RURAL LIVELIHOODS
1. Liveli Livelihoo hood d and and rural rural live livelih lihood oods. s. A Livelihood can be defined as the activities, the assets and the access that jointly determine the living gained by an individual or household (Ellis 1998). hen it comes to an individual, a livelihood is the ability of that individual to obtain the basic necessities in life, !hich are food, !ater, shelter and clothing. "herefore all activities involved in finding food, searching for !ater, shelter, clothing and all necessities re#uired for human survival at individual and household level are referred to as a livelihood. A$$ro% A$$ro%ima imately tely 9& ' of rural rural househo households lds are involv involved ed in farming farming activit activities. ies. n Africa, & ' of the household income in rural areas is from farming activities, !hile in Asia and Latin America, *& ' of the income is from farming activities (+avis et al., &1&). n these rural $o$ulations small-scale farming, fishing, raising livestoc and nonfarm activities are some of the common livelihoods that these $o$ulations survive on as a source of income. . /ural /ural livelih livelihood ood is im$ort im$ortant ant.. /ural livelihoods as a source of income. /ural livelihood is a com$le% structure com$rising of mostly agriculture, !ith $art of the $o$ulation diversifying into non-farm activ activiti ities es in orde orderr to attai attain n a susta sustain inab able le live liveli liho hood od to get get bett better er incom incomee for for thei their r households. 0. haract haracteris eristics tics of rura rurall liveli livelihoo hood. d. "he "he majo majori rity ty of $oor $oor rural rural $eo$ $eo$le le are are !hat !hat !e may call $easa $easant nts, s, or thei their r livelihoods have many of the characteristics of $easants2 livelihoods. "hese $eo$le engage in $art-time farming activities !ith a mode of agricultural $roduction distinct from that of other farms (such as commercial, smallholder family or co-o$erative farms) !ith multi$le economic activities !hich are $redominantly in small scale (often household) activities and enter$rises in the informal economy. "hese activities also tend to have a heavy de$endence on family labor and little use of ca$ital. "he distinctive features of $oor rural $eo$le2s activities re#uire analysis of the livelihoods of these $eo$le using different techni# techni#ues ues from from those those general generally ly used used in analy3 analy3ing ing commer commercial cial agricu agricultu ltural ral or nonnonagricultural enter$rises in the formal sector. 4. /ural /ural livelih livelihood ood divers diversifi ificati cation on is im$orta im$ortant. nt. Livelihoods are an im$ortant $art of human e%istence. n order for a $o$ulation to survive there is need for livelihoods that !ould sustain and su$$ort their households. Economic gro!th creates o$$ortunities for a !ider choice of livelihoods. +iversification of livelihoods increases chances of economic gro!th and survival of a household. *. Liveli Livelihoo hood d diversi diversifica ficatio tion n base on human human assets. assets. a. 5uman a$ a$iital
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5uman ca$ital is a combination of no!ledge, habits, social behavior and $ersonality that contribute to economic benefits for an individual and6or community. "his no!ledge can be attained through education, creativity, availability of sills and talents, e%$erience, training and e%$osure. 5uman ca$ital also includes health of an individual, household and community. 7hysical a$ital 7hysical ca$ital is an asset that hel$s to turn ra! materials into finished $roducts and6or services. Availability of $hysical ca$ital boosts $roductivity and enhances income earned by a household. 7hysical ca$ital allo!s for !or to be accom$lished faster as !ell as for diversification. ocial a$ital ocial ca$ital $lays a major role in $roductivity of an individual, organi3ation and community. ocial ca$ital refers to relationshi$s, institutions and norms that sha$e societal interactions. ocial net!ors are considered as hori3ontal associations bet!een individuals, !hich increase $roductivity by reducing the costs of doing business and facilitate coordination and coo$eration. Associations and ties !ithin a community are needed to give a sense of identity and $ur$ose to these communities. "hese ties are also a basis for access to information that can be of great assistance to the community. inancial a$ital inancial ca$ital refers to any li#uid medium or mechanism that re$resents !ealth such as money, $urchasable items, savings, credit, etc. :atural a$ital :atural ca$ital is the basis of all human economic activity. :atural ca$ital includes land, !ater, air, living organisms and all ecosystems on the Earth that are necessary for human survival and !ell-being. n general, natural ca$ital refers to natural resources.
;. 7ositive and negative effects of rural diversification. "he $ositive im$acts of diversification include seasonality, ris, em$loyment, credit and asset effects. a. easonality easonality causes $eas and troughs in labor utili3ation on the farm, and creates food insecurity due to the mismatch bet!een uneven farm income streams and continuous consum$tion re#uirements. +iversification can contribute to reducing the adverse effects, by utili3ing labor and generating alternative sources of income in off-$ea $eriods. b. /is reduction /is across activities that confront different ris $rofiles. "he more this com$rises activities that dis$lay uncorrelated riss bet!een them, the more successful it is at achieving this end. c. 5igher income 5igher income could alone. t can do this by maing better use of available resources and sills, and taing advantage of s$atially dis$ersed income earning o$$ortunities.
d. Asset im$rovement Asset im$rovement to $ut assets to $roductive use. e. Environmental benefits +iversification can $otentially $rovide environmental benefits in t!o !ays. a. ncome distribution +iversification can be associated !ith !idening dis$arities bet!een the incomes of the rural $oor and the better-off. "his occurs, as noted already, because the better-off are able to diversify in more advantageous labor marets than the $oor, and this in turn reflects asset $overty es$ecially !ith res$ect to human ca$ital. b. arm out$ut ome ty$es of diversification may result in stagnation on the home farm. "his ty$ically occurs !hen there are buoyant distant labor marets for male labor, resulting in de$letion of the labor force re#uired to undertae $ea farm $roduction demands such as land $re$aration and harvesting. c. Adverse gender effects "hese are $rimarily associated !ith the ty$e of diversification that is also held to have adverse effects on agriculture. here it is male labour that is $redominantly able to tae advantage of diversification o$$ortunities, then !omen may be even more relegated to the domestic s$here and to subsistence food $roduction.
