I started out training as an ecologist. However, after attending an influential set of lectures during my undergraduate degree at York, which made me appreciate the complex interactions between population, environment and development issues, I realised that I wanted to pursue a research career in agriculture and development, rather than ecology. I therefore enrolled for a PhD in development studies at the Geography Department at Durham University. The TAAF award, which I received in 2000, supported me during my nine month fieldwork phase in Nigeria. My thesis focused on soil fertility management strategies, and particularly on the use of urban refuse ash (Plate 1), in peri-urban vegetable production systems around the town of Jos.

Interviewing a farmer in Delimi Langalanga Jos

Meeting to return the thesis results

Peri-urban exotic vegetable production on the Jos Plateau has been practised on a small-scale since the early twentieth century. Production became significant in the 1970s, during Nigeria's petroleum boom, when the growing urban and affluent population increased its demand for vegetables. Farming activities expanded and intensified again after the mid-1980s, following the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme of 1986, which caused food importation to cease abruptly. The system today continues to grow, providing employment to considerable numbers of people and supplying vegetables to markets all over Nigeria and even to neighbouring countries.

There has been considerable research interest in the Jos Plateau system. Various researchers have argued that contrary to the commonly held view that agricultural intensification is a threat to soil fertility in Africa, around Jos intensification has actually locally enhanced soil fertility. But the continued dramatic expansion has been raising questions about the long-term sustainability of the system. My thesis therefore aimed to gain a better understanding of the vegetable production system (Plate 2) and insights into its sustainability in terms of nutrient supply, and provide recommendations for maintaining its stability in the long-term.

After successfully defending my thesis in late 2002, I worked for six months in a temporary lecturing position, and was finally able to return to Jos in 2003 for a short visit, to fulfil my commitment to return the thesis results and my recommendations to the farmers I collaborated with (Plate 3) and the extension services, and to donate a copy of my thesis to the local University.

Thanks to the TAAF award I was able to spend a long period in the field, which was of crucial importance for getting onto the career ladder in development. I had a proven track record of research experience in a developing country context (and in a challenging environment, as at that time Nigeria was going through a difficult period of political and ethnic conflict), and this undoubtedly helped me secure in late 2003 my on-going position as a research officer at Bangor University. The Centre where I work has as a central focus the promotion of agricultural and forestry development and the provision of technological and scientific innovation to improve natural resource development and management.

Currently, I specialise in research on indigenous vegetables and urban agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. My research approach, which inclines towards on-farm, complex whole-system, and inter-disciplinary projects, resulted directly from my experiences in Nigeria. I visited the farms where I was conducting my research on a daily basis for virtually the entire period that I was there, and through this prolonged contact I really came to appreciate how complex small-scale farming systems are, and consequently how skilful and flexible farmers had to be, particularly as they were operating in a context of virtually no formal support and no access to credit. The lessons I learned in Nigeria had a profound influence on me, and will undoubtedly continue to affect my research in years to come.