Examining the relationship between civic agriculture participation and civic engagement in South Texas

Authors

• Allison Kaika, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Dongkyu Kim, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
• William Donner, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
• Alexis Racelis, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
• Owen Temby, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-10-2026

Abstract

Civic agriculture is often credited with strengthening democratic life by encouraging civic and political engagement, yet this claim has scarcely been tested in socioeconomically marginalized regions. Using original survey data collected through a combination of random and purposive sampling, this study assesses that relationship in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, a majority-Hispanic agricultural region marked by high poverty and low civic participation. Phone and online surveys were administered in English and Spanish to reach both the general population and individuals involved in civic agriculture initiatives, yielding over 400 responses. We examine whether civic agriculture participation predicts greater community involvement, political activity, and perceived community cohesion after controlling for demographic and ideological traits. Hierarchical regression models show that civic agriculture participation is significantly associated with community involvement and political activity, but not with perceptions of community cohesion. These results suggest that while civic agriculture may not transform deeper perceptions of cohesion, it can support organizational and political engagement—even in regions facing structural barriers to participation. The findings offer cautious support for civic agriculture’s democratic potential beyond affluent or well-studied contexts.

Comments

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Recommended Citation

Kaika, Allison, Dongkyu Kim, William Donner, Alexis Racelis, and Owen Temby. "Examining the relationship between civic agriculture participation and civic engagement in South Texas." Agriculture and Human Values 43, no. 2 (2026): 109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-026-10913-6

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Agriculture and Human Values

DOI

10.1007/s10460-026-10913-6