ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one soil and water conservation (SWC) technique - small-basin irrigation - and its rapid evolution on the Jos Plateau in Northern Nigeria, in response to recent social and economic changes. Small-basin irrigation has created new and profitable opportunities for agricultural production. It enables crops to be produced during the dry season as well as during periods of drought in the wet season. Although irrigation has been an important agricultural strategy for many years, the technology and its application have changed dramatically. It is argued here that while the potential to expand smallbasin agriculture on the plateau is great, the predominant obstacles remain the substantial investment in labour and capital which are required to exploit it.
