Urban agriculture as a sustainable food system: Aligning nutrition, environment, and policy in Jinka Town, South Ethiopia

Urban agriculture (UA) is an increasingly important livelihood strategy in Ethiopian secondary towns; yet empirical evidence on its determinants remains scarce. This study investigates the factors influencing UA participation among 384 households in Jinka Town, South Ethiopia, using descriptive statistics and binary probit regression with marginal effects. Results reveal that access to inputs, family size, and land size significantly and positively affect the probability of UA participation at a p-value of 0.01, and access to information significantly and positively affects the probability of UA participation at a p-value of 0.05. Conversely, the age of the household significantly and negatively affects the probability of UA participation at a p-value of 0.01, while off-farm activities significantly and negatively affect the probability of UA participation at a p-value of 0.05. Gender, education, livestock holding, extension access, and credit access were not significant in the binary probit model. The findings highlight that UA in Jinka is labor-intensive and driven by input and information availability rather than formal credit or extension services. Policy interventions should prioritize input supply chains, information dissemination through Farmer Research Extension Groups, and youth-targeted land allocation programs to enhance urban food system sustainability.