Originally published in 1981, this book provided the first concise and integrated account of the Nigerian crisis and uncovered the basic cause of the increasing vulnerability of the Nigerian rural poor during the 1970s to the effects of drought, in order to show the lessons of the crisis and how they could be translated into medium-term action. The author argued that an analysis of the causes and impact of the drought and famine disaster of the seventies could offer useful clues to the policy orientations necessary to avert a protracted food crisis in the region.
1.Introduction 2. A Framework for Disaster Analysis Part 1: Drought and Famine Experiences in Nigeria 3. The Geographical Context of the Nigerian Drought 4. The Historical Perspective 5. The 1972-4 Disaster: Characteristics 6. The 1972-4 Disaster: Responses and Consequences Part 2: The Political Economy of Famine in Nigeria 7. The International Context 8. The Traditional Systems in Hausaland and Their Ways of Coping with Crisis 9. The Imposition of the Colonial Economy 10. Further Transformation, 1945-70 11. Conclusion: Atrophied Defences of the Poor Part 3: Orientations for Preventing Future Calamaties 12. The Food Situation and the Outlook for the 1980s 13. Solutions Pursued in Nigeria 14. Towards a More Relevant Orientation.
Biography
G. Jan Van Apeldoorn was Senior Research Fellow at the Reformed University of Amsterdam.
Original review of Perspectives on Drought and Famine in Nigeria:
‘Researchers interested in the topic of drought and famine in West Africa will be glad to have this thoughtful case study.’ Paul Richards, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 46 (2), 1983.
