+443308187254Mohammed A
The study explores the urban growth analysis on agricultural landuse in Kuta and its environs. The objectives of the research is to examine the implication of urban growth encroachment on agricultural land, between 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively Land-sat imageries of Kuta and its environs for 1990, 2001 and 2013 were acquired, processed and classified using GIS techniques. The methods adopted in this research were maximum likelihood classification and area calculation in hectares for the various land use/land cover for each study year. The result shows that, in the year 2005 the built-up area was 1481.662 hectares and farmland was 36165.98 hectares, this indicates that urban area was very small and agricultural activity was at the peak in 1990. In the year 2010, the built-up area increased to 2584.641 hectares and agricultural land decreased to 20323.35 hectares. This indicates that urban growth was gradually taking place at the expense of agricultural land. In the year 2015, built-up area increased to 10074.373 hectares and agricultural land decreased to 16530.98 hectares. This shows that there was a significant change from 2001 to 2013 as urban area grows four times of its size, diminishing agricultural land. Result also shows that between 2005 and 2015, the rate of urban growth encroachment on agricultural land was 9.61%. It was found out that urban growth has more negative effects than positive effects on agricultural land. It was recommended that Government by way of policy should intensify efforts in preserving farmland from illegal occupation, in order to check the reduction of farmlands by human activities in Kuta and its environs, Shiroro Local Government of Niger State, Nigeria. Areas for further study may include effects of urban growth on Agricultural productivity and food security.
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