30. Assessment of Land Use Planning and Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Policy Implications on Agriculture

The world is facing problems of poor land, water, and waste products management. This has attracted the international, national, and local attentions. This chapter presents a comprehensive land use plan based on the past and present land use planning and management practices in Nigeria and highlights the challenges and implications on agricultural production. It is revealed that land transformation is a common phenomenon in Nigeria. The rising land costs and accessibility to urban land has become a serious issue affecting agricultural production with over 70% of the citizens living on less than US$1 a day. The land use management has been wholly concerned with the granting of statutory right of occupancy and approval of plans to use land for different purposes without adequate monitoring of its outcomes. The lack of monitoring is attributable to a number of factors including lack of interests to adopt alternative land use systems. To create conducive environment for the present and future generations, it is essential to fundamentally rethink on land use control mechanism, policy, and action. To achieve such a favorable environment, it is prerequisite that land use laws should be enforced by the policy makers. It is also important to involve relevant stakeholders in the process of environmental planning to share their interests and opinions.