LAND USE CHANGE AND ITS EFFECTS ON SUBURBAN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

This review article synthesises existing data (remote sensing data, institutional policy documents, and peer-reviewed literature), the study documents the conversion of cultivable suburban farmland between 1984 and 2024, the structural inadequacy of existing extension frameworks, the agronomic vulnerabilities of surviving smallholder farms, and the emerging policy responses of the Lagos State Government. The rapid urbanisation in Lagos, one of Africa's largest megacities, is exerting severe pressure on the agricultural land base of its suburbs and suburban localities, with far-reaching implications for food production, agronomic practice, and the effectiveness of agricultural extension services. This article reviewed the various works and reports on land use patterns in the four suburbs of Lagos, namely, Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe, and Ibeju-Lekki, Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos State, and examines how these alterations to cultivable arable lands affect food production prospects for the state. From the secondary data that was appraised, evidence indicated that the available lands in the three LGAs are inadequate for food production. Hence, the article suggests that without coordinated land use protection, reformation of extension service delivery, and adoption of climate-smart agronomic strategies, Lagos faces a deepening food security crisis that cannot be resolved by imports alone. Hence, it may be suggested that the policy recommendations should centre on land reservation legislation, intensification of the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority's extension services, integration of digital agronomy, and intergovernmental food system partnerships.