Tackling the African "poverty trap": the Ijebu-Ode experiment

Abstract

An experiment in poverty reduction began in 1998 in the city of Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria (estimated 1999 population 163,000), where, without the remittances from relatives abroad, an estimated 90% of the population lived below the poverty line of $1.00 (U.S.) per person per day. Central to the experiment was whether poverty can be dramatically reduced through a city consultation process that seeks to mobilize the entire community along with its diaspora. With 7 years of experience, the Ijebu-Ode experiment has been successful in many ways. There is increasing evidence that poverty in the city has been reduced significantly through the microfinancing of existing and new productive activities and the estimated >8,000 jobs these activities have created. Training based on both sustainability science and technology and indigenous practitioner knowledge has been a critical factor in the establishment of cooperatives and the development of new enterprises in specialty crops, small animal, and fish production. Much of this success has been possible as a result of harnessing social capital, especially through the dynamic leadership of the traditional authorities of the city and by the provision of ample loanable funds through the National Poverty Eradication Program of the federal government. The city consultation process itself engendered a participatory focus to the experiment from the beginning and has encouraged sustainability. Yet long-term sustainability is still in question as the initial leadership needs replacement, and credit, the heart of the experiment, lacks sufficient collateral.