Livelihoods Of Farming Households Research Articles

Gender Inequality in Schooling among Children and the Implications for Livelihood of Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Gender Inequality in Schooling among Children and the Implications for Livelihood of Farming Households in Kwara State, Nigeria

Vulnerability of Farm Households to Impacts of the Abaca Bunchy Top Disease: A Case in Leyte, Philippines

The abaca bunchy top disease (ABTD) has destroyed thousands of hectares of abaca farms, leading to the decline in agriculture and economic production of farmers and their households. This paper frames the widespread disease incidence as a disaster and analyzes the factors that made farm households in Barangay Pinamonoan, an abaca-growing community, vulnerable to the disease and its impacts. It grounds its analysis on the pressure and release (PAR) and access models by Blaikie et al (1994) and the sustainable livelihoods framework by Scoones (1998, 2009). From these, an analytical framework was developed to illustrate the complexity of the relationships of the different factors contributing to farm households’ vulnerability to a widespread crop disease. The reliance of farm households on abaca production was influenced by the high global demand of abaca fiber. This global demand made abaca an important export commodity; hence, government policies and programs were focused on increasing its production and less on ensuring that the livelihoods of farm households were secure. While abaca production is profitable, sole reliance on this could prove disastrous in the event of a hazard. Access to resources determined how farm households absorbed the shock and recovered from it. Households who had significant assets were able to shift to other crops or enterprises. Households with access to people with resources and who could provide assistance were also more likely to cope. The most affected in the village were the households who, even before the disease, had limited resources, both in terms of material assets and social support networks.

Multidimensional study of pulse production in Bundelkhand region of India

The Bundelkhand is a major pulses growing region of India. The livelihood of farm households in the region dependent on the agriculture and particularly on pulses as one of the major cultivated crop. The Bundelkhand region comprises of 13 districts which includes 7 districts from Uttar Pradesh and 6 districts from Madhya Pradesh. The major growing pulse crops are pigeonpea, urdbean, and mungbean cultivated during kharif and chickpea, field pea and lentil in rabi season. The study was conducted among 650 farmers to know the extent of adoption of improved pulse production practices and constraints perceived by the farmers in cultivation of the pulses in Bundelkhand region. The study revealed that all the sampled farmers of Hamirpur district were using improved seed of pulses whereas fertilize was applied by all the sampled farmers of Chitrakut district. The plant protection measures used by all the selected farmers of Chitrakut, Jalaun and Mahoba districts. In Madhya Pradesh, about 90% selected farmers of Sagar and Tikamgarh district were using improved seed of pulses, application of DAP and pest management done by all the farmers. About 70% farmers of Jhansi and Mahoba district farmers faced the problem of assess to quality seed while 70 % sampled farmers of Madhya Pradesh reported lack of knowledge about quality seed, non availability of fertilizers in Tikamgarh district, problem in lentil crop. Problem of weed management reported by 60-80% of sampled farmers from all the district of M. P. Thus it can be concluded that assess to quality seed, insect damage loss and menance of blue bull were the major constraints adversely impacted the pulse production in Bundhelkhand region.

Households’ Coping Dynamics in Response to Large-Scale Land Acquisition for Jatropha Plantations: Evidence from Asante Akim North District of Ghana

The study investigated the implications of large-scale land acquisition for jatropha cultivation on the livelihoods of farming households and the various coping strategies adopted. Three communities namely- Dukusen, Ananekrom and Afrisie in the Asante Akim North District were selected for the study based on their proximity to a large-scale jatropha plantation project and the extent of farming activities in the communities. The study employed the mixed method strategy using a cross-sectional study design. Interviews, focus group discussion and documentary analysis were espoused in gathering data for the study. The simple random sampling procedure was used in selecting 30 farming households whereas the managers of the plantation project and two local chiefs, two District Assemblymen, and the Headmasters of basic schools were purposively selected and interviewed. Correlation and descriptive statistical tools were used to analyze the quantitative data while recursive abstraction was applied in analyzing the qualitative aspects of the data. We found that prior to the large-scale land acquisition by the plantation project, all the respondents (100%) had farming as their livelihood activity and major source of food and income, but this had, however, dropped to 60% after the land acquisition for the jatropha project. The average farm size had also reduced from 3.5 acres per household to about 1.5 acres. These changes have triggered various coping dynamics among farming households within the study communities including all year round cropping, application of fertilizers, and cultivation of high-yielding varieties as well as petty trading activities to support household income and ensure sustainable livelihoods and wellbeing. The paper generally concludes that large-scale land acquisition has higher tendency of pushing farming households into adopting different coping strategies and dynamics. The findings reveal new dimensions of the empirical accounts on households’ coping dynamics in response to large-scale land acquisition.

ROLE OF IMPROVED SEEDS TOWARDS IMPROVING LIVELIHOOD AND FOOD SECURITY AT ETHIOPIA

Seed is a key input for improving crop production and productivity. Increasing the quality of seeds can increase the yield potential of the crop by significant folds and thus, is one of the most economical and efficient inputs to agricultural development. Generation and transfer of improved technologies are critical prerequisites for agricultural development particularly for an agrarian based economy such as of Ethiopian. In Ethiopia, for instance, a unit increase in GDP derived from agriculture has a potential of reducing poverty annually by 1.66% as compared to 0.73% poverty reduction expected from non-agricultural sector. Agriculture, particularly crop farming, has a greater effect on both the rural and the urban poor who spend more than a half of their incomes on food. When there are different seed sources available and farmers get access to them there is high probability of adoption of improved varieties .An enhanced seed availability though formal or informal or both sources will improve smallholder farmer’s access to seed and enhance improved variety adoption. In practice, whenever a farmer is talking about getting a new seed it implies that she or he is deciding to adopt a new variety. The ultimate goal of a farm household in a risk prone agro-ecology is to obtain seed with characteristics suitable to farmers’ agro-ecological and socio-economic condition. Similarly, seed is pivotal in the improvement of food security and farm household livelihood.

Role of capitals and capabilities in ensuring economic resilience of land conservation efforts: A case study of the grain for green project in China’s Loess Hills

The article describes how economic resilience of farming households can be measured using a composite indicator of revealed adaptive actions, and investigates how capabilities of farm households to recombine human, financial, natural and physical capitals are linked to observed economic resilience to land set-aside interventions. The land set-aside intervention known as the Grain for Green Project (GGP), which has been altering livelihoods of farming households in China’s Loess Hills since 1999, is taken as a case study. Household surveys were conducted in three V-shaped valleys and three riparian areas in Yanhe Township in northwestern China in an effort to measure household resilience and explore its’ relationship to forms of capital. A composite index of adaptive strategies that can reorganize livelihood activities under land set-aside intervention into a new economic equilibrium is crafted using an objective weighting scheme based on principal component analysis. Subsequently, a multiple regression model was utilized to examine the relationship between the composite resilience index and various indicators related to human, social, financial, natural and physical capitals. The results reveal the latent structure and internal correlations of adaptive strategies, and present quantitative evidence about the relationship between livelihood capitals and household economic resilience. The analysis shows that household resilience deteriorates when the ratio of GGP land to cultivated farmland goes above a threshold level, and revealed that interventions targeting various forms of capitals can enhance the economic resilience for households to conservation efforts.

Women's role in management and utilization of forest resource in hills of Rawain valley of Uttarakhand

Traditional knowledge system has been a key to the survival of the hill society, be it in cropping, forestry or health. It has not only ensured continuous livelihood of farm households but also ecological sustainability. Farming in the hills is highly interdependent with forestry and animal husbandry, and women have been the backbone to this totally integrated system. They have a high workload but have successfully preserved transformed and carried traditional knowledge from generation to generation. However, women’s role as the preservers and carriers of this knowledge has not been extensively recognised so far in the present studied area. The present study is aimed to explore how the women of hills of Rawain valley access the natural resources and their role as a preserver of traditional knowledge.

Farm household level adaptation metrics for agriculture and water sectors

Purpose – This study aims to provide a methodology for constructing farm household-level adaptation metrics for agriculture and water sectors. The livelihood of farm households is at risk now and in the foreseeable future, as both agriculture and water sectors are vulnerable to climate variability, particularly in developing nations. Adaptation is critical to protect their livelihood. Vulnerable farmers have adopted various adaptation mechanisms to counteract negative impacts of climate variability, though the extent varies temporally and spatially. Design/methodology/approach – It is, therefore, imperative to understand current adaptation practices for successfully implementing them. A few studies have emerged so far in this context, investigating different issues associated with micro-level adaptation strategies related to agriculture and water sectors, e.g. output and cost-effectiveness, and constraints related to farm, household and institutional levels. Findings – While such analysis is critical to enhance micro-level adaptation measures, there is a felt need to formulate adaptation metrics that can investigate the underlying factors in an integrated manner. For empirical assessment, 146 farmers were interviewed from different agro-ecological zones of Tamil Nadu, India, regarding seven adaptation measures, such as micro-irrigation, rainwater harvesting, resistant crops, use of bio-fertilisers, crop insurance, income diversification and community-based efforts. Practical implications – These adaptation measures were evaluated through an Analytical Hierarchy Process using four criteria: effective awareness, economic viability, individual and institutional compatibility and flexibility and independent benefits. Originality/value – The present study provides a methodology to identify barriers that limit implementation of adaptation measures, and enable target-oriented policy measures to promote appropriate adaptation strategies at the local level.

Fertiliser trees for sustainable food security in the maize-based production systems of East and Southern Africa. A review

The negative effects of soil fertility depletion on food security, especially among smallholder farmers in Africa, is of economic importance, and may be worsened by climate change and rising global fertiliser prices. Substantial efforts and investment have gone into development of alternative soil fertility management options. These include vigorous research and development of N-fixing plants or “fertiliser trees”, that has been on-going in the last two decades in East and Southern Africa. In this paper, we review several studies conducted both on-station and on-farm and synthesise the results in terms of improvements in soil physical, chemical and biological properties, and crop yield in response to fertiliser trees. Our major findings are that (1) fertiliser trees add more than 60 kg N ha−1 per year through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF); (2) nutrient contributions from fertiliser tree biomass can reduce the requirement for mineral N fertiliser by 75%, translating to huge savings on mineral fertilisers; (3) fertiliser trees were also shown to substantially increase crop yield. A meta-analysis has further provided conclusive evidence that with good management, fertiliser trees can double maize yields compared with local farmer practices of maize cultivation without addition of external fertilisation. (4) Financial analyses showed that fertiliser tree systems are profitable and also have higher net returns than the farmers’ de facto practice, i.e. continuous maize cropping without fertiliser. We conclude that widespread adoption and scaling up of fertiliser trees can reduce the amount of mineral fertiliser needed, maintain the soil ecosystem, and positively impact on the livelihoods of farm households in southern Africa.

FENCES IN URBAN AND PERI-URBAN GARDENS OF KHARTOUM, SUDAN

ABSTRACT The city of Greater Khartoum, capital of the Republic of the Sudan, is an example of a rapidly expanding Sub-Saharan Africa city where urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) plays an important role in the livelihoods of farm households and urban consumers. This study was conducted in 120 gardens, covering 160 ha in three UPA locations of Khartoum, to determine the previously undocumented extent and composition of fences and to identify the role of living fences in the structure and function of the agricultural ecosystems. Fences were recorded in 51% of the gardens, as external boundaries and internal subdivisions, with non-living fences and living fences of various types accounting for 66% and 34%, respectively, of the 14,279 m of fences recorded. The survey identified 22 plant species used in living fences. Some species, such as Christ's thorn (Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd.), were used to construct dead branch barrier fences which comprised 45% of all fences in the study areas. Fences were found to be important in the protection of orchards, enclosure of livestock and residential compounds, and as barriers to encroachment along local roads. It was apparent that living fences were under-utilised as sources of food or non-food products and as windbreaks in a situation where mounting environmental and economic pressures place ever increasing demands on garden production.

A comparison of traditional and modified inland artisanal aquaculture systems

Traditional artisanal aquaculture systems are commonly assumed to be mainly for subsistence, to use predominantly on-farm inputs, and to have been developed by farmers themselves. Such systems with a long history in South East Asia exist mainly in northern Lao PDR, northern Vietnam and in West Java. In most other areas the traditional fish supply, wild fish, has declined only relatively recently, providing a stimulus for growth of aquaculture over the past few decades. An overview of artisanal aquaculture so defined in the South East Asian region is presented from a systems context considering social and economic aspects (micro- and macro-level perspectives), production technology (rice fields, ponds, cages), and environmental aspects (fitting into the local resource base without adverse environmental impact). Most artisanal aquaculture systems are integrated with crops and livestock but generally resource-poor farms constrain production. Rising expectations mean that productivity must be enhanced by off-farm inputs for aquaculture to contribute significantly to the farm household livelihood system. It is proposed that the term ‘small-scale’ be used rather than ‘artisanal’ because of increasing farmer interest in income rather than subsistence, because of increasing use of off-farm inputs, and because of the increasingly important role of science in the promotion of such systems.