SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE IN LAGOS METROPOLIS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR URBAN PLANNING

• Main Authors: Dauda Rotimi AWONIRAN, Omotayo Ben OLUGBAMILA, Emmanuel Olufemi OMISORE
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Universitatii din Oradea 2020-06-01
• Series: Analele Universităţii din Oradea: Seria Geografie
• Subjects: urban agriculture; conversion; change detection; food security
• Online Access: http://istgeorelint.uoradea.ro/Reviste/Anale/Art/2020-1/auog.301109-819.pdf

The study examined the practice of urban agriculture and changes in agricultural land use in the last three decades, and assess the implications of these changes for urban planning in Lagos Metropolis, a mega city in Sub-Saharan Africa. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from four Local Government Areas. Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image of 1986, Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image of 2000, Landsat 8 of 2016 as well as Google Earth image of 2015 was processed using ArcGIS 10.3.1, IDRISI and ERDAS Imagine 9.2 software. An inventory of the spatial extent, the rate of change and the pattern of conversion of urban farmlands to other land uses over the years in consideration were also carried out. Findings from the study showed that variation exists in the practice of urban agriculture among the sampled LGAs in terms of gender (χ2 = 33.108, p < 0.001), age distribution (χ2= 37.744, p < 0.001), marital status (χ2= 26.051, p < 0.002), level of education (χ2= 28.172, p < 0.001) and farming experience (χ2= 52.837, p < 0.001). Cultivated lands decreased by 28.70% between 1986 and 2000 and by 19.25% between 2000 and 2016. So also between 1986 and 2000, 89.48% of urban farmlands had been converted to other land uses, and also between 2000 and 2016, 75.64% had been converted to other land uses. The results of this study gives an indication that food security is under threat in Lagos Metropolis as the land available to urban farmers continue to shrink. The study therefore recommends a new planning approach that will accommodate sustainable urban agriculture.