Impact of urban farming technology on urban community in Malaysia

Urban farming roles and functions have evolved due to the revolution in health and nutrition intake by humans. Urban farming has been used as one of the food sources to beautify houses and at the same time to suit the needs of changing lifestyles. Factors such as urbanisation, urban poverty and limited agricultural land have become pushed factors for urban farming. Around 76% of the Malaysian population are estimated to live in urban areas. Among them are people in the Bottom 40 category, with a household income of less than RM4,360 per month. It is estimated that between 50% and 70% of their income is spent on food, which has led them to be categorised as ‘urban poor’. Urban farming is seen as an ideal approach to overcome this scenario. Therefore, this study was aimed at identifying the effectiveness of urban farming in reducing the cost of household expenses. A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches were carried out through the use of a questionnaire, focus group discussion (FGD) and face-to-face interviews. Four urban farming technologies, aquaponics, fertigation, hydroponics and vertical farming have been commonly used by the urban farming community. Out of these four, aquaponics has been the most popular because it is the most efficient of all the technologies. This study revealed that urban farming had benefited the urban community as well as create awareness through the supply of nutritious vegetables to households, improve the appearance of the housing compounds and reduced household expenses. There was a significant reduction of RM66 per month on average which signified a positive impact on reducing household expenses. Meanwhile, the factor analysis showed that respondents had focused on the advantages of the implementation of the urban agricultural approach.