Analysis of Importance of and Satisfaction with the Values and Major Achievements of Urban Agriculture

Abstract

Background and objective: Urban areas face various challenges due to overcrowding and unsustainable development. Asa potential solution, urban agriculture is gaining popularity. This study aims to provide basic data for improving theawareness and promoting urban agriculture. This is achieved by conducting an importance-performance analysis (IPA) onthe values and major achievements of urban agriculture. The analysis was conducted on experts involved in the formulationand implementation of urban agricultural policies and systems. Methods: For the final objective, 104 responses were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 25.0 (IBM Corp., USA). Reliability andfrequency were analyzed to ensure consistency of the survey tool and understand the demographic characteristics ofrespondents. Descriptive statistics, paired sample t-tests, and IPA matrix analysis were conducted to empirically analyzethe importance-satisfaction on values and major achievements of urban agriculture. Results: Both the importance of and satisfaction with the values of urban agriculture were highest in health functions,followed by social-cultural functions, environmental-ecological functions, and economic functions. In particular, it wasfound that awareness of health functions was high while that of economic functions was low, indicating that gradual effortswere needed to strengthen them. Next, for major achievements in urban agriculture, it was recommended to maintain andstrengthen education and publicity, gradually improve networks, and manage specialized models with minimal concentrationrather than excessive focus. Conclusion: The findings of this study, which explore expert perceptions toward values and major achievements of urbanagriculture, serve as a foundation for strategic planning to expand and advance urban agriculture. They offer valuableinsights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to promote sustainable urban development through effective urbanagricultural policies and systems.