Sustainable and Safe Use of Wastewater for Food Production in Peri-urban Areas of Karnataka, India

Author(s):  
Girija Ramakrishna ◽  
Matti Hanisch
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Lael E Walsh ◽  
Bethan R Mead ◽  
Charlotte A Hardman ◽  
Daniel Evans ◽  
Lingxuan Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract As urban areas and land-use constraints grow, there is increasing interest in utilizing urban spaces for food production. Several studies have uncovered significant potential for urban growing to supplement production of fruit and vegetables, focusing on one or two cities as case studies, whilst others have assessed the global scale potential. Here, we provide a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces, which is a relevant scale for agri-food and urban development policy making using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. Urban green spaces available for horticultural production across GB are identified and potential yields quantified based on three production options. The distribution of urban green spaces within 26 urban towns and cities across GB are then examined to understand the productive potential compared to their total extent and populations. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8x greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or >400% if exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded. Most urban green spaces nationally are found to fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. By examining towns and cities across GB in further detail, we find that the area of green space does not vary greatly between urban conurbations of different sizes, and all are found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population. This study highlights that national policies can be suitably developed to support urban agriculture and that making use of urban green spaces for food production could help to enhance the resilience of the national-scale food system to shocks in import pathways, or disruptions to domestic production and distribution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Mizanoor Rahman ◽  
Khan Shahidul Huque ◽  
Nani Gopal Das ◽  
Md Yousuf Ali Khan

The study was conducted with the objectives to determine the market availability of animal sourced foods (ASF) and fish, and their share in the supply of biomass and protein through visiting the wet markets of metropolitan and municipality areas of Rajshahi district, Bangladesh. A preset questionnaire was used for recording the biomass weight of different ASF and fish in every four days interval in March, 2016. It was found that the supply of ASF (beef, chevon, chicken and egg) and fish in the metropolitan markets (80.20 and 35.89 t/d, respectively) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than any municipality wet market in the district (7.66 and 3.03 t/d, respectively). The market supply of biomass and its protein value of ASF were 3.64 and 4.33 times higher than fish. The chicken shared the highest amount of protein (28.19 %) followed by fish (26.8%), beef (26.21%), eggs (11.46%) and chevon (7.34%) during the study period. However, this initial work does not include milk, and the wet market of ASF and fish may have seasonal variations which needs to be explored through further research. In addition to them, socioeconomic status of consumers and regional variations are important which needs to be studied for addressing resource base safe food production help the strategic reduction of food insecurity in the country by 2030.Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.4(1): 29-36, April 2017


2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnes Andersson

ABSTRACTThis article explores the phenomenon of in-kind remittances of maize and its implications for rural household livelihoods and food consumption. Interviews with a sample of 391 households in eight villages in Malawi are used to substantiate the discussion. Explanations for in-kind remittances are sought in the micro-level interaction between the formal market realm, informalised exchange systems and the household. Remittances are not connected to lower commercialisation levels, suggesting that the explanation for remittances should be sought in the production and consumption patterns of the households. Remittances function as an important redistributive mechanism for food across space. The role of smallholder food production for urban livelihoods as well as the subsistence responsibilities of rural households are underestimated if agrarian household level linkages from rural to urban areas are not recognised in national production and consumption surveys and among policy makers.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Edmund Abaka ◽  
Kwaku Obosu-Mensah

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 672-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenin Treftz ◽  
Stanley T. Omaye

Purpose The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide readers a foundation of understanding whereby future research can move forward in the quest for global sustainable food production. Design/methodology/approach This review includes up-to-date information from evidence-based sources on hydroponics. Topics included are advantages, limitations, nutritional quality and sensory quality Findings Hydroponic growing systems offer the opportunity to at least augment traditional soil-based growing systems in global food production. Some benefits of hydroponic growing systems are limitation of water waste (recirculation), crops grown in controlled environments (control of pests, nutrients and attributes required for optimal plant growth) and ability to manipulate conditions to maximize production in limited space (vertical gardens). Practical implications The human population is increasing with a parallel increase in the demand for food; therefore, food production must increase to meet the need. Originality/value In spite of the rapid interest and proliferation of information by laypeople, evidence-based research is scant on hydroponics. This article provides a summary of the literature on hydroponics and how it may be used for sustainable food production in arid and urban areas.


Agriculture ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flavio Lupia ◽  
Valerio Baiocchi ◽  
Keti Lelo ◽  
Giuseppe Pulighe

Author(s):  
Bongiwe Mcata

Programs like Siyazondla Homestead Gardens, Siyakhula and Massive Food Production Program were introduced by the provincial government of the Eastern Cape province with the aim of improving household food production, nutrition and food security. However, full ownership of food gardens by households has been a challenge. Thus, this paper investigates the factors influencing the ownership of home gardens by Alice Town households. Households in Alice Town, Eastern Cape province were purposively selected for data collection, and a structured questionnaire was employed. A binary logistic regression model was adopted to determine the factors that influence food gardens ownership among the sampled households. Results show that three variables that influenced food gardens ownership were location, land access and education level. These variables had a significance level of 5%. The paper concludes that having access to food gardens by city dwellers can help improve their food security status. However, owning a garden is a challenge due to the variables highlighted. Thus, it is important to promote associations in urban areas and provide training and workshops that can improve the productivity of home garden owners. This is how access to better nutrition and safe, rich and fresh vegetables can be achieved.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10076
Author(s):  
Karl-Johan Bergstrand ◽  
Håkan Asp ◽  
Malin Hultberg

Moving food production into the urban and peri-urban areas is one way of facilitating a closed-loop approach, integrating waste handling with food production in order to recirculate nutrients and at the same time reduce the use of mined and fossil resources in the production. Using anaerobic digestion as a way of converting urban wastes to an energy source (methane) and a nutrient-rich biodigestate with subsequent use as fertilizer for food production seems like a feasible approach. However, utilizing urban wastes in plant production systems implies some challenges, such as high salinity of the waste, imbalanced composition of nutrients, and abundance of less favorable forms of nitrogen. In a series of experiments, these problems were addressed. Vegetables (Pak Choi) were cultivated hydroponically in a controlled climate. Experiments included increased salinity, elevated levels of nitrite, and different concentrations of the biogas digestate-based nutrient solution, with mineral based solutions as controls. In general, the mineral controls yielded around 50% higher fresh biomass than the organic solutions. However, the quality of the produce with respect to content of secondary metabolites such as vitamins was enhanced when the plants were cultivated with organic nutrient solutions. Increasing the concentration of NaCl to 241 mg Cl L−1 did not negatively affect plant performance. Increasing the concentration of nitrite negatively affected plant growth, with reductions in biomass production by up to 50%. Given this well-functioning nitrification process that did not result in high nitrite concentrations, the use of anaerobic digestates seems feasible for hydroponic production of vegetables.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1585-1599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nicholls ◽  
Adrian Ely ◽  
Linda Birkin ◽  
Parthiba Basu ◽  
Dave Goulson

Abstract Food production depends upon the adequate provision of underpinning ecosystem services, such as pollination. Paradoxically, conventional farming practices are undermining these services and resulting in degraded soils, polluted waters, greenhouse gas emissions and massive loss of biodiversity including declines in pollinators. In essence, farming is undermining the ecosystem services it relies upon. Finding alternative more sustainable ways to meet growing food demands which simultaneously support biodiversity is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity. Here, we review the potential of urban and peri-urban agriculture to contribute to sustainable food production, using the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations General Assembly as a framework. We present new data from a case study of urban gardens and allotments in the city of Brighton and Hove, UK. Such urban and peri-urban landholdings tend to be small and labour-intensive, characterised by a high diversity of crops including perennials and annuals. Our data demonstrate that this type of agricultural system can be highly productive and that it has environmental and social advantages over industrial agriculture in that crops are usually produced using few synthetic inputs and are destined for local consumption. Overall, we conclude that food grown on small-scale areas in and near cities is making a significant contribution to feeding the world and that this type of agriculture is likely to be relatively favourable for some ecosystem services, such as supporting healthy soils. However, major knowledge gaps remain, for example with regard to productivity, economic and employment impacts, pesticide use and the implications for biodiversity.


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