10. Productive Potential of Urban Agriculture Towards Food Security: Evidence from Southwest Nigeria

Increase in the rate of urbanization has been acknowledged to have effects on urban poverty and food security. Consequently, a notable strategy employed by urban dwellers in order to be and remain food secure is the practice of urban agriculture. Through a multi-stage random sampling technique, a total of 389 respondents were selected in Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were obtained through the use of structured questionnaire while analyses involved the use of descriptive statistics and stochastic frontier model for technical efficiency determination. The results showed that 66.3 % were involved in some form of urban agriculture, majority (90.7 %) of those involved were within the active productive age group of 20–59 years with relatively high literacy level. Most (94.2 %) of these urban farmers had agriculture as a supplementary activity which nonetheless constitutes a vital part of their livelihoods. With an average technical efficiency of 72.0 %, urban farmers can complement household incomes at significantly high levels sometimes as high as 80.0 %. Prospects for urban agriculture are high as the city continues to expand.