Urban horticulture thriving, surviving in Nigeria, says FAO

Nigeria is urbanising at an intense pace, generating little or no jobs for poor households dwelling in slums – 70 percent of Lagosians live in shanty towns and spend more than three-quarters of their income on food. By 2030, it’s estimated that 156 million Nigerians will be living in urban areas. Nevertheless, commercial urban and peri-urban horticulture (UPH) hubs in Lagos, Oyo, Rivers, Kogi, Plateau, Borno, Kano and Niger States are surviving and thriving. A report: Growing Greener Cities in Africa, by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) contends that green cities have been thriving on the continent. Still UPH is Nigeria’s best kept secret. Economic development plans like NEEDS ignored it; “the word appears in only three of 37 state strategies.” FULL STORY