DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY OF URBAN-HOUSEHOLDS FOOD SECURITY IN NORTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

Introduction/Background

In developing country, Agriculture accounts for a significant fraction of production and substantial output is produced for self-consumption. Even more striking are the shares of the labor force living in rural sectors (Ray, 1998). Its activity forms a significant part of the lives of people living. The overall numbers for production and occupational structure suggest that agriculture often has lower productivity than other economic activities and capital intensity in agriculture is at a bare minimum, and there is often intense pressure on the land. In much of sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is still largely in this subsistence stage as noted by Todaro and Smith (2014). The reasons as to why small-scale farmers are often resistant to technological innovation in farming techniques or to the introduction of new seeds or different cash crops. This is looked at from the angle of increased productivity. Another key factor identified in the available literature is political unrest and armed conflicts. They have prevented farmers from producing, displaced populations, destroyed infrastructure and littered the countryside with land mines (Boussard, Daviron, Gérard, & Voituriez, 2005). Considering the political history of many African states which have been plagued by conflict it is safe to admit this as a formidable challenge to agriculture. The largest size of the agriculture sector, in both its share of GDP and employment, along with the likely concentration of poverty in rural areas, points to the unique opportunities that agricultural development provides (Perkins, Lindauer, & Block, 2013). On this basis that we start to ask the key questions about how some of the challenges faced by the agricultural sector that correlates with food security can be resolved and the different opportunities that we shall be exploring in the case study

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