Rural Agricultural Households Research Articles

What Defines Livelihood Vulnerability in Rural Semi-Arid Areas? Evidence from Pakistan

Rural livelihoods in semi-arid Pakistan are increasingly exposed to climate impacts such as rising temperatures, erratic rainfalls and more intense and frequent climate-related extreme events. This is introducing new risks to the already vulnerable and marginalised societies that lack development and have high poverty rates. This study uses the IPCC Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) approach to analyse the determinants of household livelihood vulnerability defining vulnerability in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. It also determines various adaptation responses that farmers apply and elucidates the reasons why some farmers choose not to adapt to climate change. It focuses on three semi-arid districts in Pakistan (Faisalabad, D.G. Khan and Mardan) and uses a sample of 150 rural agricultural households. As per the LVI scores, D.G. Khan is the most vulnerable district to climate change impacts, followed by Mardan and Faisalabad, respectively. Results show that (a lack of) adaptive capacity plays quite an important role in shaping households’ livelihood vulnerability for any given degree of exposure and sensitivity. Besides lower exposure and sensitivity to climate change, extremely low levels of adaptive capacity make Mardan more vulnerable to climate change compared to Faisalabad. The paper argues on people-centric development for rural areas through strengthening of agriculture sector as well as providing rural household opportunities for off-farm livelihoods.

Micro-Level Welfare Impacts of Agricultural Productivity: Evidence from Rural Malawi

This article analyses the micro-level welfare impacts of agricultural productivity using a two-wave nationally representative, panel data from rural Malawi. Welfare is measured by various dimensions of poverty and food insecurity; and agricultural productivity is measured by maize yield and value of crop output per hectare. The poverty measures included per capita consumption expenditure, relative deprivation in terms of per capita consumption expenditure, poverty gap and severity of poverty; and the measures of food insecurity included caloric intake and relative deprivation in terms of caloric intake. Depending on the measure of welfare, the impact of agricultural productivity was estimated with a household fixed effects estimator, a two-part estimator or a correlated-random effect ordered probit estimator. The results indicate that growth in agricultural productivity has the expected welfare-improving effect. In terms of economic magnitude, however, both the direct effect and economy-wide spillover effect (in the non-farm sector) of a percentage increase in agricultural productivity on the poverty and food security measures are small. Efforts to effectively improve the welfare of rural agricultural households should therefore go beyond merely increasing agricultural (land) productivity.

Effect of Non-farm Employment on Farm Commercialization

The paper investigates how non-farm employment affects commercialization of agriculture in rural agricultural households in India. The data for the study was drawn from a nationally representative sample collected by NSSO through Situation Assessment Survey 2013. Regression Adjustment (RA) treatment effect model was used to measure the effect of household's participation in nonfarm employment on the marketed surplus of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. Results show that household's participation in non-farm employment has a significant negative influence on agricultural commercialization of cereals and oilseeds. The results also infer that farm households use additional income from non-farm activities for non-agricultural consumption purpose. Though the results are found to be similar to previous empirical studies, the relative difference in marketed surplus was lower and was only 9 percent in case of cereals and 2 percent in case of oilseeds. The study concludes that the engagement of households in the non-farm sector would push those households away from agriculture as a commercial activity.

The extent of female unpaid work in India: A case of rural agricultural households

The extent of female unpaid work in India: A case of rural agricultural households

An Analysis of the Potential Costs and Benefits of Yield and Minimum Whole Farm Net Income Insurance to Rural Agricultural Households in Ethiopia

Food insecurity, poverty, and risk affect people’s well-being around the world on a daily basis. This research looks specifically at agricultural producing households in rural Northwestern Ethiopia and how yield insurance and minimum income insurance would impact household welfare. The impacts of yield insurance and minimum income insurance is examined to determine the impact of alternative risk mitigation options on household welfare and program cost. Additionally, the viability of the insurance programs for the Ethiopian government is considered. It was found that an approach that focused on income protection rather that crop insurance was more cost effective in providing desired household wealth. This research has the potential to assist governments in developing countries in providing public sector insurance programs for subsistence agricultural households.

Awareness about Minimum Support Price and Its Impact on Diversification Decision of Farmers in India

AbstractIn this article, we have analysed farmers' awareness about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and its impact on diversification of crops grown in India. We used nationally representative data collected by National Sample Survey Office, 70th round data. The data revealed that only 23.72 and 20.04 per cent of farmers in the rural agricultural households in India are aware of MSP of crops grown by them in kharif and rabi season, respectively. From the results of probit model, it is inferred that MSP needs to be backed up by effective procurement coupled with awareness creation by extension system to enable more number of farmers to take benefit of this safety net. We have also explored the relationship between farmers' awareness about MSP and decision to go for crop specialization using Heckman selection model. The study shows that farmers' knowledge of MSP had not lead to specialization.

Tenure Security, Human Capital and Soil Conservation in an Overlapping Generation Rural Economy

We develop an overlapping generation model of rural agricultural households to examine whether tenure security and subsistence needs influence the choice between unexploited topsoil and investment in children's human capital as the mode of transfer of wealth. A unique dataset from Bangladesh finds that tenure security is associated with greater topsoil conservation and lower human capital investment. Therefore, there exists a tradeoff between these two modes of transfer. We suggest that increased public expenditure on schooling, which substitutes private expenditure, may lower the pressure on land and soil resources.

Forced Migration and Changing Livelihoods in the Brazilian Amazon.

Forced migration due to development projects or environmental change impacts livelihoods, as affected households are faced with new-and often less favorable-environmental, social, and economic conditions. This article examines changing livelihood strategies among a population of rural agricultural households displaced by the Belo Monte Dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Using longitudinal data, I find that many households used compensation payments to concentrate income generation efforts on the most lucrative strategies-cacao and cattle production and business or rental income. Poorer households and those that received the least compensation were more likely to continue relying on agricultural wage labor-a less desirable income source associated with not owning land or with persons needing to supplement income with additional work as a day laborer. Results also indicate that the amount of compensation received by most households was sufficient to enable them to make productive investments beyond attaining replacement land and housing. Many households invested in assets such as agricultural infrastructure, cattle, rental houses, or tractors-all of which directly contribute to future income. Displacement compensation, similar to remittances or conditional cash transfers, can therefore act as an important infusion of capital to promote socioeconomic development and poverty reduction.

Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm Household Decision-making Authority and Evidence on Intra-household Accord in Rural Tanzania

We use OLS and logistic regression to investigate variation in husband and wife perspectives on the division of authority over agriculture-related decisions within households in rural Tanzania. Using original data from husbands and wives (interviewed separately) in 1,851 Tanzanian households, the analysis examines differences in the wife's authority over 13 household and farming decisions. The study finds that the level of decision-making authority allocated to wives by their husbands, and the authority allocated by wives to themselves, both vary significantly across households. In addition to commonly considered assets such as women's age and education, in rural agricultural households women's health and labor activities also appear to matter for perceptions of authority. We also find husbands and wives interviewed separately frequently disagree with each other over who holds authority over key farming, family, and livelihood decisions. Further, the results of OLS and logistic regression suggest that even after controlling for various individual, household, and regional characteristics, husband and wife claims to decision-making authority continue to vary systematically by decision-suggesting that decision characteristics themselves also matter. The absence of spousal agreement over the allocation of authority (i.e., a lack of "intra-household accord") over different farm and household decisions is problematic for interventions seeking to use survey data to develop and inform strategies for reducing gender inequalities or empowering women in rural agricultural households. Findings provide policy and program insights into when studies interviewing only a single spouse or considering only a single decision may inaccurately characterize intra-household decision-making dynamics.

The Impact of Shocks on Gender-differentiated Asset Dynamics in Bangladesh

This study investigates changes in assets owned by the household head, his spouse, or jointly in response to shocks in rural agricultural households in Bangladesh with household survey panel data. Looking at changes within households over time, we find that weather shocks adversely affect the asset holdings of household heads relatively strongly, while predicted negative shocks more strongly lead to assets of both spouses being drawn down. The results, furthermore, suggest that jointly owned assets are not easily sold in response to shocks, and that women’s asset holdings and coping strategies are shaped by their lower involvement in agriculture.

The Impact of Shocks on Gender-Differentiated Asset Dynamics in Bangladesh

AbstractThis study investigates changes in assets owned by the household head, his spouse, or jointly in response to shocks in rural agricultural households in Bangladesh with household survey panel data. Looking at changes within households over time, we find that weather shocks adversely affect the asset holdings of household heads relatively strongly, while predicted negative shocks more strongly lead to assets of both spouses being drawn down. The results, furthermore, suggest that jointly owned assets are not easily sold in response to shocks, and that women’s asset holdings and coping strategies are shaped by their lower involvement in agriculture.

Urbanization, Markets, and Malnutrition in Rural Farm Households

Agricultural productivity growth accelerates urbanization by supplying food and labor to urban areas. Towns and cities may also grow for separate reasons, pulling food and resources out of rural areas. Whether pushed or pulled, urbanization and market development creates new opportunities for rural agricultural households. This study tests whether household proximity to more established towns and cities has improved or worsened malnutrition among over 400,000 children and their mothers across 43,850 survey clusters in 46 low‐ and middle‐income countries between 1986 and 2011. Using an extensive database of 83 Demographic and Health Surveys combined with geographic and national accounts data, I examine the relationship between urbanization and nutrition in rural farm households using non‐parametric and instrumental variables methods, while controlling for region and birth cohort fixed‐effects. I find that rural children living in areas with a longer history of urbanization are heavier and taller at a wide range of income levels. I also find heavier mothers in rural farm households where urbanization has continued the longest. The prevalence of stunting and wasting among rural farm children is negatively associated with nearby urbanization, and the prevalence of child and maternal overweight in rural farm families is positively associated with nearby urbanization. Results suggest that access to urban markets has improved rural child heights and weights, and potentially increased the risks of overweight and obesity later in life. These findings indicate that there is ample opportunity to guide market development in ways that promote improved nutrition while limiting the rise of diet‐related disease. This study was supported by a U.S. Borlaug Fellowship in Global Food Security.

Tenure Security and Soil Conservation in an Overlapping Generation Rural Economy

Tenure security and subsistence needs influence the choice between unexploited topsoil and unspent money (i.e., savings) as the mode of transfer. Using a unique household-level dataset from Bangladesh, which contains data on cropping-intensity and savings spent on education, we detect that rural agricultural households with secured tenure have lower cropping-intensity and higher educational expenditure. Furthermore, tenure security and poverty have opposite, but not offsetting, effects. Households prefer higher educational expenditure to lower cropping-intensity as the mode of transfer. Thus, increased public expenditure may lower the pressure on land and soil resources, by lowering private educational expenditure.

The Impact of Shocks on Gender-Differentiated Asset Dynamics in Bangladesh

Assets are an important means of coping with adverse events in developing countries but the role of gendered ownership is not yet fully understood. This paper investigates changes in assets owned by the household head,his spouse,or jointly by both of them in response to shocks in rural agricultural households in Bangladesh with the help of detailed household survey panel data. Land is owned mostly by men,who are wealthier than their spouses with respect to almost all types of assets,but relative ownership varies by type of asset. Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity across households and looking at changes within,rather than between,households,we find that weather shocks such as cyclones adversely affect the asset holdings of household heads in general,while predicted external events lead to assets of both spouses being drawn down. The results,furthermore,suggest that jointly owned assets are not sold in response to shocks,either due to these assets being actively protected or due to the difficulty of agreeing on this coping strategy,and that women’s asset holdings and associated coping strategies are shaped by their lower involvement in agriculture.

Index Insurance and the Articulation of Risk-Bearing Subjects

In the last decade a growing number of efforts have been made to insure the weather-related production risks of rural agricultural households in the Global South via microinsurance contracts linked to environmental indices. Such index insurance products are increasingly championed for their ostensible capacity to decrease vulnerability, ‘crowd in’ rural credit, and increase productive risk taking. This paper presents an empirical and theoretical framework for understanding the explosion of these projects, demonstrating that the formation of financial consumer subjects who are themselves agricultural producers is an emerging and consequential process within the dynamics of (dis)articulation. Rather than being hindered by the absence of the real subsumption of land or labor to capital, the derivative nature of the index insurance form—offering only the possibility of remuneration instead of indemnification of loss—makes it especially well suited to operating in precisely such conditions on the edges of (non)market relations.

Rural Household Access to Assets and Agrarian Institutions: A Cross Country Comparison

Access to assets and agrarian institutions is of critical importance to the economic viability of rural households. Understanding the extent of this access and how it links to the ability of rural households to employ different pathways out of poverty is thus vital for designing rural development policies. This paper characterizes household access to assets and agrarian institutions through the comparative analysis of datasets from 15 nationally representative household surveys from four regions of the developing world. We find that the access of rural households to a range of assets (including education, land and livestock) and institutions is in general low, though highly heterogeneous across countries, and by categories of households within countries. A large share of rural agricultural households do not use or have access to basic productive inputs, agricultural support services or output markets, and in general it is the landless and the smallest landowners who suffer significantly more from this lack of access.

Resource Use Among Rural Agricultural Households Near Protected Areas in Vietnam: The Social Costs of Conservation and Implications for Enforcement

This article examines the use of forests in a protected area by nearby agriculturalists in central Vietnam. Research indicates that the majority of rural farmers interviewed who lived near a state designated protected area were receiving both subsistence and cash incomes from forest-based activities, primarily from the collection of forest products. However, much of the collection of forest produce was officially illegal, as it occurred in state protected forests, and interdiction efforts were on the increase. Yet, little attention has been paid in Vietnam to the need for income substitution for households who lose access to forest produce as a result of conservation enforcement, particularly in the case of farmers who live near, but not in, protected areas; their resources use has been 'invisible' due to a lack of attention and research on the topic. This misunderstanding of the importance of forests to rural farmers has the potential to result in households facing adverse welfare and livelihood outcomes as protected areas boundaries are tightened, and local communities face increased opportunity costs due to stricter conservation enforcement. The article concludes that substitution for loss of income due to conservation activities would best be achieved through carefully targeted interventions to specific high-impact and high-dependency households. Additionally, investments in new sources of wage labor and other low capital-input activities, rather than in agriculture, would likely be of most benefit.

Precautionary Behavior, Migrant Networks, and Household Consumption Decisions: An Empirical Analysis Using Household Panel Data from Rural China

Abstract We develop a test of precautionary behavior in the consumption decisions of rural agricultural households. Among surveyed households facing a median level of consumption risk, 10% of savings can be attributed to a precautionary motive, and this increases to 15% for households with consumption per capita below the poverty line. We next use distant lags of local rainfall shocks uncorrelated with current consumption growth to identify the size of migrant networks outside the village, and then present evidence that both poor and nonpoor households engage in less precautionary saving as the size of the village migrant network increases.

Rural household access to assets and agrarian institutions : a cross country comparison

This background paper points out that access to assets and agrarian institutions is of critical importance to the economic viability of rural households. Understanding the extent of this access and how it links to the ability of rural households to employ different pathways out of poverty is thus vital for designing rural development policies. This paper characterizes household access to assets and agrarian institutions through the comparative analysis of datasets from 15 nationally representative household surveys from four regions of the developing world. The authors find that the access of rural households to a range of assets (including education, land and livestock) and institutions is in general low, though highly heterogeneous across countries, and by categories of households within countries. A large share of rural agricultural households do not use or have access to basic productive inputs, agricultural support services or output markets, and in general it is the landless and the smallest landowners who suffer significantly more from this lack of access. After the introduction the remaining sections of the paper are organized as follows. Section 2 describes the RIGA database used for the analysis and discusses the approach taken in using the data for the purposes of the paper. Section 3 then focuses on household ownership of the key assets that are considered most important for escaping poverty: household labor, education, land, livestock and infrastructure. Section 4 begins the examination of agrarian institutions by analyzing the utilization of productive inputs which the authors consider as reflecting access to and functioning of markets for such inputs. This is followed in section 5 by an examination of the participation of agricultural households in output markets. In section 6 the study characterizes the support provided to rural households in terms of technology delivery, extension services and credit access, all of which are areas where governments have historically provided support to agricultural households. Section 7 presents some concluding remarks.

Livelihood Pattern of Agricultural Labour Households in Rural India

Using primarily different published secondary data, the article analyses employment generation, income of different categories of labour and the extent of indebtedness and earning prevalent among rural landless labourers and agricultural house-holds in rural Orissa, with a view to understanding their livelihood patterns. In this state—where more than 85 per cent of the population is rural—a third of rural households constitute landless labour households which depend completely on wage employment. Another 60 per cent of rural households is comprised of marginal farmers and small farmers who do not generate sufficient income from their land. Even small farmers with up to five acres supplement their agriculture with outside jobs or wage employment. The evidence relating to rural labour households and agricultural labour households shows an explicit overall decline in employment both for male and female labour. There is also a decline in the average number of earning members per household. Clearly, the rural labour households and agricultural labour households in this state are characterised by low earning, decline in income, low consumption and high debt, and remedies will have to be found to generate more employment and income.