Spatial analysis of urban agriculture in the utilization of open spaces in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Growing food in upper- and lower-income countries commands different connotations and dimensions. Urban agriculture (UA) is increasingly an essential urban fabric and a critical enabler of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 1 and 2. However, this study analyses the practice of UA in open spaces within the Ilorin metropolis. The study employed the use of primary and secondary data. Questionnaire administration, interview guide, digital cameras, UA survey form, and GPS all sufficed for the instrumentation of the study. The main findings showed that in Ilorin city, 14.34Ha (31.4 percent in the core) of land was dedicated to UA, which could at least help 1500 families escape poverty. Through Average Nearest Neighbour Analysis (ANNA), the spatial analysis revealed that UA sites were clustered and not randomly distributed. Secondly, this study affirmed through mean analysis that vegetables (3.09), maise (2.86), cassava (2.64), millet/sorghum (2.46), and yam (2.31) were the dominant food staples grown in Ilorin UA sites. Lastly, access to land, failed harvest due to pest/disease, price collapse, and adverse weather events were the leading challenges affecting the practice of UA in the Ilorin metropolis. The study then affirms the need for city-level integration of UA to recognise the rights of the urban poor and UA into the land-use plan within the Ilorin metropolis.

KEYWORDS:

• Food security
• open space
• urban agriculture
• urban growth
• urban poor

Acknowledgements

Thanks to colleagues and superiors at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria, for creating an enabling environment to discuss some dimensions the study should take and rigorously vetting the study. Also, a sincere appreciation goes to our ex-students in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Ilorin, in persons of Hassan Olojoku, Ibrahim Ridwan, Sofiu Adekunle, and Quadri Bello, who were our research assistants. Finally, heartfelt thanks to Rowland Olawale, who was a technical assistant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.