Effects of Urban Encroachment on Rural Agricultural Land: A Case Study of Ibie-Nafe Community of Edo State, Nigeria

Urban expansion constitutes one of the key agents of land-use change with the impact felt at local, regional and global levels; such impact includes spatial growth on agricultural land. This study assesses the effects of urban encroachment on rural agricultural land in the Ibie-Nafe Community Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The methodology adopted for the study is empirical research in which primary and secondary data were used for the study. On the other hand, findings show that the spreading of urban areas on farmlands causes new farmland reclamation and accelerated deforestation in the surroundings. In addition, the displaced farmlands do not ensure food production because of both reclaiming farmlands on infertile lands and diversifying farming activities from grain production to market-oriented ones. The accelerated urbanization and farmland displacement are driven by profit-oriented development strategy and ineffective land use planning. Against this background, there is a need for an adequate understanding of the interplay between trends of urbanization and undermining agricultural land use within rural areas.