Abstract:
The study focused on constraints and enhancement measures to urban agriculture in Bayelsa state. Six research questions were posed to guide the study while three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted survey research design and was carried out in Bayelsa state. The population for the study was 59,079 which comprises of 59035 registered farmers and 44 extension agents in Bayelsa State. The sample for the study was 543 comprised of 499 registered farmers and 44 Extension Agents in Urban areas of Bayelsa State and was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was employed as instrument for data collection. The instrument was face validated by five experts of agriculture, three from the Department of Agricultural Education, University of Nigeria, one from the Department of Agricultural Extension, University of Nigeria and one from the Department of Agricultural Education, Niger Delta University. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.72 was obtained for the instrument. Data was collected by the researcher with the help of three research assistants. Data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentages, mean and standard deviation for the research questions. The three null hypotheses were tested using t-test statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analyzed, the study identified the following; 12 crops grown in urban areas of Bayelsa as well 7 crop production practices carried out in the urban areas of Bayelsa, 3 animals reared in urban area of Bayelsa and 7 animal production practices carried out in urban areas of Bayelsa state, 14 strategies adopted in the marketing of agricultural produce in urban areas of Bayelsa state, 15 benefits derived from urban agricultural activities in Bayelsa state,14 constraints to urban agricultural practices in Bayelsa state and 15 factors that could enhance the practice of urban agriculture in Bayelsa. It is therefore recommended that; Farmers should be trained on urban agricultural crop and animal production practices by extension agents so that they can reap the benefits of urban agriculture, the State Government should provide the funds and technical know-how for training/retraining of extension agents on the strategies for marketing urban agricultural produce so they can in turn train urban farmers and the Local Governments should sensitize the farmers within their jurisdiction on the benefits of urban agriculture through mass media like radios and televisions, among others.
