*Corresponding Author: Darego I.S * , Department of Estate Management Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Email: inemadarego@gmail.com Savant Journal of Research in Environmental Studies Vol 2(2) pp. 019-026 December, 2016 http://www.savantjournals.org/sjres ISSN: 2985-8933 Copyright © 2016 Savant Journals Original Research Paper Unravelling the Conflicts Between Urbanization and Agricultural Development DAREGO I. S. 1 and Akujuru V. A. 2 Department of Estate Management Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Accepted 1st December, 2016. ABSTRACT The Niger Delta regioŶ’s eĐoŶoŵy is doŵiŶated ďy oil aŶd gas ďusiŶess due to the depeŶdeŶĐe of the NigeriaŶ eĐoŶoŵy on oil and gas revenue for its mainstay. The total dependence on the oil and gas industries has resulted in very high land prices in the urban centres of the region and the high prices have resulted in the rapid conversion of agricultural lands surrounding the urban areas into new residential suburbs, this has resulted in the erosion of agricultural neighbourhoods proximate to urban centres. Utilising a questionnaire survey, administered to real estate professionals in private and public sector in Rivers State, this paper seeks to unravel the conflict between the growth of urban centres and the growth of agriculture as an alternative source of revenue. By collecting agricultural land conversion data the study finds that unless there is a deliberate policy to restrict the process, most suitably located agricultural land will soon be converted to outlying residential neighbourhoods in the guise of urbanisation. It is recommended that the quest to diversify the Nigerian economy necessitates the conservation of land for agriculture, rather than allow unrestricted urbanisation in the Niger Delta. Keywords: Agriculture, Conversion, Niger Delta, Sprawl, Urbanisation, Conservation INTRODUCTION Niger Delta The Niger Delta Region is located in the central part of southern Nigeria lying on latitude 5033'49''N and 6031'38"E in the North, 5044'11"N and 50 03'49"E to the West and its Eastern boundary is 4027'16"N and 70 35'27"E (Akujuru,2014). Akujuru (2014) further categorised the region as having two categories political and geographical. The political consists of nine states (Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers state) as shown in figure 1.1 while the geographical is a subset of the political consisting of six states Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom And Cross Rivers as shown in figure 1.2 The pattern of settlement is predetermined by the availability of dry land (NDDC 2006). The predominant activities are of two types: • Land base activities which are mostly in the northern part of the region. The activities involve farming of food crops and cash crops (cassava, cocoyam, plantain, banana) and cash crop ( cocoa, oil palm, rubber), hunting, gathering of non- timber forest products(snails, herbs and medicinal plants), preparing of local gin. • Water base activities which are mostly in the southern part of the region and is basically fishing and gathering of other aquatic lives for human consumption. The region has a total of five ecological zones (mangrove forest and coastal vegetation), freshwater swamp forest, lowland rain forest, derived savannah and montane region.