ABSTRACT

Purpose : Understanding the context of urban agriculture in a rural state is critical for the success of and collaboration between local food actors and other organizations, such as the Cooperative Extension Service. This study aimed to determine a local definition of urban agriculture for Arkansas and investigated the context of urban agriculture in Arkansas.

Design/methodology : This study implemented snowball sampling for 16 qualitative interviews.

Findings : The Arkansas-specific definition evolved to small-scale, fewer than 10 acres, diversified, and sustainable farming within city limits that engages with the market, the community, or both. A concept that emerged from the data was a hesitation by participants to be defined only by the term ‘urban farmer’ rather than by other terms such as ‘producer’ or ‘market gardener’.

Theoretical implications : The Agro-Ecological Educator Theory provides three concepts (love, dialogical communication, and praxis) that guided the interview process with local food actors, this study expands current research into local food by determining a local definition of urban agriculture to help frame the scope of future Extension programming.

Practical implications : Extension personnel are encouraged to investigate the context of urban agriculture and local food systems in their states to frame the types of resources and technical assistance needed by these communities.

Originality/value : This paper demonstrates the importance of understanding state-specific contexts for urban agriculture and revealed new insights about urban farming in rural states.

摘要

目的 ：了解农村国家都市农业的背景对于当地食品参与者和其他组织（例如合作社推广服务）的成功与协作至关重要。这项研究旨在确定阿肯色州城市农业的本地定义，并调查阿肯色州城市农业的背景。

设计/方法 ：这项研究对16个定性访谈进行了雪球采样。

调查结果 ：阿肯色州的特定定义演变为小规模，不到10英亩，在城市范围内具有市场，社区或两者兼有的多样化且可持续的农业。数据中出现的一个概念是参与者的犹豫，只能由“城市农民”一词来定义，而不能由“生产者”或“市场园丁”等其他术语来定义。

理论意义 ：农业生态教育者理论提供了三个概念（爱情，对话交流和实践），这些概念指导了与当地食品参与者的访谈过程，该研究通过确定城市农业的本地定义来帮助构建框架，从而将当前的研究扩展到了本地食品中未来扩展编程的范围。

实际意义 ：鼓励推广人员调查所在州的都市农业和当地粮食系统的情况，以界定这些社区所需的资源类型和技术援助。

独创性/价值 ：本文证明了了解特定国家背景对都市农业的重要性，并揭示了农村国家关于都市农业的新见解。