystone contribution towards securing sustainable and healthy development for cities in the future Profitability and sustainability of urban and peri-urban agriculture The place of urban and peri-urban agriculture (Upa) in National Food Security Programmes
Data and Statistics
Food and agriculture data National Science Digital Library Krishikosh - Agriculture Repository of ICAR Bengaluru Urban District
Glossary and Encyclopedias

Keen to understand the vocabulary of urban farming? Here are some encyclopedias that are frequently used by urban agriculture researchers and practitioners to define key terms.

Sustainable agriculture Dictionary of Agroecology NAL Agricultural Thesaurus and Glossary FAO Term Portal [PDF] AGROVOC Multilingual Thesaurus
News & Videos
This rooftop garden will floor you for sure Singapore’s Bold Plan to Build the Farms of the Future Discover the future of Japanese farming by using artificial high-tech LEDs and through Hydroponics, or soilless cultivation Blooming with health: Herbal garden bolsters mindpower for school children
Blogs and photo essays

Students, the elderly, techies, government officials and many others are experimenting with innovative ways of urban farming in India, creating a positive impact on their environment. Here are some blogs, photo essays and open access books that’ll give you a glimpse into their journey and struggles with urban farming.

The Nature of Cities Better India - Urban agriculture Scroll.in Citizen Matters EPW Engage Eco Ideaz City farmer news Endlessly Green BeejPatra, PRC Edible Routes Edible Issues - Who feeds Bengaluru?
Popular writing by UPAGrI Team:
Growing green jobs: Can urban and peri-urban agricultural entrepreneurship generate livelihoods? Case examples from Pune and Bengaluru. Climate Change, Well-Being and Agriculture in Indian Cities. Quantifying the long-term environmental impacts of urban and peri-urban agriculture Cities are taking climate action Urban farming - just a hobby or a new sustainable lifestyle choice? - Insights from Bengaluru and Pune. Gift a Garden Mission. Why the growth of Urban Agriculture during the lockdown is a promising trend? Hidden Gardens of Bengaluru: Reimagining resilience through urban agriculture. Reimagining urban food systems after COVID-19 Building ‘backyards’ better - an approach for urban agriculture in India Produce of the city
Open Access Books

Urban Agriculture / Mohamed Samer

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India / Prabhu Pingali, Anaka Aiyar, Mathew Abraham, Andaleeb Rahman

Integrating Food into Urban Planning / Edited by Yves Cabannes & Cecilia Marocchino

From Growing to Biology: Plants 1e / Gokhan Hacisalihoglu

Agrarian change and urbanization in Southern India - India Studies in Business and Economics / Seema Purushothaman and Sheetal Patil

Inclusive growth and the informal food sector in Bangalore, India

The State of Household Food Security in Bangalore, India

The Urban Food System of Bangalore, India

Working Papers
Future Agricultures Working Papers National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management Working Papers IWMI Working Papers
Journal Articles
When the “Field” Moves Online: Reflections on Virtual Data Collection during COVID-19. Future Impacts of Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture on Carbon Stock and Land Surface Cultivating sustainable and healthy cities: A Systematic Literature Review of the Outcomes of Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture. Sustainable Cities and Society.
Journals
Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems The Open Agriculture Journal The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems Sustainability Nature Sustainability Environment & Urbanization Ecology and Society World Development Food Policy
More Books
Grow a garden : sowing, growing and harvesting tips / Manorama Joshi & Sunita Rao My Pumpkin roof : how to grow your own urban food garden / Malvika Pathak Urban sanctuaries : peaceful havens for the city gardener / Stephen Anderton Urban forests, trees, and greenspace : a political ecology perspective / L. Anders Sandberg, Adrina Bardekjian, and Sadia Butt Green infrastructure : incorporating plants and enhancing biodiversity in buildings and urban environments / John W. Dover A historical dictionary of Indian food / Achaya, K. T Garden plants : flowers & trees in India / Premananda Das, Rupinder & Reeta Khullar Flowering trees of Bangalore / S. Karthikeyan Feasts and fasts : a history of food in India / Colleen Taylor Sen First food : culture of taste / Edited by Sunita Narain First food : a taste of India's biodiversity / editorial direction Sunita Narain