An African Niche Economy:Farming to food Ibadan 1968-88

Of the verbal forces reshaping West African rural societies and economies in the post-colonial period one of the most pervasive is the rapid growth of urban demand. This case study of a Yoruba community in the food supply hinterland of Ibadan tells the social and agricultural history of its various producers over twenty years: from the Nigerian civil war, via the oil boom and bust, to structural adjustment. Their forms of market response and competition are specifically Yoruba, but also exemplify the commercial - and yet non-capitalist-local and regional systems that promise to proliferate in poorer sectors of the global economy.The main body of the book is based on anthropological field research. It describes the contours of growth from 1968-88 through narratives of change for all the major participants: male and female farmers and contract farmers. The final section draws together all the threads and discusses the interplay amongst the technical repertoire for production in a savanna ecology, forces emanating from the political economy of the urban hinterland, and the tenets of Yoruba occupational culture. -Farming to Feed Ibadan 1968-88