Understanding the Aspirations of Farming Communities in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Ravi Nandi,Swamikannu Nedumaran

doi:10.1057/s41287-021-00413-0

Abstract

This study surveys the panorama of research on the importance of aspirations of farming communities, identifies research gaps and prospects for future research. The analysis of 22 studies identified from 419 research articles sheds light on the relationships between aspirations, agriculture, women’s empowerment, poverty, and rural youth. Aspirations of the rural poor play a significant role in shaping their activities and investments. Furthermore, the poor and those who are exposed to natural disasters are more likely suffering from aspiration failure and their resilience needs to be built. Specifically, women’s empowerment could be supported through raising aspirations. In addition, intergenerational aspirations and corresponding investment plans in agriculture are in absolute contrast and parental desires and their children’s aspirations do not align. Overall, development program-specific research is needed to determine policies and programs that successfully and cost-effectively raise the rural poor's aspirations and thereby improve livelihoods in developing countries.

Highlights

The aspirations of the rural poor are increasingly being recognized as an essential dimension of their well-being (Kosec and Mo 2017)
This section briefly describes the findings from our review and categorizes them based on aspiration studies within the context of agricultural development for livelihood outcomes
Most of the studies in Ethiopia and Pakistan are of high quality whereas most of the studies in India are of medium to poor quality, with the exception of one study by Raghunathan et al (2018)

Summary

Introduction

The aspirations of the rural poor are increasingly being recognized as an essential dimension of their well-being (Kosec and Mo 2017). Populations with high aspirations subsequently visualize and engage in forward-looking behavior (Dalton et al 2015; Kosec and Mo 2017), whereas low aspirations among the rural poor lead to reduced efforts and fewer investments for bringing about a prosperous future. The dimensions to which an individual could aspire are potentially infinite; income, wealth, education, and social status are the central dimensions that capture a large share of what the rural poor aspire to (Kosec et al 2016). Recent research in Pakistan revealed that income, assets (wealth), status in society, education for children, and security are typical aspirational themes for rural communities that are involved in agricultural activities (Kosec and Mo 2017)

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Conclusion