Adapting to drought : farmers, famines, and desertification in West Africa

This book embodies the results of thirteen years of research in drought-prone rural areas in the semi-arid zone of northern Nigeria. It describes the patterns of adaptive behaviour observed among Hausa, Ful'be and Manga communities in response to recurrent drought in the 1970s and 1980s. The question of desertification is explored in an area where the visible evidence of moving sand dunes is dramatic blame are examined in relation to the field evidence. A critique is offered of deterministic theories and authoritarian solutions. Professor Mortimore demonstrates a parallel between the observable resilience of semi-arid ecosystems and the adaptive strategies of the human communities that inhabit them and suggests policy directions for strengthening that resilience. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 List of figures......Page 10 List of plates......Page 12 List of tables......Page 13 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgements......Page 19 A note on conventions and list of abbreviations......Page 22 Crisis in rural tropical Africa......Page 24 Uncertainty and adaptation......Page 26 Science and ethno-science......Page 27 Aridity in Africa......Page 29 Aridity in northern Nigeria......Page 32 Drought......Page 34 Desertification: concept and controversy......Page 35 Desertification: definition and measurement......Page 38 Method......Page 42 The fat years......Page 46 Famine in Hausaland......Page 59 Postscript on the groundnut......Page 63 The droughts of 1972 and 1973......Page 65 631 villages......Page 69 Patterns of hardship......Page 71 Five villages......Page 79 Impact......Page 80 Response......Page 86 Evaluation......Page 98 One village......Page 104 After Kakaduma: production and consumption......Page 108 A chronicle of adversity......Page 111 Household viability and change, 1975--86......Page 119 Adaptive response: the farming system......Page 120 Adaptive response: other systems......Page 132 Adaptive response: two families......Page 135 A balance sheet......Page 138 Mobility in the city: Kano's strangers......Page 139 Mobility in the region......Page 144 Mobility in one village......Page 152 Territory and mobility......Page 156 The persistence of meteorological drought......Page 158 Prediction......Page 166 Feedback......Page 170 Hydrological drought......Page 173 Land use and drought......Page 177 The Manga Grasslands......Page 179 Ecological change, 1950--69......Page 183 Woodland......Page 185 Grassland......Page 187 Soils......Page 190 Surface materials......Page 192 Over-exploitation or under-precipitation?......Page 207 8 - Interpretation......Page 209 Adaptive capability......Page 210 Mobility......Page 218 Ecological degradation......Page 221 9 - Policy directions......Page 240 Insurance......Page 241 Diversification and mobility......Page 243 Intensification......Page 247 Conclusion......Page 251 Notes......Page 253 Bibliography......Page 275 Index......Page 311 This book embodies the results of 13 years of research in drought-prone rural areas in the semi-arid zone of northern Nigeria