Analysis of livelihood opportunities of peri-urban horticulture in Nigeria: a case study of Minna, Niger State.

摘要

Although most pre-colonial urban centres in Nigeria developed as agricultural centres, their economic base has changed over the years since colonialism. While industrialization of the cities is still low, tertiarization of the economy has gradually replaced the traditional major occupation of farming. However, since the end of the 1990s a new trend has emerged in which urban residents seek complementary employment in relatively small agricultural activities within and around the urban centres. Economic necessity, scarce urban land resources and the large urban market associated with increasing urbanization have, among other factors, encouraged investment in horticulture. Horticulture is being practiced on residential plots, within neighborhoods and on the flood plains, but the attention of this study has focused on the flood plains at the peripheral areas of Minna, the capital of Niger State. These plains are found everywhere around the city and make both dry season and rainy season horticultural activities possible. The objectives of the study were to examine the flood plains as a resource for urban farming, to assess the livelihood activities associated with urban horticultural practices, to explore how the Niger State agricultural policy affects urban agriculture, to evaluate threats to urban agriculture as well as adaptation to these threats, and to make recommendations for sustainable urban horticulture practice in Nigeria.