Choice Of Livelihood Strategies Research Articles

Livelihood Capital Effects on Famers' Strategy Choices in Flood-Prone Areas-A Study in Rural China.

The global climate change has resulted in huge flood damages, which seriously hinders the sustainable development of rural economy and society and causes famers’ livelihood problems. In flood-prone areas, it is imperative to actively study short and long-term strategies and solve farmers’ livelihood problems accordingly. Following the sustainable development analysis framework proposed by the Department for International Development (DFID), this study collects empirical data of 360 rural households in six sample villages in the Jialing River Basin of Sichuan Province, China through a village-to-household field questionnaire and applies the Multinominal Logit Model (MNL) to explore the influence of farmer households’ capital on livelihood strategy choice. Research results show that: (1) In human capital category, the education level of the household head has a significant positive impact on the livelihood strategies of farmers’ families; (2) In physical capital category, farmer households with larger space have more funds to choose among flood adaptation strategies; (3) In natural capital category, house location and the sale of family property for cash have the greatest negative impact on farmers’ livelihood strategies; (4) Rural households with more credit opportunities in financial capital are more willing to obtain emergency relief funds; (5) Farmers’ families helped by the village for a long time will probably not choose to move to avoid floods, but are more likely to choose buying flood insurance. This study provides an empirical reference for effective short and long term prevention and mitigation strategies design and application in rural in flood-prone areas.

The contribution of wild palms to the livelihoods and diversification of rural households in southern Mozambique

In most low-income countries, rural households combine a range of economic activities to generate income, achieve food and nutritional security and fulfill other livelihood objectives, including: small-scale farming, fishing, hunting, livestock and timber production, and non-timber forest products gathering, as well as off-farm activities such as wage labour and informal trading. This work examines the role of diversification, including palm products income, on rural livelihoods in the Zitundo area, southern Mozambique. Seven livelihood strategies were identified, with every strategy combining cash income from several sources. Most households adopt a wage-based strategy to some degree, although this strategy shows low potential for reducing poverty in the area. Households adopting a palm-based strategy show between 23% and 60% lower poverty incidence than those adopting alternatives strategies. Yet, a palm-based livelihood strategy was adopted by only 11% of households. Traders of palm products earn approximately double the annual income and per capita income than non-traders. Village of residency and some household socio-economic and demographic characteristics correlate with a households' choice of livelihood strategy and palm income dependency. The adherence of many households to a less remunerative wage strategy indicates other factors also influence the choice of livelihood strategies. The study shows that future development plans and policy interventions to mitigate poverty in the area should go beyond the usual agricultural sector and recognize the role of non-timber forest products, especially palm products, for people's livelihoods and poverty alleviation.

Exploring livelihood strategies of herder households in Mongolia: income-based approach

The classification of livelihood strategies is important for identifying different lifestyles and developing poverty reduction measures. The research was aimed to identify Mongolian herder households’ livelihood strategies and assess capital factors that impact their choice and livelihood outcomes in connection with wealth and poverty. A total of 350 herder households were surveyed using the stratified sampling methods from four different economic regions. The Income-Based Approach was applied to identify herder households’ livelihood strategies based on their primary income sources and Pearson correlation was used for assessing the influencing input. The study hypothesizes that herder households earn the majority of income sources from animal husbandry and an essential factor in the choice of livelihood strategy is the number of animals. The study found that livelihood strategies of nomadic herder households clustered into four main types: а) livestock income sources, solely b) earn from kinship and assistant herder salary in addition to livestock income; с) social benefits and pension income in addition to livestock income and d) income sources dependent on natural resources in addition to livestock income. Location, financial capital, and physical capital were the main factors for choosing a specific livelihood strategy. There was an insignificant difference between poor and wealthy herder households in terms of physical assets ownership. To reduce rural poverty, we need tailored sustainable development policies based on different herder households’ livelihood strategies. JEL code: Q01, Q12, I30, D19, D31

Choice of Livelihood Strategies and Its Determinants in Pastoralist Area of Bale Zone: The Case of Sawena District, Oromia, South East Ethiopia

The carrying capacity of pure pastoralist livelihood strategies only to attain food and livelihood security is extremely declining from time to time. Diversifying livelihood strategies at current time become a common phenomenon in the study area. The general objectives of this study are, therefore, to characterize the existing livelihood strategies adopted by pastoral households and its determinants in the Sawena district, Oromia National Regional State, Southeast Ethiopia. To examine this general objective, the study employed descriptive statistics and bivariate probit model. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for the study. For the purpose of this study primary data collected from 350 sample households through face-to, face interview. In addition, focus group discussions and personal observation are used. Relevant secondary data were also obtained from concerned zonal and district government office. Descriptive statistics was applied to characterize livelihood strategies of the sample households. The finding of the survey result indicates that about 66.57 % of households engaged on pure pastoralist activities, whereas about 33.43 % were relying only on agro pastoralist activities to achieve their livelihood goal(s).This result indicates that most of the pastoral household heads are engaged in pure pastoralist activities rather than diversifying toward agro pastoral and related non-pastoral livelihood activities. Bivariate probit model applied to investigate factors influencing the households’ choice of livelihood strategies. The Econometric model result indicated that age, family size, dependency ratio, tropical livestock unit of holding, access to mass media, distance from the nearest market, access to rural electrification, access to irrigation, total farm land size and access to rangeland were determining pastorals’ choice of livelihood strategies. The results of this study suggests that development interventions, policies and capacity-building activities should be designed to suit the felt needs and circumstances of different groups of pastorals households. Keywords: Livelihood capital asset, Livelihood strategies, pastoralist, Bivariate Probit models, South East Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/13-3-01 Publication date: February 28 th 2022

Influence of support measures on the livelihood strategy choice of out-of-poverty farming households in mountainous regions: A case study of the Longnan mountainous area

Influence of support measures on the livelihood strategy choice of out-of-poverty farming households in mountainous regions: A case study of the Longnan mountainous area

Assessment of income Generating Activities among Forest Fringe Communities in Cross River State of Nigeria

This study assessed the different income generating activities as well as factors that influenced choice of such activities among forest communities in Cross Rivers State of Nigeria. One hundred copies of structured questionnaire were used to obtain information from respondents in the study area. Two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were purposively selected for the study, due to their agrarian and forest-based nature. Five communities were then randomly selected from each of the LGAs and ten copies of questionnaire were randomly administered in each community. Both descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages as well as inferential statistics such as Multinomial Logistic Regression were used in the study. From the study, it was discovered that the average household size, age, farm size and household income were 4; 36.5; 1.75Ha and N39, 330 respectively. It was also observed that the respondents engaged in different income generating activities which are then categorized into On-farm only activities, Non-farm only activities as well as Non-farm+ On-farm activities. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of the respondents engaged in only farming activities with only 20% of them engaging in non-farm activities alone; while 43% of the respondents combine farm activities with non-farm activities. The results of the Multinomial Logistic Regression show that age, educational qualification, access to extension services, total household monthly income, farming experience, farm size as well as availability of forest were variables that significantly influenced the respondents’ choice of livelihood strategies at 5% level of significance.

Internal migration, rural livelihood strategies and sustainable forest management: Evidence from Bench Maji, Kaffa and Sheka Zones, South West Ethiopia

Abstract In south west Ethiopia, the numbers of immigrants from other parts of the country have been large over the last few years. This huge migration is considered to be a fundamental factor in the degradation of the natural forest because of the livelihood strategy difference of non-migrants and migrants. Thus, we investigated the link between internal migration, rural livelihood strategies and sustainable forest management in the study area. The study investigated the effect of internal migration and peoples’ livelihood strategy choice on sustainable forest management systems. The research was based on both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected from 392 household questionnaires. The descriptive analysis was supported with an empirical analysis using a multinomial logistic regression model. Internal migration is high because of push and pulls factors related to the migrant people. In addition, there is a livelihood choice difference between migrants and non-migrants. Migrants choose farm activities rather than a forest based livelihood means relative to non-migrants. These high population pressure and livelihood choice differences coupled with weak institutional frameworks have created a burden on the natural forest. Thus, informed policy options regarding internal migration, livelihood strategies and sustainable forest management would be a useful approach to reducing the burden on the natural forest.

Multinomial Logistic Regression Analysis of Livelihood Diversification Strategies of Rural Farm Households: A Case of Limmu District, East Wollega Zone of Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia

This study investigated the factors that influence the choice of livelihood strategies in rural areas of households in Limmu District, eastern Wollega zone of Oromiya regional state, Ethiopia. 292 households’ were selected using multi stages random and purposive sampling technique. A Multinomial logit regression model was applied to identify the determinants of agricultural diversification strategies in the area. Out of the total sample household heads about 46% of the total household income was derived from on farm only, 30% from a combination of on farm and nonfarm, about 12.33% from a combination of on farm, non-farm and off-farm and 12% from a combination of on farm and off-farm activities. The multinomial logit regression analysis revealed that education level, access to credit, access to mass media, dependency ratio, access to irrigation, urban linkage, climate change, extension contact and distance to the nearest road were theoretically consistent and statistically significant effect to the likelihood choice of diversification strategies. Whereas, age of household head, sex, distance to the market, cooperative membership, crop risk and distance from market were insignificant predictor of diversification strategy at 5% significance level. The findings of the study suggest that efforts should focus on the promotion of options, substitution between assets and activities to diversify household specific agriculture-linkage with non-farm and off farm diversification rather than focusing on the single agricultural productive farm by taking action to improve information, mobility and asset accumulation. Keywords: Multinomial Logit, Limmu, Livelihood diversification, on farm, off-farm, non-farm DOI: 10.7176/JESD/12-13-03 Publication date: July 31 st 2021

Factors influencing the livelihood strategy choices of rural households in tourist destinations

Identifying the influence factors lie behind the livelihood choices of rural households are of crucial significance for improving the sustainable livelihoods of rural households in tourism regions. Five villages in Sa Pa District, Vietnam, were selected in this study, to conduct household surveys and interviews with 180 households. Based on this, a comprehensive approach, which includes multinomial/binary logistic regression, Ripley’s function, and geographical detector, is applied to understand the households’ capital endowment and factors lie behind their livelihood choices. Results show that for rural households, tourism livelihood yields the highest income, but the lack of diversity of livelihood activities may make tourism livelihood household more vulnerable to the external risk and shocks than balanced livelihood households. Different types of households are found to show clustering feature, with clustering degree ranking as: agricultural > balanced > tourism > labour. Households with more natural capital are less likely to choose livelihoods other than agriculture livelihood. And households with more financial capital are less likely to engage in agricultural livelihood. Both financial capital and social capital can facilitate engagement in balanced livelihood. And financial capital is key to tourism livelihood, and a barrier impeding agricultural households to participate in other livelihood activities.

Land Loss with Compensation: What Are the Determinants of Income Among Households in Central Vietnam?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of household income following the loss of land owing to urban expansion in central Vietnam. Using data mainly from household surveys in the peri-urban areas of Hue city, the regression model indicates that demographic factors and livelihood strategy choices have important impacts on household income; financial compensation and support packages do not appear to be strong determinants of household income after the loss of land. This implies a failure of the current compensation programmes in the process of compulsory land acquisition, because the government believes that compensation packages make important contributions to livelihood reconstruction. This study suggests that investing in education and skill training for household members affected by land loss as well as assistance in converting compensation money into an adequate livelihood should be taken into consideration.

Review on Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification Strategies in Ethiopia

Driving force of livelihood diversification strategies can be different on the basis of location, assets, income levels, opportunities, institutions and social relations. Determinant Factors that undermine the rural house hold in Ethiopia; Land holding, Labor, financial access, Technology adoption, Water resource, Institutions &Organizations and Education Demographic factor (sex, age, and dependency ratio) and Choice of Livelihood strategies are On -farm activities; Off- farm activities; Non- farm activities and Combinations of two or three of above activities and the finally the outcome; Higher Income level; improved Wellbeing; Farmland scarcity; Agro-climatic condition and Decline in livestock productivity, crop and animal disease; Negative attitude of the society, lack of raw materials, low institutional capacity, lack of time, lack of storage facilities and costly inputs and lack of coordination. Hence, improved food security and sustainable resources utilization was the main of policy makers in the country. But, gender based impact on livelihood diversification option like agriculture; non-farm; off farm and mixed all kind option is common difference in common in many investigation which occurred all parts of Ethiopian regional settlement male and female participation and involvement is differ..

Social Impacts of High Dyke Construction and Farmers’ Responses: Case of Agricultural Intensification in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Since Vietnam government adopted a comprehensive reform known as Doi Moi policy in 1986, agricultural sector, especially intensive rice production, has played a critical role in a substantial growth and contributed significantly to poverty reduction in the Mekong Delta. In promoting rice intensification and agricultural diversification, a series of high dyke systems and embankments have recently been installed in many inundation areas of the Mekong Delta to provide flood protection so that farmers could grow rice even during flooding seasons. Local government assumed that farmers in new flood-protected areas are able to diversify and intensify agriculture, particularly rice production, thereby improve local livelihoods. Innovations in artificial hydraulic management and changes in agricultural production, however, have not only generated a great impact on environment and ecology of the Mekong Delta, but also triggered a process of social differentiation, causing the appearance of marginalized groups who must struggle for access resources to maintain their survival. Studies on the aspects of social differentiation and local efforts to cope with such adverse impacts have been rare. This paper aims to investigate recent trends of human intervention to regulate floodwater flows for agricultural intensification in the Mekong Delta and to explore the diversity and dynamics of farmers in adapting with these changes by examining their livelihood strategies. The mixed method comprising participatory rural appraisal (PRA), field observations, in-depth interviews with key informants and household surveys was employed to collect necessary data. The analysis suggests that the local people’s livelihoods constitute dynamic, complex and diverse paths to respond to changing social, economic and environmental conditions after the appearance of the high dyke systems. Households and individual farmers differ in the degree of emphasis and choice of livelihood strategies, according to their own capacity in the broader socio-political and economic context and the structure of their internal size, composition and capital. However, the small-scale farmers and poor landless group have been seen at the losing end in the trade-off and thereby excluded from the development process.

An overview of exiting contours for promoting different strategies for livelihood security in Sikkim Himalaya

Agriculture is the mainstay of the majority of the rural population of Sikkim. Due to adverse geographical location and difficult terrain, the prospect of expansion of area under cultivation is limited. Only 11% of land is under agriculture on which more than 60% of the total population depends on it for their livelihood. The basic livelihood problems in Sikkim is manifested in the high incidence of poverty in the state. It is particularly intriguing that poverty in the state co-exists with relatively rapid economic growth and a high level of per capita income. This paper aims to investigate the existing contours for promoting different strategies for livelihood security and factors which affect such livelihood strategies choices. A systematic, multistage stratified random sampling design was adopted to conduct a survey, and responses of 300 farming households and were documented in terms of a pre-tested structured questionnaire designed for the purpose. The data so obtained is categorized into agriculture, non-agriculture, and both. The logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression model are used to fulfill this objective. The study shows that livelihood strategy choices depend upon landholding, age, education, and distance from the market/headquarters, which may enlighten the policymakers and stakeholders in fine-tuning their designs and applications.

Climate-smart livelihood strategies in rural and urban communities in eastern Zimbabwe: an in-depth literature study

ABSTRACT Implementation of climate-smart livelihood strategies in communities is central to reducing impacts of climate shocks. Although the communities are vulnerable to climate variability, the magnitude of vulnerability depends on the choice of livelihood strategies being implemented. This paper applied a realist synthesis method to evaluate peer-reviewed literature on climate-smart livelihood strategies pursued in southern Africa in general and eastern Zimbabwe in particular. A holistic analysis of all climate variables was applied to adequately assess rural and urban communities’ adaptive strategies at micro-level. Accordingly, this review gave a nuanced analysis of vulnerability that frames the context in which communities’ livelihoods are affected by the increasing climate variability and extreme events. The review highlighted agriculture that involves forestry, crop and livestock farming as the predominant livelihoods in rural communities while crop farming and petty business dominates the informal economy as the core livelihoods in urban communities. Literature established the transformation of agriculture to climate smart practices that increase productivity and enhance the resilience of livelihoods. However, climate smart agriculture practices are not entirely new concepts. Most communities have always engaged in a variety of unorthodox farming methods to combat the impacts of climate variability and induced food insecurity. Given the right financial, technical and policy support, the communities are capable of constructing climate-smart livelihood strategies that are context specific. Fundamentally, the paper recommends that public and private institutions should develop capabilities to assess the impacts of climate related scenarios on vulnerable social groups to empower them to formulate bankable livelihood projects.

Rural Households’ Livelihood Strategy Choice and Livelihood Diversity of Main Ethnic Minorities in Chongqing, China

Rural household livelihood research of ethnic minorities is urgent to the development of ethnic areas in China and achieve the world poverty reduction goal. To improve ethnic rural household livelihood, it is fundamental to figure out what are the types, characteristics as well as impact factors of their livelihood strategies. In the study, we explored the household livelihood strategy choices and livelihood diversity of the main ethnic minorities (Tujia and Miao) in Chongqing, as well as how livelihood capitals impact livelihood strategy through methods of clustering, livelihood diversity index and multiple logistic regression under the framework of sustainable livelihood approach. The results show that: (1) Full-time job, both full-time and part-time job, part-time agriculture, part-time job and subsidized livelihood strategy are livelihood strategies adopted by Tujia and Miao rural households in Chongqing, China. (2) The characteristics of the identified livelihood strategies are diversified and various in natural, financial, human and finance capital. (3) A number of livelihood capitals impact the way that household choose their livelihood strategies, but the livelihood capitals have no significant impact on the livelihood diversity. By detailed analysis of the characteristic of rural ethnic household livelihood strategy, especial livelihood diversity, the research enriched sustainable livelihood literature and provided useful information for policymakers and practitioners in designing effective programs for regional sustainable development and ecological protection.

Ritualized Law and Livelihood Fragility of Left-Behind Women in Rural China.

Family separation in rural China has led to a considerably large number of left-behind women who have to deal with livelihood fragility. The Department for International Development (DFID) framework focusing on households provides a base to understand the livelihood fragility of these women. Based on this framework and the existing field research, this study identifies that the national macro-strategy of unsynchronized development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization leads to a separated migration model for rural families. Furthermore, the process of social modernization increases the fragility risk of how the left-behind family functions. The traditional gender culture expectations also directly affect rural families to make the livelihood strategy choice of, “male working outside, female taking care of home”. Based on the above theoretical research, this study extracts the concept of “ritualized law” to shed light on gender differentiation and family separation. A number of formal social security institutions have been established to promote the development of farmers, however, the ingrained culture gender differentiation encourages men to work in the profitable urban industry while women work in the field of unpaid agriculture and shoulder the responsibility of housework. This makes the formal institution a symbolic ornament for left-behind women, while they are forced to stay in rural areas and suffer from the fragility of livelihood.

Ruptured and Coveted Spaces: Youth Livelihood Trajectories in Post Conflict Context of Nigerian Communities

This paper examined how youth in post conflict context navigate livelihood spaces and why some spaces rupture whereas others are coveted. The focus of the study was on why youth in post conflict communities in Nigeria who depended on agriculture for their livelihood lost interest in farming despite various intervention programmes. Drawing on six focused group discussions and a survey of the pattern of agricultural engagement of 420 youth, the paper argues that in post conflict context, a new order is created and youth’s choice of livelihood strategy is not usually based on moralistic assumptions but on craving for an improved position in the new order. Findings from the study attributed youth disinterest in agriculture to change in the societal incentive structure which shapes and validates livelihood options. By highlighting how youth in post conflict settings construe livelihood spaces and employ different agencies for gaining respectability in a new post conflict order, the paper provides insights into optimal attributes of post conflict interventions and incentives.

Mode of Production and Sustainability of Torani Fishermen Household Livelihoods in Takalar District

A livelihood strategy is fundamental in the lives of residents, including torani fishermen as an effort to survive or improve their standard of living. The sustainability of the torani fishermen’s livelihood pattern is related to the social formation in the mode of production (production power and production relations) that takes place. This research aims to analyze the relationship between the mode of production with a livelihood strategy that is carried out for the sustainability of torani fishermen in Takalar district. This research develops a pospositivistic paradigm of descriptive research through a qualitative method using a case study design. Data was collected and analyzed according to the instructions of qualitative research through three stages of activities, namely 1). Data reduction 2). Data exposure and 3). Conclusion and verification. The results of the study indicate that the mode of production that takes place in the torani fishing community is the capitalist mode of production and the non-capitalist mode of production, where the capitalist mode of production dominates the non-capitalist mode of production. The two modes of production provide different income results and become the basis for making a choice of livelihood strategies. Some choices of livelihood strategies that have been carried out are survival strategies, consolidation strategies, accumulation strategies and diversification strategy

Choice of Livelihood Strategies and Its Determinants in Pastoralist Area of Bale Zone: The Case of Sawena District, Oromia, South East Ethiopia

The carrying capacity of pure pastoralist livelihood strategies only to attain food and livelihood security is extremely declining from time to time. Diversifying livelihood strategies at current time become a standard phenomenon within the study area. The general objectives of this study are, therefore, to characterize the existing livelihood strategies adopted by pastoral households and its determinants in the Sawena district, Oromia National Regional State, Southeast Ethiopia. To examine this general objective, the study employed descriptive statistics and bivariate probit model. Both primary and secondary data sources were used for the study. For the purpose of this study primary data collected from 350 sample households through face-to-face interviews. In addition, focus group discussions and personal observation are used. Relevant secondary data were also obtained from concerned zonal and district government offices. Descriptive statistics was applied to characterize livelihood strategies of the sample households. The finding of the survey result indicates that about 66.57% of households engaged on pure pastoralist activities, whereas about 33.43% were relying only on agro pastoralist activities to achieve their livelihood goal(s). This result indicates that most of the pastoral household heads are engaged in pure pastoralist activities rather than diversifying toward agro pastoral and related non-pastoral livelihood activities. Bivariate probit model applied to investigate factors influencing the households’ choice of livelihood strategies. The Econometric model result indicated that age, family size, dependency ratio, tropical livestock unit of holding, access to mass media, distance from the nearest market, access to rural electrification, access to irrigation, total farmland size and access to rangeland were determining pastorals’ choice of livelihood strategies. The results of this study suggest that development interventions, policies and capacity-building activities should be designed to suit the felt needs and circumstances of different groups of pastorals households.

Assets, Rural Livelihood Strategies and Welfare Outcomes: A Case Study from South Assam, India

This article uses income and asset data from a sample of 394 rural households from the remote and agriculturally backward region of the Barak Valley, located in the southern part of the north-eastern state of Assam in India, to construct a poverty profile for the area based on the asset structure of households. In doing so, the study goes beyond the traditional income-centric approach which treats the poor as a homogeneous group and takes a deeper look into the character of poverty in the region by segregating households on the basis of various poverty configurations. Further, using a combination of cluster analysis and propensity score matching methods, the study explores the relation between asset ownership and the choice of livelihood strategies and subsequently evaluates the impact of such choices on the income poverty status of rural households. The study finds that vulnerability is very high in the study area, with two-thirds of the rural households being afflicted with one type of deprivation or the other. However, the nature of deprivation being diverse, the study underscores the need for profiling poverty in terms of its structural and stochastic components and designing policy interventions suited to specific situations, for maximisation of welfare gains.