AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION

Agricultural intensification remains a critical strategy for enhancing food production among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, when pursued without adequate environmental safeguards, it can generate adverse ecological consequences. This study assessed smallholder farmers’ perception of the environmental impacts of agricultural intensification in Benin City, Nigeria, with particular emphasis on soil erosion and water quality changes. The study was anchored on the Environmental Degradation Theory and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, with insights from Political Ecology to explain how livelihood pressures shape farmers’ environmental perceptions and practices. A mixed-methods research design was adopted. Primary data were obtained from 60 smallholder farmers and six key informants across Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, and Oredo Local Government Areas using structured questionnaires, interviews, and field observations. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and independent samples t-tests, Fisher’s Exact test, while qualitative information supported interpretation of results. Findings indicate that farmers practice a hybrid form of agricultural intensification. Intercropping (65 percent) and biannual cultivation (46.7 percent) were widely adopted, alongside intensive use of herbicides (70 percent) and pesticides (56.7 percent). Nearly half of the respondents reported that their farms were located within 100 metres of streams or rivers, which they perceived as increasing the risk of agrochemical runoff and water contamination. A substantial proportion of farmers reported visible soil erosion on their farms, particularly under continuous cultivation on sandy-loam soils. Perceived changes in water quality were commonly associated with proximity to water bodies and poor agrochemical handling practices, including unsafe storage near streams. Despite these observations, farmer awareness of environmentally sustainable agricultural practices was limited, as only 31.7 percent of respondents reported having received formal agricultural training. The study concludes that smallholder farmers in Benin City possess experiential knowledge of the environmental consequences of agricultural intensification, but livelihood pressures, land constraints, and weak institutional support influence their continued reliance on environmentally risky practices. It recommends strengthening extension services, promoting conservation agriculture, enforcing buffer-zone regulations around water bodies, and improving access to training on sustainable land and water management. By providing localized empirical evidence on farmers’ perceptions, this study contributes to the broader discourse on balancing food security and environmental sustainability in peri-urban farming systems in Nigeria and similar developing-country contexts.