By: Babalola F. D.; OLOYEDE T. D.; OSO A. O.;
Abstract:
The study assessed small-scale private nursery establishments in Lagos State, Nigeria. Three locations in Lagos State
(Magodo, Ikeja and Lekki Phase One) were selected for the study. All the nursery operators encountered in the study
sites were purposively selected for this study. This translates to administration of questionnaire to 50 nursery operators.
About 90.0% of all the nursery operators learnt about seedlings production before starting the business. The major reason
why many of the sampled operators engaged in the business was for self-employment and profit generation. All the
sampled nursery operators (100.0%) acquired their land from Lagos State government. About 88 plants were identified
in the study areas and were dominated by ornamental plants. Auricaria tree (Auricaria heterophylla) came topmost among
the highly-priced plants with selling price of N69,000. In addition to selling of ornamental plants, majority of the nursery
operators also rendered services such as maintenance of private gardens (24.0%) landscaping (18.0%), seedlings supply
(6.0%). The main constraint affecting the small-scale nursery enterprises in each of the study areas was inadequate
funding. Another important constraint observed among the nursery operators was lack of proper record keeping. To
further develop the enterprise, there should be the provision of funding by financial institutions. The operators need to
learn how to keep proper and adequate records of their income and expenditures. Skill acquisition through training and
orientation is also necessary for the development of the small-scale nursery enterperise.
Keywords: Private nursery; Self-employment; Ornamental plants; Nursery operators; Landscaping
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