Needs Assessment: Agric-Led Livelihoods in Kware and Wamakko

LHI's project team carried out a needs assessment in Kware and Wamakko LGAs, Sokoto State, in March 2026, to shape an agric-led livelihood project.

Download the report (PDF)

How it was done

Household surveys, focus group discussions and key informant interviews with 120 households (60 per LGA), community leaders, extension agents and market actors.

What we found

| Indicator | Kware | Wamakko | |---|---|---| | Average household size | 8 | 9 | | Households engaged in farming | 82% | 85% |

• Agriculture provides 70–80% of household income; farms are mostly 1–3 hectares and rain-fed.
• Staples are millet, sorghum, maize, cowpea and groundnut, with goats, sheep and poultry.
• Middlemen dominate pricing, and poor roads and storage reduce profits. Women process and sell products but struggle to scale.
• Farmers asked for training in pest and disease management, soil fertility, post-harvest handling and financial literacy.
• Risks include erratic rainfall and dry spells, striga weed and locusts, costly credit, seasonal youth migration, and women's limited access to land and finance.

Recommendations

Improved irrigation for year-round farming; farmer cooperatives for collective bargaining; climate-smart agriculture; stronger extension services; value-chain development (processing and branding); microfinance for smallholders and women; rural roads and storage; and youth-focused agribusiness programmes.

See the key figures on our fact sheet