The Political Economy of Groundnut Production in Northern Nigeria Under British Colonialism

This study examines the political economy of groundnut production in Northern Nigeria under British colonial rule from approximately 1900 to 1960, analysing how the colonial groundnut export economy was constructed through taxation policy, infrastructure investment, and the mobilisation of peasant Hausa-Fulani farmers as commodity producers for metropolitan markets. Northern Nigeria was transformed into one of the world's leading groundnut exporters during the colonial period, yet the economic benefits of this productivity accrued primarily to British trading firms and the colonial government rather than to producing communities. Using a descriptive historical design, the study draws on colonial agricultural department reports, groundnut marketing board records, and railway freight statistics from the National Archives Kaduna, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2019 and 2024. The Dependency Theory and the Peasant Economy Framework provide the analytical lenses. Findings reveal that the colonial taxation system including hut taxes and poll taxes was the primary mechanism that compelled smallholder farmers to enter groundnut commodity production as a means of generating cash to meet tax obligations. The Kano Groundnut Pyramids masked a profoundly unequal political economy in which value added from processing, shipping, and marketing accrued to metropolis rather than periphery. Keywords: groundnut production, Northern Nigeria, colonial economy, peasant farming, dependency.