Farmers, traders, and labourers: dry season migration from north-west Nigeria, 1900–33

Swindell, Kenneth

doi:10.2307/1160140

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…My survey suggests that most men born in the Sikasso region in this century have spent time abroad. Other research indicates that this pattern may predate colonialism (Swindell 1984). Thus, for many, travel is part of a pattern several generations old.…”

Section: Hard Workmentioning

confidence: 97%

Commerce and Community: Paths to Success for Malian Merchants

Warms¹

1994

African Studies Review

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For many young Malian men, trade offers, or seems to offer, the possibility of escape from the poverty endemic to their society. Important traders are well dressed, well fed, have large families and entree to high circles of wealth and power (Amselle 1987a). Many believe that, through dint of hard work, savvy and a with little luck, anyone can become a successful trader. While no one knows exactly how many attempt a career in commerce, Malian cities and towns teem with boys and men engaged in petty trade. Women are also involved in trade, though most deal only in small quantities of cooked food or garden produce. Men and boys sell pre-recorded cassettes, cigarettes, kola and other inexpensive merchandise. All believe that if they do the right things, and it is the will of God, they will succeed. Success, for men, means progressively increasing the size of their business and eventually owning a large store, several trucks or another large enterprise. Women generally do not operate financially important businesses. However, they may have substantial behind-the-scenes investment in them. For a Malian man, becoming a prosperous merchant can be seen as a process of joining a commercial community. The members of the commercial community control access to the wealth and the connections that can transform a poor shopkeeper into a wealthy merchant. Aspiring merchants must follow a course of action that allows them to identify increasingly with and be accepted by this community.

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Section: Hard Workmentioning

confidence: 97%

Commerce and Community: Paths to Success for Malian Merchants

Warms¹

1994

African Studies Review

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“…Gowers, the Sokoto Resident, gave a detailed description of trade along the Zungeru-Sokoto road in 1908 and noted that rice was the principal export southwards from Sokoto in return for cotton, a particularly profitable trade as the mark-up on rice was of the order of 100 per cent (Gowers, 1911). Wheat was also traded out of Sokoto in the early 1900s, according to elderly men interviewed in 1979, who had worked on caravans taking grain from Sokoto to Kano (Swindell, 1984). The commercial producers of grain included big farmers drawn from the ranks of the Muslim aristocracy (sarauta) and merchants who had large land holdings within the villages around Sokoto, which involved production relations constructed according to various forms of servitude and clientage: some villages were specifically slave settlements (runji).…”

Section: Making a Profit Making A Living: Commercialmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making a profit, making a living: commercial food farming and urban hinterlands in north-west Nigeria

Swindell¹,

Ma²,

Ab³

1999

Africa

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The article explores the nature and development of commercial food farming during the 1990s around Sokoto, and its reliance on a floating labour force, something which is not unique to that city but is part of Nigeria's nationwide farming boom, focused on urban and regional markets. The evidence collected from the Sokoto hinterland suggests a new buoyancy in commercial agriculture and an inflow of investment, as under the present economic and political conditions the elites and managerial classes have moved into farming as private and state contracting has proved less rewarding. Large-scale grain and fadama farming and food trading have a long history, but now they are embedded in new analytical categories which indicate a strengthening of capitalist relations of production, and there are signs that a wide spectrum of interests believe capital accumulation can be achieved in the agricultural sector. There are big profits in food fanning provided the farmer has sufficient capital to invest and can meet recurrent labour costs. In the 1990s medium-size farms, especially on irrigated lowland represent a significant shift towards capitalist agriculture, at least in the short term. The introduction of motorised pumps via the World Bank's Agricultural Development Projects marks a substantial innovation in irrigated farming, which also has a long history and has yielded food surpluses traded over a wide area. It is plain that the farmers who have benefited most from partial mechanisation and the surge in food prices are the better-off small commodity producers in the villages, often linked by descent or clientage with traditional rulers and/or politicians, together with the new urban managerial classes.

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“…The number in the quotes represents the age of the respondent.9 In the Sahel, this is a well-documented phenomenon. In northern Nigeria, for example, seasonal migration is referred to as cin rani which literally means 'to eat away the dry season'(Swindell 1984;Rain 1999).…”

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confidence: 99%

Local Perceptions Of Migration From North-West Ghana

Geest¹

2010

Africa

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The Upper West Region in northern Ghana is a major source area of migrants who travel to southern Ghana seasonally or for longer periods. This has important implications for the lives and livelihoods of the migrants themselves and their relatives at home. Almost invariably the impact of out-migration on sending areas has been studied using ‘Western’ academic parameters. Little is known about how the people hemselves value the profound changes that migration causes in their societies. In this article, findings are presented from interviews with 204 rural household heads who were asked to express their opinion about the consequences of seasonal, long-term and return migration. A quantitative approach to qualitative data was adopted to differentiate between collective perceptions and individual opinions. It was found that almost all respondents were positive about the consequences of seasonal labour migration. They applauded its contribution to food security and considered it one of the few ways of gaining access to money and goods. The respondents were much more ambivalent about the consequences of long-term migration and return migration. On the positive side, they emphasized that out-migration reduced the pressure on farmland, and that some migrants attain higher living standards, both for themselves and for their relatives at home. On the negative side, many long-term migrants are not able to improve their livelihoods or lose their interest in the home community. The lack of support of some migrants is greatly lamented, especially if they later return empty-handed and become a burden on their relatives at home. The methodology used in this study yielded a holistic view of the consequences of migration on the source area as seen through the eyes of the home community

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Farmers, traders, and labourers: dry season migration from north-west Nigeria, 1900–33

Cited by 18 publications

References 10 publications

Commerce and Community: Paths to Success for Malian Merchants

Commerce and Community: Paths to Success for Malian Merchants

Making a profit, making a living: commercial food farming and urban hinterlands in north-west Nigeria

Local Perceptions Of Migration From North-West Ghana

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