Issues

* The use of waste water for irrigation without careful treatment and monitoring can result in the spread of diseases among the population.

* Cultivation on contaminated land also represents a health hazard for the consumers.

* The practice of cultivating along roadsides facilitates the distribution of products to local markets, but it is also a risky practice since it exposes food to car pollution.

* Agriculture and urbanization are considered to be incompatible activities, competing for the access and use of limited land. In reality, in urban areas there is important available space for agriculture use such as public and private vacant lots, and areas not suited for built-up uses (steep slopes and flood plains).

* Legal restrictions and economic impediments to accessing land and resources (such as reasonably priced water) are among the most common problems confronted by urban agriculture.

* Lack of security of tenure also acts as a preventive for farming due to the uncertainty in the use length of the land.

* Urban agriculture has been criticized by those who believe that industrial farm production can produce food at larger volumes more efficiently.