Perceptions of Arkansas Agriculture County Extension Agents Toward Urban Agriculture

As interest in local food development and urban agriculture increases, the Cooperative Extension Service is challenged to serve local and urban food communities in Arkansas. Urban farmers in Arkansas have differing motivations for operation than those in production agriculture, so understanding agricultural county agents’ perceptions of urban farmers is critical for program development and implementation in this sector and to bridge any gaps between Extension and urban producers. This study was conducted to determine the perceptions of, awareness of, ability to assist with, and barriers to working with urban farmers in Arkansas. An emailed instrument was sent to Arkansas staff chairs and agricultural county agents and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 57 agents participated in the survey. Responses from agents in more populous regions of Arkansas were comparatively analyzed to those from less populous regions. Results indicated agents infrequently interacted with urban farmers in their counties, yet believed Extension was a valuable resource for urban farmers and that more resources should be allocated to developing urban farming programming. Respondents also self-identified as having low levels of personal knowledge relating to urban agriculture, with 72% of respondents indicating they were not knowledgeable or slightly knowledgeable about urban agriculture. There was a significant difference between the responses of agents in more populous counties and those in less populous counties. Future research aims to conduct a similar survey relating to local food in Arkansas, not just urban agriculture.