The influenza pandemic of 1918–19 and the spread of cassava cultivation on the lower Niger

A study in historical linkages

Bibliographic Data

ID8980217
AuthorsD C Ohadike (University of Jos, corresponding author)
Year1981
Volume22
Issue3
Pages379-391
Publication date1981-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700019587
PMID11632223
OpenAlexW1990026584
LanguageEN
Citations received38
References cited8

A. G. Hopkins has observed that where new plants and seeds were adopted it was because they were seen as useful additions to the existing range of foods, or because they were regarded as good substitutes to the crops they displaced. This view is confirmed by a close study of the changing food patterns on the Lower Niger since 1520. Prior to 1919, cassava was hardly cultivated on the Lower Niger even though it was widely grown in the neighbouring Niger Delta. This was essentially because the people of the Lower Niger did not consider cassava as a good substitute for yams. However, after 1900 the Lower Niger became the scene of wars of resistance against the imposition of British rule. These wars not only resulted in a constant disruption of the agricultural activities of the local people, they also caused food shortages. The situation was worsened by the First World War and by the pandemic of influenza of 1918–19 which drained the nation's productive capacity and caused an unprecedented food scarcity. Under the circumstances, the people of the Lower Niger were constrained to accept cassava, at least as a supplement to the dwindling stocks of food. And as soon as it was realized that the new crop enjoyed a number of advantages over yams, its cultivation rapidly spread to all parts of the Lower Niger where it began to threaten the older staples. The speed with which this innovation was adapted clearly points to the degree of the food crisis that accompanied the pandemic influenza of 1918–19

Agricultural economics · Agriculture · Archaeology · Crop · Development economics · Economic shortage · Economics · Geography · Government (linguistics · Market economy · Niger delta · Scarcity · African Botany and Ecology Studies · Agriculture and Rural Development Research · Cassava research and cyanide · Engineering

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