Dear Colleagues,

For the first time in history, the majority of mankind now resides in an urban environment, with that figure expected to reach two-thirds by 2050. Increasing rates of urbanisation are putting more pressure on water and land resources; influencing what foods we eat and where and when we eat them; the way our food is grown, processed, and delivered to consumers; and impacting on our health and nutrition.

While increasing urbanisation presents abundant opportunities for food producers, it also presents a number of significant challenges. Cities occupy only 3% of the land area and, yet, are responsible for 70% of global GDP, 60% of the energy consumed, 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 70% of global waste. With the demand for food generally exceeding the capacity of the adjacent agricultural region, cities are largely dependent on external food sources. With increasing imports, and while the diversity and range of food available to consumers increases, food chains become longer and, with that, cities become more susceptible to climate-induced food shortages, food price hikes, breakdowns in logistics, and failures in food safety management systems.

Furthermore, with increasing urbanisation, both as a result of urban migration and natural population increase, poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are shifting from being a rural problem to an urban problem. Today, more than one billion people reside in informal, low-income settlements, where diets are often deficient in terms of calories, diversity, and nutrients. As poor households spend scarce resources to buy more affordable, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor food with high levels of fat, sugar, and salt, the incidence of malnutrition and obesity are increasing, often within the same household.

It is also well understood that urban growth directly impacts on the increasing demand for natural resources. Urbanisation contributes to climatic change, modifying hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles, changing precipitation patterns, increasing pollution, and reducing biodiversity. Regrettably, the increasing demand for food is not climate neutral, with an estimated 20 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being generated by agriculture, forestry, and land use change. Agriculture and food production, while contributing directly to climate change, are also directly impacted by a changing climate, with yields projected to fall by as much as 7% as a consequence of global warming. Post production, the food system is thought to be responsible for another 6% of GHG emissions, arising from both the need for refrigeration to preserve food and the mounting cost of food waste.

Collectively, these issues have led to a renewed focus on food systems, their sustainability and resilience, the potential to create viable employment and livelihoods, and the ability to provide access to affordable, safe, and nutritious food. While a more systematic consideration of urban food systems will naturally focus attention on the downstream portions of food value chains, helping to enhance their productivity and competitiveness to improve both the efficiency and sustainability of urban food systems, significantly greater investments in wholesale marketing and distribution systems, food quality and safety, transport and logistics, and improved food waste management must occur in parallel.

This Special Issue of Agronomy invites manuscripts that holistically address the various challenges associated with: 

• enhancing productivity while minimizing environmental impact
• facilitating the adoption of biodiversity and alternative food production systems
• facilitating the inclusion for smallholder farmers
• minimising food waste

Prof. Dr. Peter J. Batt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• food marketing and infrastructure
• food safety
• food packaging, transport, and logistics
• regional or local food systems
• environmental sustainability
• fair trade and equity
• animal welfare
• social inclusiveness
• food security, nutrition, and health