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Title:Occupation and drought vulnerability: case studies from a village in Niger
Author:Curry, John J.ISNI
Book title:African Food Systems in Crisis. Part 1: Microperspectives
Year:1989
Pages:239-260
Language:English
Geographic term:Niger
Subjects:labour
famine
droughts
agriculture
Abstract:This paper uses case material drawn from nine households pursuing different occupations in a village in Central Niger to illustrate the interrelationships between occupation and persistence in a drought-prone environment. The village of Shadawanka, located at the northern limit of rainfed cereal cultivation, is an important livestock marketing centre for the pastoral, agropastoral and agrarian populations of the region. Data for these cases were collected during two wet seasons and one dry season in 1981 and 1982, as climatic and agronomic conditions worsened. An examination of resource endowments and activity patterns for these households provides an indication of the numerous ways in which people and households combine occupation with agricultural production to cope with conditions of increasing aridity, and potential food shortage. The case studies reveal a considerable variability in the size and composition of households in Shadawanka, the success of these households in agricultural production, and the various income-generating strategies employed by members of these households to compensate for shortfalls in that production. Cash-producing occupations range from locally based activities, such as tanning, food sales, water-carrying and petty commerce, to economic endeavours that pertain to the regional economy, e.g. livestock brokerage and sales, regional merchandizing, and migratory wage labour. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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