Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

The Exploration of Empowerment: Participation of Urban Agriculture Communities with Presence of Social Capital

Nur Shuhamin Nazuri, Nobaya Ahmad, Mohd Roslan Rosnon, Mohd Harifadilah Rosidi, Siti Nur Shuhada Nazuri, Sara Shakilla Mohd Salim, Razif Sazali, Mohamad Firdaus Ahmad, Siti Shazwani Ahmad Suhaimi

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v12-i1/11909

Open access

In Malaysia, Urban Agriculture program’s initiative has brought local communities together to grow their own food in designated areas and at the same time to empower the community (Bernama, 2020). According to Strzelecka et al (2017) participation is important in strengthening community empowerment. However, lack of participation among UA community resulted investment and initiative done by government to waste. This study aims to identify dimension of participation (planning, implementation and evaluation) level of Urban Agriculture (UA) program’s respondents towards economic and social empowerment independently, where their effect is design to be moderated by social capital consisting of bonding, bridging and linking. This study recorded majority of the respondents were male, aged between 41-60 years old, married and has obtained secondary school/vocational. Majority of them have family members between 5 to 12. Addition to that, relationship between participation, social capital towards empowerment among respondents were found to be insignificant. Hence, resulting social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) do not have moderator function on participation to empowerment.
Several recommendations for future studies were discussed. First, other new variable should be examined and future research will consider using qualitative methods to conduct in-depth discussions in order to identify any additional variables with the potential to influence empowerment of UA program’s respondents. Secondly, future studies should consider in looking factors effecting of weak networking social capital, and the aspects of strengthening participation of UA program’s respondents. Thirdly, other possible factors that possibly influence the empowerment of UA program’s respondents should be investigate. It is anticipated that findings can be used as a basis for the future research related to UA program in Malaysia.

Abbott, S. (2010). Social capital and health: The role of participation. Social Theory & Health, 8(1), 51-65.
Abdul-Hakim, R., Abdul-Razak, N. A., & Ismail, R. (2010). Does social capital reduce poverty? A case study of rural households in Terengganu, Malaysia. European Journal of Social Sciences, 14(4), 556-566.
Abdul Hamid. (2008). Islamic Microfinance: A Catalyst Towards Muslim Women Empowerment In Nigeria. Social Science Education Journal, 3 (1).
Asomani-Boateng, R. (2002). Urban cultivation in Accra: an examination of the nature, practices, problems, potentials and urban planning implications. Habitat International, 26(4), 591-607.
Ani, F., Ramlan, N., Suhaimy, K. A. M., Jaes, L., Damin, Z. A., Halim, H., & Ahmad,
S. (2018). Applying empowerment approach in community development. Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Sciences, 1, 1.
Babaei, H., Ahmad, N., & Gill, S. S. (2012). Bonding, bridging and linking social capital and empowerment among squatter settlements in Tehran, Iran. World Applied Sciences Journal, 17(1), 119-126.
Bridger, J. C., & Alter, T. R. (2006). Place, community development, and social capital. Community Development, 37(1), 5-18.
Brown, L. D. (2005). Making it sane: The participation benefits of consumer-run organizations. [Doctoral thesis, Wichita State University].
https://www.proquest.com/docview/305384983?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true
Burton, I., & Lim, B. (2005). Achieving adequate adaptation in agriculture. Climatic change, 70(1), 191-200.
Carolan, M. (2016). The sociology of food and agriculture. Routledge Press.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315670935
Chambers, R., & Conway, G. R. (1992). Sustainable rural livelihoods: Practical concepts for the 21st century (Working Paper No. 296). Institute for Development Studies.
Cofré-Bravo, G., Klerkx, L., & Engler, A. (2019). Combinations of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital for farm innovation: How farmers configure different support networks. Journal of Rural Studies, 69, 53-64.
Cohen, N., & Reynolds, K. (2014). Urban agriculture policy making in New York’s “New Political Spaces” strategizing for a participatory and representative system. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 34(2), 221-234.
Craig, G., & Mayo, M. (1995). Community empowerment: A reader in participation and development. Sociology Mind, 5(3), 38-50.
Danjuma, S. K., Malami, H. U., & Gatawa, N. M. (2011). Skill acquisition, capacity building and women economic empowerment: A case study of Women Education Center, Birnin Kebbi. Gender and Behaviour, 9(2), 3961-3978.
Davies, J., Hannah, C., Guido, Z., Zimmer, A., McCann, L., Battersby, J., & Evans, T. (2021). Barriers to urban agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food Policy, 103, 101999.
Department of Agriculture (2018). Program Pertanian Bandar 2018. http://www.doa.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/332
Ding, D., Liu, P., & Ravenscroft, N. (2018). The new urban agricultural geography of Shanghai. Geoforum, 90, 74-83.
Duchemin, E., Wegmuller, F., & Legault, A. M. (2008). Urban agriculture: multi-dimensional tools for social development in poor neighbourhoods. The Journal of Field Actions, 1, 200-217.
Egli, V., Oliver, M., & Tautolo, E. S. (2016). The development of a model of community garden benefits to wellbeing. Preventive Medicine Reports, 3, 348-352.
Eklinder-Frick, J., Eriksson, L. T., & Hallén, L. (2012). Effects of social capital on processes in a regional strategic network. Industrial Marketing Management, 41(5), 800-806.
Farrington, J., Carney, D., Ashley, C., & Turton, C. 1999. Sustainable livelihoods in practice: Early applications of concepts in rural areas. (Working Paper No. 42).
Getz, C. (2008). Social capital, organic agriculture, and sustainable livelihood security: Rethinking agrarian change in Mexico. Rural Sociology, 73(4), 555-579.
Gong, Y., Bull, G., & Baylis, K. (2010). Participation in the world's first clean development mechanism forest project: the role of property rights, social capital and contractual rules. Ecological Economics, 69(6), 1292-1302.
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2014) A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage Publication.
Hair, J. F., Celsi, M., Ortinau, D. J., & Bush, R. P. (2010). Essentials of marketing research. McGraw-Hill Press.
Hair, J. F., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19 (2), 139-152.
Haldane, V., Chuah, F. L., Srivastava, A., Singh, S. R., Koh, G. C., Seng, C. K., & Legido-Quigley, H. (2019). Community participation in health services development, implementation, and evaluation: A systematic review of empowerment, health, community, and process outcomes. PloS One, 14(5), e0216112.
Hara, Y., Yoshii, T., Tsujimura, K., Sampei, Y. (2016) Land use and land ownership characteristics of designated disaster evacuation farmland in Sakai city, Japan. Center Research Education Disaster.
Heenan, D. (2010). Social capital and older people in farming communities. Journal of Aging Studies, 24(1), 40-46.
Henseler, J., & Fassott, G. (2010). Testing moderating effects in PLS path models: An illustration of available procedures. Springer.
Hovorka, A. J. (2006). The (re) production of gendered positionality in Botswana's commercial urban agriculture sector. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 95(2), 294-313.
Ibrahim, M. B. (2016). Role of participation in decision making and social capital on sustainability of watershed usage among peri-urban agricultural farmers of Kwadon, Gombe State, Nigeria. [Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Putra Malaysia].
Kim, S. H. (2007). Media use, social capital, and civic participation in South Korea. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 84(3), 477-494.
Kumar, A. (2006). Self-help Groups, Women's Health and Empowerment: Global Thinking and Contextual Issues. Women's Health and Empowerment: Global Thinking and Contextual Issues (January 21, 2009). Journal of Development and Management Studies, 4(3), 2061-2079.
Kutiwa, S., Boon, E., & Devuyst, D. (2010). Urban agriculture in low income households of Harare: an adaptive response to economic crisis. Journal of Human Ecology, 32(2), 85-96.
Lim, J. H. (2010). Empowering Citizens'voices In The Era Of E-Government: Implications From South Korean Cases. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 5(7 (16), 19-31.
Lyndon, N., Razak, N., Azima, A. M., Junaidi, A. B., & Sivapalan, S. (2015). Empowerment of the bidayuh rural community oil palm smallholders: A case study in serian district, sarawak, Malaysia. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(4), 55-55.
Mackay, H. (2018). Mapping and characterising the urban agricultural landscape of two intermediate-sized Ghanaian cities. Land use policy, 70, 182-197.
Martin-Prevel, Y., & Traissac, P. (2012). Alternatives to principal components analysis to derive asset-based indices to measure socio-economic position in low-and middle-income countries: the case for multiple correspondence analysis. International journal of epidemiology, 41(4), 1207-1208.
Marks, S. J., & Davis, J. (2012). Does user participation lead to sense of ownership for rural water systems? Evidence from Kenya. World Development, 40(8), 1569-1576.
McDougall, R., Kristiansen, P., & Rader, R. (2019). Small-scale urban agriculture results in high yields but requires judicious management of inputs to achieve sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(1), 129-134.
Narayan, D., & Pritchett, L. (2000). Social capital: Evidence and implications. Social capital: A multifaceted perspective, 269-295.
Ndaeji, M. N. (2014). Participation in Self-help Groups and Empowerment among Rural Women in Niger State, Nigeria [Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Putra Malaysia]
Nemore, C. (1998). Rooted in community: community gardens in New York City. City Farmer. http://www.cityfarmer.org/NYcomgardens.html
Nikkhah, H. A., & Ma’rof R. (2009). Participation as a Medium of Empowerment in Community Development. European Journal of Social Sciences, 11(1) 170-176.
Oakley, P. (1989). Community Involvement in Health Development: An Examination of the Critical Issue. World Health Organization.
Orsini, F., Kahane, R., Nono-Womdim, R., & Gianquinto, G. (2013). Urban agriculture in the developing world: a review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 33(4), 695-720.
Othman, N., Latip, R. A., Ariffin, M. H., & Mohamed, N. (2017). Expectancy in urban farming engagement. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 2(6), 335-340.
Othman, N., Latip, R. A., & Ariffin, M. H. (2019). Motivations for sustaining urban farming participation. International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 15(1), 45-56.
Othman, N., Mohammad, S. Z., Abd Malek, N., & Razak, M. A. W. A. (2020). Deterrent Factors in Urban Farming Participation. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 5(13), 353-358.
Park, D. B., Nunkoo, R., & Yoon, Y. S. (2015). Rural residents’ attitudes to tourism and the moderating effects of social capital. Tourism Geographies, 17(1), 112-133.
Poulsen, M. N., McNab, P. R., Clayton, M. L., & Neff, R. A. (2015). A systematic review of urban agriculture and food security impacts in low-income countries. Food Policy, 55, 131-146.
Rahman, M. A., & Naoroze, K. (2007). Women empowerment through participation in aquaculture: Experience of a large-scale technology demonstration project in Bangladesh. Journal of Social Sciences, 3(4), 164-171.
Rakodi, C. (2002). A people-centred approach to reducing poverty. Earthscan.
Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of empowerment/exemplars of prevention: Toward a theory for community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15(2), 121-148.
Ramalingam, L., Sharifuddin, J., Ali, F., & Mohamed, Z. (2018). Community Garden Programme: An Analysis of Volunteers' Motivations and Age Groups. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 23, 48-53.
Ramalingam, L., Sharifuddin, J., Mohamed, Z. A., & Ali, F. (2019). Motivation and satisfaction of volunteers for community?based urban agriculture programmes. International Social Science Journal, 69(231), 49-62.
Ramaloo, P., Liong, C. Y., Siwar, C., & Isahak, A. (2018). Perception of Community Residents on Supporting Urban Agriculture in Malaysian City: Case Study at Bukit Mertajam. Jurnal Pengurusan, 53, 100-115
Rezai, G., Shamsudin, M. N., & Kit Teng, P. (2014). Public attitude toward urban agriculture in Malaysia: study on values and knowledge in Klang Valley. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 20, 35-48.
Rezai, G., Shamsudin, M. N., & Mohamed, Z. (2016). Urban agriculture: a way forward to food and nutrition security in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 216, 39-45.
Rilwanu, A. (2014). Participation, Social Capital and Empowerment among Members of Kankara Local Community Fadama User Groups in Katsina State, Nigeria [Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Putra Malaysia].
Rondhi, M., Pratiwi, P. A., Handini, V. T., Sunartomo, A. F., & Budiman, S. A. (2018). Agricultural land conversion, land economic value, and sustainable agriculture: A case study in East Java, Indonesia. Land, 7(4), 148.
Rust, N. A., Ptak, E., Graversgaard, M., Iversen, S., Reed, M. S., de Vries, J., & Dalgaard, T. (2020). Social capital factors affecting uptake of sustainable soil management practices: a literature review. Emerald Open Research, 2(8).
Samah, A. A., & Aref, F. (2009). People’s participation in community development: A case study in a planned village settlement in Malaysia. World Rural Observations, 1(2), 45-54.
Samah, A. A., & Ndaeji, M. N. (2012). Women participation in Self-Help development projects as an instrument for rural women empowerment in Nigeria. The Journal of American Science, 8(4), 763-771.
Shamsudin, M. N., Rezai, G., & Kit Teng, P. (2014). Public attitude toward urban agriculture in Malaysia: study on values and knowledge in Klang Valley. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 20(sup1), 35-48.
Sheikh, M. J., Redzuan, M. R., Samah, A. A., & Ahmad, N. (2015). Identifying sources of social capital among the farmers of the rural Sindh province of Pakistan. Agricultural Economics, 61(4), 189-195.
Shimpo, N., Wesener, A., & McWilliam, W. (2019). How community gardens may contribute to community resilience following an earthquake. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 38, 124-132.
Shirlow, P., & Murtagh, B. (2004) Capacity-building, representation and intracommunity conflict, Urban Studies, 41, 57–71.
Smith, S. S. (2005). “Don’t put my name on it”: Social capital activation and job- finding assistance among the black urban poor. American Journal of Sociology, 111(1), 1-57.
Specht, K., Siebert, R., Hartmann, I., Freisinger, U. B., Sawicka, M., Werner, A., & Dierich, A. (2014). Urban agriculture of the future: an overview of sustainability aspects of food production in and on buildings. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), 33-51.
Stewart, R., Korth, M., Langer, L., Rafferty, S., Da Silva, N. R., & van Rooyen, C. (2013). What are the impacts of urban agriculture programs on food security in low and middle-income countries? Environmental Evidence, 2(1), 1-13.
Straub, D., Boudreau, M. C., & Gefen, D. (2004). Validation guidelines for IS positivist research. Communications of the Association for Information systems, 13(1), 24.
Strzelecka, M., Boley, B. B., & Woosnam, K. M. (2017). Place attachment and empowerment: Do residents need to be attached to be empowered? Annals of Tourism Research, 66, 61-73.
Tajuddin, Z., Sum, S. M., Zainol, R. M., & Jusoh, H. (2019). Penentu Sosial Penglibatan Komuniti dalam Projek Kebun Komuniti Bandar. SARJANA, 34(1), 56- 68.
Turner, B. (2011). Embodied connections: sustainability, food systems and community gardens. Local Environment, 16(6), 509-522.
Viscogliosi, C., Asselin, H., Basile, S., Borwick, K., Couturier, Y., Drolet, M. J., & Levasseur, M. (2020). Importance of Indigenous elders’ contributions to individual and community wellness: results from a scoping review on social participation and intergenerational solidarity. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 111(5), 667-681.
Wilson, P. A. (1996). Empowerment: Community economic development from the inside out. Urban Studies, 33(4-5), 617-630.
Yokoyama, S., & Ishida, A. (2006). Social capital and community development: A review. Potential of social capital for community development.
Yusoff, N. H., Hussain, M. R. M., & Tukiman, I. (2017). Roles of community towards urban farming activities. Planning Malaysia, 15(1).
Zal, W. A., Ma’Rof Redzuan, A. A. S., & Hamsan, H. H. (2013). The exploration of social capital and its relation with economic empowerment of Orang Kuala in Johor, Malaysia. Pertanika Journal Social Sciences and Humanities, 21(4), 1275-1295
Zimmerman, M. A., & Rappaport, J. (1988). Citizen participation, perceived control, and psychological empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16(5), 725-750.

In-Text Citation: (Nazuri et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Nazuri, N. S., Ahmad, N., Rosnon, M. R., Rosidi, M. H., Nazuri, S. N. S., Salim, S. S. M., Sazali, R., Ahmad, M. F., & Suhaimi, S. S. A. (2022). The Exploration of Empowerment: Participation of Urban Agriculture Communities with Presence of Social Capital. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(1), 98–120.