Analysis of land use cover change in Western Niger Delta: a panacea for agricultural land reduction

This study was carried out using the 3S-Technology Approach involving geographic information system, remote sensing and global positioning system to ascertain the level of agricultural land reduction and cover change in Western Niger Delta. Landsat imageries of 1986 and 2008 acquired from National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) were analysed, classified and interpreted. Related land cover types were merged to form the cover types of interest, namely, Agricultural lands, Built-up areas, Degraded areas and Water bodies. The findings revealed that Agricultural lands and Water bodies in the area reduced by 1103.29 hectares and 131.03 hectares respectively, while built-up and degraded areas increased by 134.46 hectares and 3299.15 hectares, respectively. However, the correlation result showed that there was an inverse perfect relationship between Agricultural Land and Degraded land, implying that as agricultural land is decreasing due to urbanization and infrastructural development, degraded area is increasing due to oil spills, effluent and saline discharge, land pollution/compaction by mud and dredged spoil; while there was a perfect positive relationship between Agricultural land and water bodies, as decrease in both cover types stems from the massive construction of canals and other infrastructural development made by Multinational oil companies due to oil exploration to facilitate transportation to gain access to the inland areas from the water bodies. There is no doubt that this had impacted on the livelihood of farmers, exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in the area, since farming and fishing are the major occupations in the area.