If the drumming changes, the dance also changes : de-agrarianisation and rural non-farm employment in the Nigerian savanna

This working paper provides research findings emanating from the De-Agrarianisation and Rural Employment (DARE) Research Programme, coordinated by the African Studies Centre, Leiden. The aim of the Programme was to examine, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the changes in size and significance of the peasant population in sub-Saharan African countries and to draw attention to the new labour patterns and unfolding rural-urban relations now taking place. This paper focuses on Nigeria and is based on research carried out in Nasarawan Doya village, located in northern Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. It considers the changes in the agricultural economy of the village which have influenced the development of the nonfarm sector and the impact of structural adjustment on the development of the nonfarm sector. Next, it examines the role of nonfarm activities in village livelihood strategies, occupational identities, and household welfare strategies. On the whole, agricultural and nonagricultural activities appeared to play a complementary rather than a competitive role in income-generating strategies. By the same token, however, insufficient agricultural income tended to be accompanied by inadequate nonfarm incomes, and vice versa

http://opc-ascl.oclc.org/PPN?PPN=186773196