Not farms alone : a study of rural livelihoods in the Middle Belt of Nigeria

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. The paper focuses on Nigeria and is based on research carried out in Doma, a settlement in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, from June 1996 to May 1997. It examines trends in agricultural and nonfarm activities, and links between the two subsectors of the rural economy. The data reveal rural income composition and relate it to the existence of social networks, community welfare and the future of agriculture. The conclusion is that indigene rural dwellers are increasingly setting up nonfarm activities. Over 80 percent of incomes earned by wives and females came from nonfarm activities. Given this factor, the main policy objective is to enhance productivity in both farm and nonfarm activities

http://opc-ascl.oclc.org/PPN?PPN=186772823