Perceived benefits and constraints in urban farming practice during COVID-19

COVID-19 has a significant impact on supply chains and logistics, causing a severe threat in accessing fresh and nutritious food. Urban farming activities have the potency to contribute to fresh and nutritious food and reduce the cost of food consumption. This study objective is to emphasizing the critical role of urban farming during the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing a questionnaire, we descriptively present community members' characteristics practicing urban farming located in residential neighborhoods in the City of Yogyakarta. We also explore the perceived benefits and constraints of urban farming in the pandemic era. Most urban farmers favorably perceived the benefits of urban farming in the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily its psychological benefits. Another positive effect of urban farming perceived by the gardeners is its ability to enhance the accessibility of nutritional diets and food security. In general, most of the respondents find no barriers to obtaining inputs used to practice urban farming during the COVID-19 situation. Instead, the main constrain comes when the farmers need to host events and activities to engage the neighborhoods. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.