Constraints to urban agriculture in southeast Nigeria

The global urban population is rapidly increasing, particularly in the Global South, with Nigeria experiencing a significant growth rate of 4.3% annually. This rapid urbanization poses challenges to urban food security. Urban agriculture (UA) is presented as a potential solution to sustain food supplies in urban areas. UA encompasses various activities, including crop and livestock production, processing, marketing, and distribution within urban settings. While UA offers multiple benefits such as food security, employment opportunities, and environmental advantages, its sustainability is threatened by several constraints. A major constraint is the loss of prime agricultural land due to urbanization and land-use change, particularly in the Global South where regulatory frameworks often don't favor agriculture. Other constraints include insecure land tenure, lack of access to credit and insurance, inadequate extension services, and input scarcity. This study focuses on southeast Nigeria, a region with a growing urban population and increasing interest in UA activities, to empirically investigate the constraints faced by urban farmers and provide policy recommendations to support sustainable UA development.

Existing literature highlights several constraints to urban agriculture globally. Urbanization-induced displacement of prime agricultural land is a frequent concern, particularly in the Global South where rapid urban growth leads to land-use changes that negatively affect UA sustainability. Insecure land tenure arrangements, due to poor regulatory frameworks, exacerbate this issue, as farmers lack the financial capacity to compete in the land market. Other studies emphasize challenges such as access to credit facilities, vulnerability to theft and crop damage, lack of agricultural insurance, inadequate extension services, input shortages (including water and equipment), poor soil quality, high costs of construction and animal feed, and insufficient access to services like timely insemination. Previous research in Nigeria and other regions has identified similar problems, such as a lack of information and extension assistance, labor shortages, marketing challenges, and economic and environmental hurdles. This study aims to extend the existing literature by focusing specifically on southeast Nigeria, a region where UA is growing and has formal policy recognition.

This study employed a multi-stage sampling technique to select 280 urban farmers from three states in southeast Nigeria (Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo). Purposive sampling initially selected the states based on data availability from Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) and Fadama III offices. Then, three urban settlements were randomly selected within each state. Finally, a proportional sample size was used to randomly select urban farmers from each settlement's list of registered farmers (totaling 931 farmers). Data were collected using a paper-based semi-structured questionnaire/interview schedule administered face-to-face between April and September 2018. The questionnaire included an exhaustive list of urban agro-enterprises and constraints identified from literature reviews, along with an additional variable – challenges from cattle invasion – to capture local realities. Constraints were rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages) were used to analyze data on agro-enterprises. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed using IBM SPSS version 22 and STATA version 15 to identify the major constraints, following procedures outlined by Otitoju and Enete (2016). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to group the constraining variables into factors and assess discriminant validity. The KMO measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity were conducted to assess the suitability of the data for PCA analysis. Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability were calculated to assess the reliability of the scales, while discriminant validity was evaluated by comparing average variance extracted (AVE) with squared correlations.

The study identified four main types of agro-enterprises engaged by the urban farmers: crop production, livestock production, agro-processing, and the supply of farming inputs. Maize was the most popular crop (75%), followed by cassava and vegetables. Poultry production was the dominant livestock enterprise (60%), followed by fish farming (25%). Cassava processing (66%) was the most prevalent agro-processing activity. The supply of cassava stems dominated input supply (60%). PCA revealed three major constraints to urban agriculture: 1) Socio-economic/environmental constraints: low household income, inadequate information, climate change, labor shortage, rapid population growth, land unaffordability, and high food prices; 2) Infrastructural constraints: capital-intensive technologies, cattle invasion, lack of labor-saving devices, poor feeder roads, crude implements, inadequate inputs, insufficient amenities (electricity and water), poor post-harvest technology, and poor market infrastructure; and 3) Institutional constraints: poor governance, low priority for urban farming, poor credit facilities, land grabbing, and weak extension services. The validation of PCA results showed satisfactory KMO values, significant Bartlett’s test of sphericity, and acceptable Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability scores for most factors, indicating good reliability and discriminant validity.

The findings highlight the complex interplay of socio-economic, infrastructural, and institutional factors that constrain UA in southeast Nigeria. The dominance of maize, cassava, and poultry reflects the farmers' adaptation to land scarcity and economic realities. The identified constraints are consistent with previous research but provide region-specific insights. The socio-economic constraints reflect the limitations of household resources and market dynamics. Infrastructural deficiencies hinder access to inputs, efficient production, and market access. Institutional factors underscore the need for supportive policies and effective extension services. The high prevalence of land grabbing highlights the urgent need for policies that secure land tenure for urban farmers. The study's findings suggest that UA in southeast Nigeria faces multiple, interconnected challenges requiring a multifaceted approach to address.

This study contributes empirical evidence on the constraints to urban agriculture in southeast Nigeria, identifying four major agro-enterprises and three key constraining factors. The findings suggest a need for proactive policies supporting UA, improved infrastructure, and enhanced institutional services. Future research could focus on replicating this study in other regions of Nigeria, examining gender differences in UA constraints, and analyzing the spatial dynamics of UA and land conversion using geospatial technologies.

The study's sample size, while significant, may not fully represent the diversity of urban farmers across all agro-ecological zones in southeast Nigeria. The inclusion of only registered farmers might exclude some unregistered operators. The study's cross-sectional design limits the assessment of temporal changes in the constraints. Future research could address these limitations by expanding sample size, including unregistered farmers, and adopting longitudinal study designs.