Perceived effects of rural-urban interactions on sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria

Abstract

The fact that a correlation exists between agricultural production and poverty alleviation efforts in Sub-Saharan African countries is not an understatement. This is based on the fact that majority of people in the developing countries of Africa including Nigeria live in the rural areas and primarily engage in agriculture as their source of livelihood. However, most rural areas in Nigeria still battle with food insecurity, malnutrition and poor economy. This study therefore explores the perceived effects of rural-urban interactions on sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria. The population of the study consisted of all the rural dwellers in the study area from which 300 respondents were selected through multi-stage sampling procedure. The instrument of data collection was a well-structured, validated and reliable interview schedule. Five research objectives and two hypotheses were developed and tested in the study. Findings from the study revealed that the community-based agricultural projects provided based on rural-urban interactions were provision of improved varieties of seeds to farmers, provision of improved breeds of animals, provision of farm tools and provision of loans to farmers for buying farm inputs (x-= 0.367, 0.273, 0.256 and 0.236) respectively. Also, the motivational factors for rural-urban interactions had significant effect on the respondents' participation in the community-based agricultural projects (Χ2 = 1.595 p<0.05). It was therefore concluded that rural-urban interactions should be factored into community development activities to promote sustainable agricultural development.