Choice Of Livelihood Strategies Research Articles

Exploring farmer choices in Southern Togo: Utilizing a strategy game to understand decision-making in agricultural practices

CONTEXTAgriculture plays a vital role in African countries, driving economic growth, employment, and non-agricultural sector improvements. However, persistent food insecurity and poverty among smallholder families raise concerns. Land fragmentation compounds these issues, limiting agricultural productivity and pushing farmers towards off-farm activities, despite Africa's potential agricultural markets. OBJECTIVEThe study's focus is Donomadé, a remote village in southern Togo. This study pursues a dual objective. Firstly, it investigates how household characteristics, including family size and resource availability, influence farmers' resource management decisions. Secondly, the research employs serious games to comprehend farmers' livelihood strategy choices within constrained real-world-like conditions. METHODSThe iterative and participatory Companion Modelling (ComMod) approach was utilized for the co-design and co-development of a serious game. This involved close collaboration with a local research team from the University of Lomé, a local NGO, and Donomadé village farmers. Various farming systems were characterized, and collective insights into Donomadé's agricultural dynamics were gathered through surveys, interviews, and workshops. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSRegardless of their in-game roles, farmers prioritize fulfilling basic family needs, such as food security and education instead of investing in agriculture. The study underscores the significance of household composition and resource availability when designing technology interventions or support mechanisms for farmers. Aligning interventions with farmers' overarching goals and challenges can enhance technology adoption. Furthermore, addressing food security remains crucial for sustainable development, as it not only improves human welfare and alleviates hunger but also forms the foundation for comprehensive solutions in the face of climate change, resource constraints, and population growth. SIGNIFICANCEThis research highlights that heavy investment in agriculture is not the priority for many farmers in southern Togo, despite it being their main source of sustenance and income. Addressing immediate family needs, especially food security, education, and housing, takes precedence over long-term agricultural investments. Given the persistent challenge of food security amidst global uncertainties, addressing these priorities is paramount to stimulate more significant interest in agricultural investment.

Household Livelihood Strategies and Forest Resource Use in Rural West Bengal, India

The economic contributions of forest resources to the well-being of rural households are enormous. However, the level of forest benefits and degree of forest reliance vary across households. Drawing on a sustainable livelihood framework, this article explores how these forest resource uses correlate to the choice of livelihood strategies of rural forest-dependent households with a specific focus on the increased income of households, filling income shortfall, coping with shocks and livelihood diversification. Data were collected from 407 rural forest-dependent households in West Bengal, India. Based on the share of forest income in total household income, households were classified into different livelihood strategy groups. One-way ANOVA was run to test the income differences among these groups. The forest extractive strategy was found least income-generating of all livelihood strategies. Multinomial logit regression was carried out to identify the asset-based explanatory variables that influence livelihood strategy choices and forest dependency of the studied households. Analyses show that households’ differential access to or endowment of livelihood assets determines the choice of a rural household’s livelihood strategy and that forest resource uses of the households are livelihood strategy driven. Asset-poor households should be given opportunities to pursue livelihood activities with higher economic returns. JEL Classifications: Q23, Q56, Q57

Analysis of Residents’ Livelihoods in Transformed Shantytowns: A Case Study of a Resource-Based City in China

Research on shantytown transformation in the context of building sustainable human settlements has tended to concentrate on macro and objective factors. However, there is still room for expanding research on the livelihoods of residents in transformed poor communities of resource-based cities. This study is based on household survey data after the coal mine shantytown transformation in Datong, China, and uses the entropy method and Logit regression model to analyze the livelihood level and impact of livelihood capital on the choice of livelihood strategies of the residents after shantytown transformation. Based on the development characteristics of the Datong coal mining community, the traditional sustainable livelihood analysis framework is improved, constructing a livelihood capital evaluation system including natural capital, physical capital, financial capital, social capital, human capital and cultural capital. The research indicates that the livelihoods of the residents after shantytown transformation are in a state of low-value aggregation and differentiation, their livelihood strategies are still dependent on coal mining, financial capital and cultural capital have significant positive impacts on the residents’ livelihood strategies of choosing coal mine-related industries, and males and elderly people have a greater likelihood of choosing coal mine-related industries. This study provides micro-level explanations for the livelihood status and livelihood strategy choices of residents after shantytown transformation in a resource-based city and provides policy enlightenment for local governments on how to promote the sustainable development of residents in coal mining communities.

Determinants of choices of livelihood strategies among young people in Rwanda

ABSTRACT Using data from the 2016/2017 wave of the Integrated Household Living Condition Survey, this paper assesses livelihood strategies, the return to labour and drivers of choice of livelihood strategies among rural youth in Rwanda. The findings show that youth in Rwanda pursue four livelihood strategies, namely, agriculture, non-farm wages, self-employment, and diversification. Apparently, a non-farm wage is the most rewarding strategy. Age, sex, education, household size, land size, land productivity, and distance to the nearest urban centre influence the choice of livelihood strategies. The study recommends strengthening agricultural productivity-enhancing policies and the expansion of employment frontiers in the non-farm rural economy.

The role of livelihood assets in livelihood strategy choice from the perspective of macrofungal conservation in nature reserves on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The role of livelihood assets in livelihood strategy choice from the perspective of macrofungal conservation in nature reserves on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Analysis of the Impact of Livelihood Capital on Livelihood Strategies of Leased-In Farmland Households: A Case Study of Jiangxi Province, China

In the context of the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, the industrialization of agriculture and rural areas is rapidly increasing, and more and more capable people in rural management are actively leasing land to develop modern agriculture, broaden diversified livelihood channels, and pursue sustainable development. We used leased-in farmland households as an entry point, focusing on the development of rural industries and the choice of livelihood strategies to fill a gap in the existing literature. Based on sustainable livelihood theory, we constructed a sustainable livelihood analysis framework for leased-in farmland households using the survey data of 283 leased-in farmland households in Yudu County. A livelihood capital indicator system was constructed, and the entropy value method and other measurement methods were used. Firstly, we analyzed and comprehensively evaluated the livelihood capital and livelihood strategies of leased-in farmland households in Yudu County, Jiangxi Province. We then used binary logistic regression models and polynomial logistic regression models to analyze the influence of the differentiation in leased-in farmland households’ livelihood capital on the choice of livelihood strategies and their transformation and conducted robustness tests on the relevant findings. Different types of livelihood capital have different effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies. Natural capital and physical capital have significant positive effects on agriculture-led livelihood strategies, but financial capital, human capital, and social capital have negative effects. Natural capital has a significant negative effect on the pluriactivity strategy, while physical, human, and social capital have insignificant effects on it. For off-farm livelihood strategies, natural capital and financial capital have insignificant effects, physical capital has a significant negative effect, and human capital and social capital have a significant positive contribution.

The impact of farmland transfer participation on farmers' livelihood choices – an empirical study of the effectiveness of the 2014 Three Property Rights Separation reform

PurposeFarmland transfer choice is strongly associated with the livelihood strategies of rural households. The 2014 Three Property Rights Separation (TPRS) reform has legalized farmland transfer practices in rural China, hence stimulating the farmland transfer market at the national scale. This paper aims to determine the extent to which rural family livelihood strategies are influenced by their participation decision in farmland transfer practices. Further, the authors examined the effectiveness of the TPRS reform on the impact of farmland transfer participation on rural household livelihood strategy choices.Design/methodology/approachBased on the sustainable livelihood approach (SLA) using data from a national rural household survey, the authors employ the logit model and the propensity score matching (PSM) method to estimate the impact of household farmland transfer participation. Its interaction effects with household livelihood capital on their livelihood strategy choices and diversification level are also investigated. The difference-in-difference (DID) model is employed to assess the effectiveness of the TPRS reform.FindingsThe results indicate that the participation in transferred-out farmland could improve rural households' non-agricultural livelihood strategies. While the participation in transferred-in farmland could improve the probability of rural families' engaging in pure-agricultural (PA) or agricultural-dependent (AD) livelihood strategies, the TPRS reform can attract specialized farmers to increase their farm size through the market solutions and encourage small farmers to leave their farmland to engage in more off-farm work.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on farmers' livelihood by exploring the role of farmland transfer decision and the effectiveness of 2014 TPRS reform through the SLA approach.

Rural youths' choice of livelihood strategies and their effect on income poverty and food security in Rwanda

PurposeThis study aims at exploring the choices of livelihood strategies amongst the rural youth and how these choices relate to food security and income poverty.Design/methodology/approachThe study used data from the 2016/17 wave of Integrated Household Living Condition Survey, with a sample size of 1,050 rural youths. Statistical and econometrics methods including descriptive statistics and the Multinomial Endogenous Treatment Effect (METE) model were used to analyse the data.FindingsLivelihood choices were grouped into five categories, namely agriculture, non-farm wage employment, agriculture plus non-farm wage, agriculture plus self-employment and agriculture plus non-farm wage plus self-employment. The estimates from METE indicate that the youths' choice of non-farm wage, agriculture plus non-farm wage and agriculture plus self-employment contributes substantially to household food security improvement and poverty reduction. These findings show that agriculture is necessary but not a sufficient livelihood strategy to sustain the rural youth's contribution to youth's household welfare. The rural youth will pursue agriculture as a reliable source of livelihood not only for food self-sufficiency, but also for ensuring adequate return to labour.Originality/valueThis paper extends single choice analysis to multiple choices impact analysis, which has the advantage of accounting for selection bias due to both observed and unobserved heterogeneity. This paper assesses the differential impact of the choice of single as well as multiple livelihood strategies.

Livelihood options of landless rural households in Tigrai Region, Northern Ethiopia: evidence from selected districts

BackgroundThe livelihood of rural households in Ethiopia, like in most developing countries, largely depends on land resource. However, nowadays most rural households are denied access to arable land in the highland of Ethiopia due to high population growth and shortage of arable land. Landlessness is, therefore, becoming a serious social and economic problem in the rural highland areas of Ethiopia in general and Tigrai region in particular. This study, therefore, intends to explore the choice of livelihood strategies of landless rural households and assess the challenges and opportunities of the livelihoods of landless rural households in selected districts of Tigrai region.MethodsThis study is conducted in three randomly selected districts of Tigrai region, namely, Kilte-Awlaelo, Degua-Tembien, and Hintalo-Wajerat districts. For the purpose of this study, two Tabias were randomly chosen from each districts. Then, afterward, both primary and secondary data sources were consulted to address the specific objectives of this study. The primary data were collected from 258 randomly selected households and six focus group discussions. This study used Multivariate Probit and Negative Binomial Regression to analyze factors influencing the choice of livelihood strategies and the number of livelihood options adopted by the landless rural households, respectively.ResultsThis study finds that the livelihood sources of the landless rural households in the study area include farm (90%), non-farm (72%), and off-farm (41%) economic activities. The result of the Multivariate Probit regression indicates that household head characteristics, human capital, social capital, physical capital, financial capital, and institution-related factors were significantly influencing the choice of livelihood strategies of the landless rural households. The results of the negative binomial regression model, on the other hand, assert that household head-related factors, social capital, and institution-related factors were significantly influencing the number of livelihood options adopted by the landless rural households. This study affirms that stone or sand selling, dairy farming, poultry production, animal fattening, and bee keeping are the major opportunities to improve the livelihood of the landless rural households. Moreover, this study also identifies that shortage of arable land, youth unemployment, lack of access to infrastructure, poor land administration, and lack of access to financial capital were the major challenges facing the landless rural households.Concluding remarksThis study concludes that all stakeholders efforts to address the problem of landlessness need to be geared to enhance access of landless rural households to different livelihood capitals, such as human, social, financial, physical, and natural capitals. Moreover, rural township and village enterprises could enhance the access of landless rural households to market and job opportunities.

Factors influencing livelihood strategy choice and food security among youths in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe

Several governments and development practitioners view youths as critical to the strategy of enhancing food and nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods in rural Africa. Despite youths being at the centre of food and nutrition security, their contribution to household food security remains understudied. The lack of such evidence has made it difficult to develop and implement effective and sustainable solutions to food insecurity and poverty in rural Africa. Thus, the study examines the factors influencing livelihood strategy choice and food security among youths in three districts of Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe. A total sample of 200 randomly selected youths was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results show that agriculture was the main livelihood strategy followed by remittance dependant, self-employment, migration, and cross-border trading. In terms of remuneration, cross-border trading was found to be the most remunerative livelihood strategy followed by remittance dependant, self-employment, migration, and agriculture. The youths associated their choice of livelihood strategy with factors such as gender, age, land ownership, access to the internet, social group membership, access to credit and level of education. The study also finds food insecurity, notably severe food insecurity to be a general characteristic among the respondents. The nature of the livelihood strategy of the youths, their socioeconomic characteristics and livelihood capital were found to significantly influence household food security. The study recommends that the government implements strategies to make agriculture a sustainable livelihood option and policies to support youth in the non-farm sector should be a priority.

Why is farming important for rural livelihood security in the global south? COVID-19 and changing rural livelihoods in Nepal's mid-hills

Over the last three decades, Nepal has experienced a rapid transition in rural livelihoods, from largely subsistence farming to more diversified off-farm employment and remittances. Despite this, subsistence farming continues to be a central part of rural production. Why does farming persist in the face of other, more remunerative, off-farm employment options? In this article we argue that subsistence food production continues to be important for rural livelihood security by providing food needs from farming, thus helping households to cope with uncertainties in off-farm employment and international labor migration. Taking the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a high level of livelihood stress, the paper provides insights and further explanations on the logic of maintaining subsistence food production as part of rural households' livelihood security. Drawing on in-depth qualitative study, complemented with a quantitative survey from eight villages in rural Nepal, we examine the impact of the pandemic on farming and off-farm activities and explore the reasons behind peoples' choice of livelihood strategies and how these vary between different social groups. We show that there was only limited impact of the dramatic disruptions caused by the global pandemic on subsistence farming, however it brought substantial challenges for emerging semi-commercial farming and off-farm incomes, including both local and migratory wage labor. During the pandemic, people increased their reliance on locally produced food, and subsistence farming served as a critical safety net. Our analysis underscores the continued importance of subsistence production amidst contemporary shifts toward off-farm employment among rural households. We also find a growing interest in semi-commercial farming among farmers with better access to land who seek state support to develop such production. This suggests that it is important for agricultural development policy to recognize and support subsistence farming alongside emerging commercial agriculture production as an integral foundation of future farming and rural livelihood security.

Influence of Livelihood Capital of Rural Reservoir Resettled Households on the Choice of Livelihood Strategies in China

The livelihood capital of resettled households is an important factor that affects their choice of livelihood strategies. The relationship between the two can help to transform the livelihood behavior of resettled households aiming to achieve sustainable livelihoods. Based on survey data of livelihoods of the Wuxikou Water Control Project, the logistic regression model was used to analyze the influence of livelihood capital on the choice of livelihood strategies. The results showed the following: (1) The five categories of livelihood capital values were generally not high. The value of human capital was the highest (0.480), while the value of natural capital was the lowest (0.362). (2) Natural and financial capital have significant effects on the choice of an agricultural-oriented livelihood strategy, in which natural capital has a positive effect and financial capital has a negative effect. Social and financial capital have a significant positive effect on the choice of a migrant-oriented livelihood strategy. Human and physical capital have significant positive effects on the choice of a part-time balanced livelihood strategy. (3) Decisive factors are used to promote transformation from agriculture-oriented to migrant-oriented, mostly comprising education level and interpersonal communication, among other indicators. The important factors used to promote transformation from agriculture-oriented to part-time balanced are mainly labor force quantity and total family income, among other indicators. Finally, on the basis of the above findings, context-specific policies are proposed from the observations of livelihood capital and livelihood strategies, such as upgrading the level of human capital by category, reconstructing the social capital network in multiple forms, and diversifying and broadening financial capital channels.

The Transformation of Fishermen’s Livelihoods in the Context of a Comprehensive Fishing Ban: A Case Study of Datang Village at the Poyang Lake Region, China

How fishermen produce and live has been a hot topic of academic concern in recent years. However, existing research has focused excessively on marine fishermen. Inland fisheries make a significant but often overlooked contribution to rural livelihoods in developing countries. In this paper, we constructed a framework for fishermen’s livelihood strategies and used questionnaires and in-depth interviews to study 275 households of inland fishermen in a professional fishing village at Poyang Lake. The results show that (1) the impact of the comprehensive fishing ban has led to significant changes in the livelihood capital of inland fishermen, leading to fishermen being forced to change their livelihood strategies. (2) The current livelihood strategies can be divided into four categories, which are non-fishing employment, self-employment, public welfare positions and retirement respectively. (3) Livelihood capital such as age, education, social interaction and fishing rights influence their choice of livelihood strategies. (4) The fishing ban proposal generally meets the interests of fishermen, but there is some capacity for improvement in terms of implementation details and policy flexibility. Based on these findings, we recommend that the government conducts further in-depth research and adjusts and improves its policy options in good time. To the satisfaction of all parties, the current policy protects the environment and achieves sustainable human development, making Chinese contributions and proposing Chinese plans to address global environmental change.

Rural Livelihood Strategies and Food Security: The Case of Bensa Woreda, Sidama National Regional State, Ethiopia

Livelihood diversification by rural households is expected to contribute significantly to household living standard and food security. Nevertheless, a livelihood strategy plays a crucial role for household income and food security, and still empirically its contribution is unidentified in Bensa woreda. The study addressed three objectives: these are assessing livelihood strategies pursued by rural households based on their wealth status in achieving food security, determining the status of food security as an outcome of different livelihood strategies pursued by rural households and identifying the determinants of rural households` choice of livelihood strategies. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 190 household heads. The data were collected through a semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. To achieve the first and second objectives, descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, chi-square, t and F-tests were used to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of households by wealth status, livelihood diversification strategies, and food security status. The third objective was achieved by using a multinomial regression model (MNL) using data collected through a semi-structured questionnaire involving 190 respondents. The study found that 12.6% of better of (rich) households had diversify their livelihoods by combining from all sources (on-farm+ off farm+ non-farm), 16.2, 13.8 % and 7.5 % of medium farmers diversify their livelihoods mainly from on-farm, combining on-farm and off farm, and from combining on-farm and non-farm, respectively. The result briefly indicates that, more proportion 32.20 % of food secure households was attaining their food from combining on-farm, off farm and non-farm. The study found that 62.11 % and 37.89 % of households were food secure and food insecure respectively in the study area. Furthermore, the result indicated that the mean Kcal of food secure and insecure households is 1210.75, and 4266.241AE. Based on diet quantity analysis, the mean household calorie consumption was 2655.49kcal per AE. The MNL model of marginal effect reveals that age, access to education, land size, livestock holding, extension contact, credit, distance from market, target for Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) and dependency ratio of household were significantly affecting choice the of livelihood strategies. The study, therefore recommends that investing in natural assets such as farm land and livestock ownership by networking valuable extension contact and market access, needs consideration in promoting rural livelihood diversification. Local government should intervene help educate and train rural households by supporting credit access for profitable diversification to off farm, and non-farm besides on farm to sustain their livelihood and ensure food security. Keywords: Livelihood/on farm, off farm, non-farm/: Food security, Multinomial logit models DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/12-22-01 Publication date: November 30 th 2022

The Way toward Sustainability: Policy Attention Evolution of Chinese Local Governments to Promote Entrepreneurship of Returnees Based on Grounded Theory and Social Network Analysis

As an important livelihood strategy choice to promote the sustainable development of themselves and regions, returnees’ entrepreneurship has played a vital role in the governance of all-level Chinese local governments since the 21st century. The policy attention reflects the importance that the local governments attach to this issue, and the evolution process also reflects relevant policies’ internal rules and characteristics. Based on this, this paper, taking 242 policy texts related to returnees’ entrepreneurship issued by local governments from 2000 to 2021 as the research objects, uses grounded theory and social network analysis in order to explore the policy attention evolution from the aspects of time, space, specific policy domains and cooperative relationship among policy subjects. Finally, this research finds the main conclusions as follows: (1) The policy attention evolution on time dimension has the characteristic of synchronism, different levels and “reciprocal U”. (2) The policy attention evolution on space dimension is closely linked to “pull” and “push” forces of local population flow and has neighborhood effects. (3) The policy attention evolution on specific policy areas will gradually spread and diversify with the change in local governance environment and stage goals. (4) The evolution trend of collaborative social network among policy objects has the characteristic of “loose-central-loose”.

Determinants of Food Insecurity and the Choice of Livelihood Strategies: The Case of Abay Chomen District, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia.

Most of the sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia were affected by the food insecurity issue. This study aimed to analyze the drivers of food insecurity, the choice of livelihood strategies, and factors that impact the choices of food security strategies in response to food insecurity in Abay Chomen District of Ethiopia's Oromia region, Ethiopia. The result of this study is based on primary data and obtained from 150 randomly chosen sample households and secondary data generated from various sources. As for the technique of data analysis, this study employed descriptive statistics for the food insecurity index, as well as a binary logistic model and a multinomial logit model for the choice of household livelihood techniques. The findings of the survey showed that 51.3% of the households were found to be food-insecure and 48.7% food-safe in the study area. Furthermore, the result indicated that the average calorie consumption of the households surveyed was 2008.54 kcal for each adult equivalent per day, which is below the lowest calorie necessity of 2200 kcal. The estimated logistic model outcome on the drivers of household food insecurity confirmed the oldness of the household leader, larger family holder, and off-farm income affects negatively, while the gender of the household leader, the size of the built-up area, the number of livestock holdings (except oxen), the number of oxen owned, access to credit, the participation in the sale of cattle, and others affect positively. In addition, the multinomial logit model result indicates that the educational status of the household leader, the size of livestock farming, the number of oxen possessed, access to credit, remoteness to the market, and monthly agricultural earning are the main drivers of the choice of livelihood strategies of concern for the food insecurity of households. As a result, this research attempted to produce a result of analysis with a defined scope, although many questions remain unsolved. Future studies should concentrate on presenting fundamental data on the factors that affect food security status and livelihood strategy, the social, political, natural, and environmental aspects, the descriptive information on the shopping habits of people who experience food insecurity, and the key aspects that increase the vulnerability of the rural poor to food insecurity.

Household Groups' Land Use Decisions Investigation Based on Perspective of Livelihood Heterogeneity in Sichuan Province, China.

Land use decision-making is a vital livelihood strategy associated with the rational collocation of livelihood asset endowments by rural households. Based on the perspective of livelihood heterogeneity, this paper collected the data from 540 farm households in 27 villages in three Sichuan Province counties to identify the land use decision-making characteristics of the household groups. A land use decision-making framework (LUDF) based on the sustainable livelihood framework (SLF) was established and dynamic and dual indicators were developed to divide the sample into six household groups. The household livelihood capital, livelihood strategies, and livelihood diversity were then analyzed at the regional and household group level, and the land use decisions of these household groups were explored, from which the following was found. (1) Overall livelihood capital in the study area was low, and except for human assets, there were few other assets, with households in the survey areas being more inclined to engage in non-farming livelihood activities; however, households in Nanjiang and Qionglai had greater livelihood activities choices than Luxian. (2) The LL-type household was the chief household group; the household group distribution in Qionglai was well-proportioned but uneven in Nanjiang and Luxian; and the HL-type, ML-type, and LL-type household livelihood strategy choices were polarized. (3) Most households were involved in land self-cultivation, followed by land transfer-in, land transfer-out, and land abandonment households. Specifically, there were more households that cultivated fragmented landholdings than specialized households with large-scale landholdings, the land transfer rate was relatively low, the transfer-in land area was far greater than the transfer-out land areas, and a small number of households that had abandoned their land were still involved in agricultural production. (4) There were obvious discordant human–land relationships and inefficient land uses in the study area. Based on these findings, relevant policy recommendations are given to improve farm household livelihood capital, optimize livelihood strategies, and assist in land use decision-making.

Livelihood Gains and Ecological Costs from Household Strategies for the Management of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia

Though non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been given a high priority in addressing rural poverty and ecosystem services, policy makers tend to neglect the role of NTFPs because they lack readily available evidence. Classifying NTFPs based on their role in household livelihood strategies enables and explains the opportunities and potential of NTFPs for livelihood development and conservation. Therefore, this study emphasizes understanding NTFPs in household livelihood strategies in the rural economy of Cambodia and the factors that influence livelihood strategy choices. This study was carried out in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary (PPWS), Cambodia in 2016. The data was collected using structured questionnaire interviews. Random sampling was used to select 310 respondents from six communities in PPWS. Four household livelihood strategies were found according to: the level of integration of NTFPs into cash income, the level of contribution of NTFPs to household income, and the level of management of NTFPs. The identified NTFP household livelihood strategies are subsistence strategy, supplementary strategy, diversified strategy, and specialized strategy. These strategies can be considered as part of the process of evolution to an improved level of livelihood, in which rural people first seek to survive and then to increase their income over time. The management of NTFPs ensures minimum transformation of the forest structure allowing for multiple uses of the forest and maintaining relatively high biodiversity. Geographic conditions, household capital, and household characteristics were found to be the most important factors determined the choice of household livelihood strategy.

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.