UTILIZATION OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN OSOGBO METROPOLIS OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Özet

Urban agriculture is fundamental to Nigeria's economy, as it addresses the pressing issues of food insecurity, rapid urbanization, and environmental degradation and promotes sustainable livelihoods, hence, this study assessed the utilization of urban agricultural practices in Osogbo metropolis. Specifically, it described the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, identified the urban farming practices in the study area, as well as the level of utilization of these practices and constraints facing utilization of urban agricultural practices. To accomplish the objectives of the study, data was collected with the aid of a well-structured interview schedule and snowballing was used to generate a sampling frame and, consequently, random sampling to obtain 83 respondents as the sample size. Data collected was analyzed using frequency counts, percentages and mean while Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) was used to test the hypothesis. Result revealed that Urban livestock is very popular in the study area, while Aquaponics and hydroponics attracted less attention. Women participated more in urban agricultural practices, as 60.2% of the respondents were female, also, respondents earned a substantial amount of money from urban agriculture.   Regulatory restriction, Initial investment cost and Limited space were the constraints facing the utilization of urban agricultural practices. There was significant relationship between annual income (r= 0.247, p= 0.024) and level of utilization of urban agricultural practices. The study concluded that many urban dwellers in Osogbo metropolis practiced urban agriculture, such as urban livestock and culinary gardens, but faced problems of regulatory restrictions, initial investment cost and limited space. The study recommends that, the extension services of Osun State Agricultural Development Programme should be extended to those practicing urban agriculture, this will go a long way in improving and sustaining households’ livelihoods.