The current theme – June 2026

Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture initially emerged in response to certain countries facing severe import restrictions, forcing them to creatively convert urban areas into food production zones. Peri Urban Agriculture, meanwhile, has been existing in the peripheral zones surrounding urban spaces like cities and towns meeting the food requirements of the urban populace. Also, in certain geographies, community gardens in urban areas are providing healthy foods and citizen’s engagement.

Urban agriculture is fast emerging as a hobby for citizens believing in Growing and eating healthy/organic foods. These initiatives multiplied during COVID times when food movements were restricted. Urban agriculture has caught up with the imagination of the urbanites as a healthy hobby. New entrepreneurs are emerging to meet the diverse needs of these Garden enthusiasts in the cities. There are wonderful examples of enthusiastic individuals as well as groups and networks helping each other through digital connectivity.

We look forward to practical experiences related to the following: Peri urban agriculture initiatives with market linkages to towns; in Urban agriculture, use of terraces, backyards, front yards and balconies in the cities to grow diverse plants; urban collectives involved and supporting urban agriculture initiatives; Digital services related to urban agriculture; use of diverse growing media and their benefits and challenges to grow healthy plants; urban policies to encourage greening and urban landscaping; experiences of service providers as well the challenges involved; training and capacity building activities on urban agriculture; emergence of initiatives where urban population share workload of farming operations in the rural areas; Diverse vegetables production and their marketing through rural urban markets, haats and consumer linkages reducing food miles!

Articles for the June 2026 issue of LEISA India should be sent to the editors before 1st May 2026 to editors@amefound.org & leisaindia@yahoo.co.in

Guide to Authors

LEISA India publishes practical field experiences on sustainable agriculture. The magazine offers an opportunity for those working in agricultural development, particularly in diverse, risk-prone and resource-poor regions, to publish their field experiences and to read about the experiences of others. LEISA India is published four times a year, and each issue deals with a particular theme.

Guidelines

Articles should fit in the theme of the issue, for which it is being submitted. Kindly read the call for articles and check if the article fits well with the theme.
Articles should be practical field experiences. Articles which simply describe a technology or a process will not be encouraged for publication.
Explain any terms or ideas that may not be understood in every part of the world.
Acknowledge all sources and references used.
Explain any abbreviations used.

In order to present clear and accessible information, authors are recommended to describe:

The context – agro ecological, social and environmental
Challenges and the reasons for the approach taken to improve the situation
The initiatives – process and nature of initiatives
Time frames – when did this all happen
Changes/impact – physical, social, economical, ecological and cultural
Reasons why things worked out as they did. (We appreciate opinions / analysis / conclusions relevant to field level, as well as recommendations for policy makers).

Full editorial support is provided. As the articles go through a rigorous editorial process, authors are usually requested to provide additional information or clarifications.

Format

The length of the articles should be within 2500 words.
Articles should be submitted as a soft copy in Microsoft Word format.
Mention for which issue/theme is the article being submitted
Include no more than three references (any references should include at least year of publication, name of author, and publisher);
Provide a current contact address, at the bottom of the article itself. This will also be published in the magazine.
Include 2-6 photos, relevant to the article, providing suitable captions. Photos should be sent as separate image files. Image files should be of good resolution (file size should be a minimum of 500 kb). Provide photo credits, wherever applicable.

The editors reserve the right to decide whether or not to publish an article or contribution, after receipt of the first full draft. Articles that are accepted will be edited to LEISA India house style and shortened if necessary. Articles accepted for publication in LEISA India English edition may be chosen for translation and publication in any of the seven regional editions of LEISA India.