Not by Farming Alone: The Role of Non-Farm Incomes in Rural Hausaland

This chapter provides an analysis for rural Hausaland in northern Nigeria. It begins with a consideration of some of the major theoretical issues involved in African agrarian change and proceeds to trace the historical evolution of de-agrarianisation in northern Nigeria from the pre-colonial period to the beginning of the structural adjustment era. The chapter analyses the impact of adjustment on this process, drawing on field studies carried out in the Kano village of Rogo between 1974–1975 and 1992–1993, and in two other villages. The analysis concentrates on the role of non-farm rather than strictly non-agricultural incomes, since agricultural wage labour is included in the non-farm income category. Hausaland lies in the north of Nigeria, stretching from guinea savannah to sahelian ecological zones. The rising importance of women’s incomes in household production and reproduction constitutes a de facto process of de-agrarianisation, since women are generally restricted from engaging in agriculture.