2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Half of the population of developing countries lives in cities, higher (74%) in developed countries. Recently, urban agriculture has gained increasing attention of world communities for the household security of the urban poor and improved land use between urban and rural. However, increase in land prices and taxes, poor infrastructure, disruption of farming activity, pollutions, are a few problems result of extensive urban growth. In Asia, food availability is becoming critical in cosmopolitan areas where most of the urban growth has occurred. Uneven distribution of incomes, shrinking farmlands, inefficient distribution systems, low yields, and poverty have all contributed food supply and distribution for urban poor. Few Asian cities have been successful in providing foods, most cities in Asia have not paid attention to their prospective food-production or developed policies. Several Asian countries becoming economically strong and depending on imported foods. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia are few examples, whereas Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Thailand, still depend on domestic food production supply. Japan provide good lessons to other Asian countries where high economic growth, urbanization and advent of modern citizens are taking place correspondingly. A viable division of urban farming is urban horticulture, which has produced innovative systems like organic farming, organoponics and simplified soilless cultures due to malnutrition, the high cost of urban land and with the need of high water- and fertilizer-use efficiency. This presentation discusses benefits, limitations and factors affecting urban agriculture in selected cities and countries in Asia.