This paper examines the characteristics of a traditional farmer-managed irrigation system in Nigeria, through the presentation of a detailed case study. It documents the development of a traditional irrigation system in the inland valley of the Bida region in central Nigeria and the features of its operation and management. The physical structure and the composition of system users were surveyed in detail. In addition, the characteristics of community management of several irrigation systems in the region were investigated. Farmers were able to mobilize necessary local resources for irrigation development and maintenance although they did this without any external support. The irrigation management institution in the area was highly linked to the local land tenure system. The involvement of landlords in the irrigation community greatly affected the performance of irrigation management. There was no clear definition of water rights. In times of water shortage, water was rotated and shared but water scrambling had become a severe problem in recent years with the higher demand for off-season crops. Irrigation communities were organized informally without tiers of nested organizations. Unfairness in water distribution and contribution to system maintenance existed between top-enders and tail-enders of irrigation canals. Nevertheless, the multi-layered and fragmented land ownership of the region made coordination among different irrigation communities difficult and the unfairness problem could not be solved without institutional changes.

Jatigede dam was constructed in Sumedang Regency of West Java Province, Indonesia. It was planned as early as the 1960s. The World Bank cancelled its financing for the reason of insufficient resettlement planning in 1986, but land acquisition for the dam continued and cash compensation was provided to affected villagers. In spite of the suspension of land acquisition in 1997, the Chinese Government became the new sponsor and dam construction started in 2005. Inundation began in 2015 and the villagers were resettled mainly to the vicinity of the reservoir. The construction was completed in 2015. Most of the cash compensation was provided during the mid-1980s. As three decades have passed since the provision of the compensation, resettlers who received the money conceived that the dam construction project has been cancelled. They spent the money at their original place and did not invest for the resettlement. Today, most of the resettlers are jobless and poor. Their incomes are below the international poverty line. Aquaculture at the reservoir is one of the possible options to improve local economy, but the local government prohibits it to avoid deterioration of water quality.

“Corralling contract” is the indigenous fertilization system commonly practiced in the African Sahel and its southern periphery. In this chapter, the practice of the corralling contract between Fulani pastoralists and Nupe agriculturalists in the Bida region of Niger State of central Nigeria is examined. The study attempts to find out how the farmers and herders arrange the corralling contract, how they utilize this instrument, and how it influences their social relationship. Findings suggest that pastoral Fulani groups have different strategies to maintain socioeconomic relations with specific villages through the adoption of corralling contract in order to ensure resources entitlement. While some groups can well manipulate the relationships with various villages through the adoption of the corralling contract, some groups prefer a more stable situation and just get the minimum advantages. Higher social status, larger herd size and longer history of interaction that allow trust to be built are the factors contributing to the popularity and bargaining power of a pastoral group.

The construction of dams and reservoirs often comprises the displacement of not only communities but also the livelihood of the communities itself. This study aims to explore the effects of Saguling Dam construction on the livelihood re-establishment of the displaced people, by paying more attention on the sociographic localities of the new settlement, i.e. the rural and peri-urban areas. A survey was conducted on two groups of resettlers equiped with structured questionnaire. The results indicated that the project has imposed hardship on the displaced people in the process of livelihood re-establishment. Beside changes and lost of occupation, lost of resources, and insufficient cash compensation, sociographic localities of the two groups determined their social capital, which was also vital to their livelihood reconstruction.

“Corralling contract” is the indigenous fertilization system commonly practiced in the African Sahel and its southern periphery. In this article, the practice of the corralling contract between Fulani pastoralists and Nupe agriculturalists in the Bida region of Niger State of central Nigeria is examined. The attempt is to find out how the farmers and herders arrange the corralling contract, how they utilize this instrument and how it influences their social relationship. Findings suggest that pastoral Fulani groups have different strategies to maintain socioeconomic relations with specific villages through the adoption of corralling contract in order to ensure resources entitlement. While some groups can well manipulate the relationships with various villages through the adoption of the corralling contract, some groups prefer a more stable situation and just got the minimum advantages. Higher social status, larger herd size and longer history of interaction which allowed trust to be built are the factors contributing to the popularity and bargaining power of a pastoral group.