IIARD International Institute of Academic Research and Development

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY (AJHA )

E-ISSN 2579-048X
P-ISSN 2695-1851
VOL. 7 NO. 2 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56201/ajha.v7.no2.2023.pg32.46

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Colonialism and Agriculture in Gusau District During the Great Depression, 1929 – 1938

Chubado Umaru and Sani Abdullahi

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Abstract

The Great Depression was when the capitalist and imperialist economies of the Western World collapsed. The depression spread to other parts of the world, including the Gusau District under British rule. However, the slump led to a drastic fall in cash commodity prices. The colonial state adopted many economic changes, adversely affecting the Nigerian people. Against this, this paper investigated the impact of British policies on food crop production in the Gusau District during the period. The paper used primary and secondary sources. The primary sources included archival records and interviews, while the secondary sources comprised published and unpublished materials. The study discovered that the depression forced the British to adopt many changes to agriculture in the Gusau District, primarily to achieve their imperial objectives during the period. One of the most notable changes in agriculture was supporting the food crops so that the farmers would have a surplus and be able to cultivate cash crops for export in the District. For the first time, the colonial state extended the Agricultural Department to Gusau, established an experimental farm, established the cropping scheme, introduced mixed farming, improved farming implements and methods, and trained the extension workers in the Gusau District. Consequently, the British successfully achieved the aims of the agricultural reform policies. The policy led to increased food production, stabilising staple crop prices and increasing the export crops in Gusau District.

keywords:

Food crops, export crops, colonial policies, Great Depression, Gusau District.

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References:

Abdulkadir, M. S., “Structuring, Struggling, and Surviving Economic Depression in Northern
Nigeria: The 1930s as Review of the Present”, Inaugural Lecture Series, Bayero University
Kano, 2004.

Alkammawa, A. U., “Impact of Colonialism on Agricultural Production in the Eastern Districts of
Sokoto Emirate 1903 – 1960”, PhD Thesis, Department of History, Usmanu Danfodiyo
University, Sokoto, 2009.

Adamu, M. A., “Farm Centres and Export Crop Production in Katsina Emirate, c 1926-1960”,

A.M. Yakubu, I. M. Jumare, and A.G. Saeed (ed.), Northern Nigeria: A Century of
Transformation, 1903-2003, Kaduna, Baraka Press and Publishers. 2005.

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