A study on the benefits and intention to implement urban agriculture among urban dwellers: Case study in Southern Region of Malaysia

Abstract

In Malaysia, urban agriculture activity is getting popular, especially during the pandemic of Covid-19. As the pandemic struck, the economic situation in Malaysia faced a downturn. Rapid urbanization, slow income growth, and unstable food prices in the market are the major problem faced by urban dwellers nowadays. This study discussed the intention to implement among urban dwellers in the southern region of Malaysia and the benefits of urban agriculture that influence their intention. The study employs quantitative analysis and was based on the primary data collected via face-to-face and distributed google form in 5 urban areas in 3 states in the southern region of Malaysia. The total sample size was 214 urban dwellers. Intention level analysis, Correlation analysis, and exploratory factor analysis were used in the study to achieve the objectives. The study shows that the majority of the respondents have moderate to high intention levels. The results indicate a positive relationship between the benefits of urban agriculture and the implementation intention of urban dwellers at a 0.01 significant level. The results also indicate 3 factors that affect the intention to implement which are financial, social, and environmental.