Dissertations / Theses: 'Farming livelihoods'

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D'ANNOLFO, RAFFAELE. "The effects of agroecological farming systems on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods." Doctoral thesis, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10280/72836.

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Lo scopo della tesi di dottorato è comprendere gli effetti dell'adozione degli approcci agroecologici sul Sustainable Livelihood Framework dei piccoli agricoltori. Sono state adottate tre metodologie di ricerca, revisione della letteratura, meta-analisi e caso di studio, al fine di valutare i benefici derivanti dall'attuazione degli approcci agroecologici sul capitale umano, sociale, naturale, finanziario e fisico. I risultati della tesi hanno mostrato come l’adozione dei sistemi agroecologici possono migliorare i mezzi di sussistenza dei piccoli agricoltori, senza che si verifichino trade-off su una serie di indicatori socio-economici e ambientali selezionati. La tesi evidenzia come i metodi agroecologici possano essere considerati uno strumento praticabile ed efficace per promuovere l’Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile 1 "Porre fine ad ogni forma di povertà nel mondo" e l’Obiettivo di Sviluppo Sostenibile 2 "Porre fine alla fame, raggiungere la sicurezza alimentare, migliorare la nutrizione e promuovere un’agricoltura sostenibile", in particolare per i piccoli agricoltori con scarse risorse nei paesi in via di sviluppo.
The purpose of the PhD thesis is to understand the effects of the adoption of agroecological approaches, both systems and practices, on the Sustainable Livelihood Framework of smallholder farmers. Three research methodologies, literature review, meta-analysis and case study, have been adopted in order to assess the benefits derived from implementing agroecological approaches on human, social, natural, financial and physical capitals. The results of the thesis have contributed to building evidence which demonstrates that agroecological approaches can improve the livelihood of smallholders farmers, without any trade-offs occurring in a wide range of socio-economic and environmental indicators. The thesis highlights that agroecological methods can be considered as a viable and effective tool to promote SDG1 “End poverty in all its forms everywhere” and SDG2 “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, especially for poor-resource farmers in developing countries.

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Sarch, Marie-Therese. "Fishing and farming at Lake Chad : a livelihood analysis." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.302146.

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Lewis, Hannah Kathryn. "Hacia el ranchito Mexican immigrants, farming and sustainable rural livelihoods in Iowa /." [Ames, Iowa : Iowa State University], 2007.

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Mamun, Abdullah-Al. "Shrimp-prawn farming in Bangladesh : impacts on livelihoods, food and nutritional security." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/25012.

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The overarching aim of this research was to improve understanding of the synergies and trade-offs between economic and domestic food security benefits associated export-oriented shrimp and prawn aquaculture in a fragile developing country environmental context. The research scope covers the entire ‘seafood system’ incorporating production, distribution, trading and consumption in the south-west coastal region under greater Khulna District, Bangladesh. The primary research objective was to understand causal factors in variation of seafood nutritional quality and health outcomes, exploring correlations with seafood consumption across a range of agro-ecological, aquatic farming systems and socio-economic conditions. The study also focused on differences in intra-household allocation with a special focus on adolescent girls, being amongst the most vulnerable members of society. These objectives necessitated a highly inter-disciplinary approach to understand complex interactions between biophysical aspects (e.g. where and which species are most effective in supplying essential nutrients) and the social norms of food allocation. Fieldwork was conducted in Satkhira, Khulna, and Bagerhat Districts of Khulna Province over 17 months during 2012 to 2015. Four villages across a peak-annual surface water salinity gradient; high saline (>10 ppt), medium saline (>5<10 ppt), low saline (<5 ppt) and freshwater (<0.5 ppt) were selected for case-studies. The thesis begins with a literature review of the evolution of shrimp and prawn farming in Bangladesh and the wider region and identification of knowledge gaps. Research resolved from district to community to household level. Key informant (KI) interviews were used to establish well-being criteria (based on a range of 5 social and economic assets) at community level. In each community a census of households (n=1082 households) were derived from the same interviews and KIs asked to ranked households on the established well-being criteria. Results were validated through a short interview of all the identified households (HH). This sample-frame provided the based for two concurrent survey efforts. Stratified-random selection of 160 HH on two well-being categories (better-off and worse-off) for ‘farm level’ analysis using a semi-structured questionnaire. Key topics included inputs/outputs characteristics, economic benefits and the fate of farmed products were evaluated. Another 240 households with single adolescent girls were selected from the same frame, again with randomized-stratified sampling based on well-being categories for ‘intra-household’ analysis. This resulted in selection of 60 HH per community consisting of 30 ‘better-off’ and 30 worse-off households (further analysis was conducted on a range of secondary sampling outcomes based on livelihood options, intra-household food distribution and aquatic farming assets). A 24-hour food recall method, food frequency questionnaire, food photography and measuring cup sets were used to estimate individual members’ food consumption at the household level. Anthropometric measures (stunting, wasting, BMI, MUAC) and biomarkers (omega-3 index in RBC and LC n-3 PUFA/LC PUFA in whole blood cell) were used to assess food security outcomes of adolescent girls (n=200 subject). In an entirely separate effort, samples of shrimp/prawn and fish polyculture species (57 species and 9 by-products, 1 live feed; n=672) were collected from the major agro-ecologies (four saline gradients; HS, MS, LS and FW) and culture systems (extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, organic and pocket gher). At least 3 sites from each saline gradient (3×4=12 sites) were selected for sampling and pooled samples to represent all the culture system in the region. The major macro and micronutrients of the collected species were analysed and these datasets were used to know the nutritional distribution among the family members in household level study. Two aggregate indices of wealth (or well-being) and aquaculture were developed based on a range of quantitative (ordinal and interval) measures. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was used to understand how aquaculture influences on wealth gain. Wealth index of the same social well-being did not differ among the agro-ecologies. However, the aquaculture index was varied in agro-ecologies. Most of the households (60-80%) were involved directly in aquaculture however, a majority portion of the households was worse-off (48-64%). Both HS and LS area had more livelihood options due to their proximity to mangrove forest Sundarbans and city amenities, respectively compared to MS and FW area. Ownership of the land did not influence any involvement in aquaculture and yields but he willingness and risk-absorbing capacity of the farmers were the main factor to get involve in aqauculture. In aquatic farming system the importance of export-oriented shellfish yield gradually decreased from HS to FW area (55-20% by volume). The intentional stocking of finfish and PLs were common across the saline areas however the wild caught juveniles and hatchery originated fingerlings were usual in higher and lower saline areas, respectively. The low priced tilapia took the place of wild recruited mangrove fishes in MS area. Diseases, especially the devastating white spot virus (WSSV), frequency were higher in higher saline areas. The indicators like wild recruitment, salinity, water productivity and water management also a vital factor to gain yield. The integration of aquatic and terrestrial crops (rice and dyke crop) in the lower saline areas provide higher yield compared to higher saline areas. However, the net economic returns were largely determined by the aquatic products. The income of ghers in FW and MS area was sensitive to the lower prices of freshwater finfish and tilapia. The protein content in shellfish was higher than the other finfish, however, lower in other essential nutrients. Species living in the higher saline areas contained higher total n-3 PUFA (in weight) and LC n-3 PUFA/LC-PUFA compared to the same species living in lower saline areas. Small Indigenous Species (SIS) and Self-Recruiting Species (SRS) were proven to provide higher micronutrients and total n-3 PUFA than larger fish. Seafood that destined for the international markets contained less n-3 PUFA and micronutrients in comparison to the domestically consumed fish. Customary intra-household food distribution disparity (mainly fish) still exists at household levels where females, especially adolescent girls, were deprived. Fish consumption (>77 g /capita/day) and fish originated protein supply (>25% of total protein intake) was higher than the other part of Bangladesh. The protein consumption of adolescents was 2-3 times higher than the Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI). However, the energy intake was lower than the required level. High protein, low energy consumption was not reflected in body mass. Micronutrients (zinc) consumption was above the RNI level. However, iron and calcium consumption was less than the RNI. The n-3 PUFA in RBC of adolescent girls accurately reflected their access to, and availability of, oily fish. In the omega-3 index (n-3 PUFA in red blood cell) both HS and MS areas, adolescent females were in the intermediate stage (4-8%), and rest of the two areas were in the undesirable stage (<4%). The n-3 LC-PUFA was around 20-30% of total LC-PUFA content in whole blood and gradually decreased from higher saline to lower saline areas. The thesis concludes that the gher based aquatic animal farming in S-W Bangladesh is a dynamic system operated by both rich and poor. The salinity level and the presence of mangrove forest make the farming system dynamic. The holistic scenario suggested aquaculture in ghers is a family driven small scale polyculture where varieties of aquatic foods are produced both for global and local value chain. Higher amounts of valued products (both in terms of nutrition and price), less disease susceptibility, more alternative livelihood options both in HS and LS were found in better position than the other two sites, however the nutritional content of fish and its manifestation in adolescents strongly mirrors agro-ecologies irrespective of social position of households. The thesis provides an important, grounded importance of the system and the linkage of the community people for livelihoods, food production and food security. The dynamic systems were understood and effective messages formulated for the policy makers. In doing so, the thesis contributes to an understanding of how small-scale polyculture equally benefited local food security and macroeconomic growth of a developing country.

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Lahiff, Edward Patrick. "Agriculture and rural livelihoods in a South African 'homeland' : a case study from Venda." Thesis, SOAS, University of London, 1997. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29102/.

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This is a socio-economic study of agriculture and its contribution to livelihoods in Venda, one of the black 'homelands' created in South Africa under apartheid. It is based on a survey of households on the Tshiombo irrigation scheme, a project in central Venda with approximately six hundred plot-holders. The alms of the study are to understand the opportunities and constraints facing small farmers, and to suggest ways in which public action can promote rural livelihoods and overcome the legacy of racial oppression and under-development in South Africa. The study includes a review of micro-studies of agriculture and livelihoods from the ten former homelands. A range of unpublished materials and original field research are also used to provide an overview of society and economy in Venda at the end of apartheid and to highlight the problems faced by households attempting to secure a livelihood from the land. The Tshiombo case found that agriculture, on average, contributed approximately a quarter of household income (in cash and kind), with the balance coming mainly from wages and state pensions. Wide disparities were found between households, however, in terms of land-holding, agricultural output and overall household income. Relative poverty was associated with a lack of wage income and poorer households tended to be disproportionately dependent on agriculture. Both arable and livestock farming were dominated by older men, some of whom had a history of off-farm employment but others who had been full-time farmers since the 1960s. The study concludes that there is scope for further development of the agricultural economy at Tshiombo but this will require comprehensive reform of existing state services such as tractor ploughing and agricultural extension. More flexible partnerships between the state and non-state organisations, including private entrepreneurs, individual farmers and the struggling Tshiombo Co-operative in the provision of credit, marketing and transport services are also identified as areas suitable for development. Constraints of land, capital and household labour suggest that in most cases agriculture is likely to remain supplementary to income obtained from the non-farm economy, but can be a valuable source of food and an important safety-net in times of crisis.

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Barnett, Christopher Paul. "Environmental degradation and sustainable livelihoods following the return of Mozambican refugees from Dedza and Ntcheu Districts, Malawi." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.369579.

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James, Gareth David. "Transforming rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe : experiences of Fast Track Land Reform, 2000-2012." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/21119.

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This thesis examines the livelihood outcomes of Zimbabwe’s Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP). It asks, what has happened to rural livelihoods following land redistribution; how did land occupations and redistribution unfold; who gained land in the A1 resettlement areas; what new patterns of production can be identified and how do these compare between different settlement types and across time; how have smallholders responded to new opportunities and challenges on and off the farm; and what are the experiences of women and former farm workers? The thesis adopts a multi-methods, comparative approach, drawing on survey data from over 500 rural households and in-depth interviews with 132 “new” farmers. The thesis is a comparative assessment of livelihood outcomes in the new resettlement areas vis-à-vis the old resettlement and communal areas. The results of a series of statistical analyses and interviews show that the “new” A1 farmers are mostly poor and landless people from neighbouring communal areas. These resettlement farmers also produce more maize, cotton and tobacco than their counterparts in other rural areas. The main constraint to smallholder development in these areas has been the general lack of inputs (especially fertilisers), credit and markets. Resettlement farmers, old and new, have responded to these challenges by engaging in contract farming and/or a wider range of non-farm income generating activities, earning higher incomes than those in the communal areas. The data also shows that income from farm and non-farm activities is then reinvested in productive assets and agricultural production. The final chapter presents smallholders’ perceptions about their own tenure security. While many feel secure on their new land, land rights for women and former farm workers continue to be mediated through men and settlers, respectively. Their livelihoods thus rest precariously on their abilities to manage these relationships. Thus, in addition to offering a detailed, empirical analysis of the livelihood outcomes of Zimbabwe land reform, the thesis also contributes to wider theoretical debates, challenging narratives of deagrarianisation and emphasising the importance of multi-methods approaches to understanding complex livelihood changes in the context of land reform.

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Yang, Jinsong. "Opportunities and Barriers of Carbon Farming from a Sustainable Livelihoods Perspective - A Case Study from Sweden." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-416479.

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With changes in climate and increasing resource scarcity in the future, transition towards a more sustainable and resilient agriculture system that promotes maintenance of a range of ecosystem services is important. Meanwhile, significant global greenhouse gas reduction targets require all sectors including agriculture to take radical actions immediately. Carbon farming is a promising approach which can contribute to mitigating climate change, increase soil accumulation and fertility, enhance ecosystem services and increase productivity within a range of farming systems. Currently, Sweden does not have any formal carbon farming projects. As the implementation of carbon farming is likely to be location, technology and circumstance specific, a case study was undertaken in Sweden in order to cast light on the envisaged synergies and trade-offs associated with carbon farming by assessing the opportunities and barriers to farmer’s sustainable livelihoods. Eleven pilot farmers from south and central Sweden participated in the case study. Data were collected through online survey. Findings suggest that opportunities and barriers to enhance the carbon sink potential of farmlands are closely linked to people’s livelihoods as well as their broader context and; Swedish farmers are interested in incorporating carbon farming practices within their existing farming systems. Further, opportunities and barriers were found in relation to different assets, external shocks and the policy environment. Moreover, carbon farming has the potential to promote sustainable rural livelihoods in Sweden by reducing farmer’s vulnerability context and enhancing farmer’s assets and livelihood strategies.

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Muntrakis, Emelie. "Impacts of large scale sugar investments on local livelihoods seen through the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach : A case study on a multinational sugar company’s presence in Manhiça, Mozambique." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-29239.

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Establishment of big companies in rural areas is something that is getting more and more common as the phenomenon of land acquisition is growing. This study is based on a case study in Manhiça where a big scale multinational sugar company, consisting of a sugar factory and sugarcane plantations, has been present for almost 20 years. The theoretical framework is based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) that is made into a method by taking dimensions from the theory and converting them into analytical tools. The aim is to identify and analyse the impacts that the company’s activities have on longer term on the capital basis of the various groups with which the company relates. Using the perspective of SLA helps identify the wide range of impacts – direct and indirect, positive and negative – that matter to local people. The study is qualitative and based on semi-structured interviews made with different groups of outgrower farmers and employees as well as representatives for the company and the municipality. The results are, in accordance with the principles underlying the SLA, focusing on the perceptions of people and the dynamic nature of livelihoods. A pilot study is used to indicate which impacts that are a result of the company’s presence and which only a result of switching to cash crops. The study shows that different groups are affected different from the interactions with the company. People with already weak livelihoods are benefited least since their access to different capital assets decrease.

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Sirisup, Siriluck. "Government policy and farmers' decision making in Thailand : the agricultural diversification programme in rice farming areas of the Chao Phraya River Basin, 1993-2000." Thesis, Durham University, 2001. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1595/.

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Wakibia, Joseph G. "Linking biology and sustainable livelihoods to the proposed establishment of community -based Eucheumoid farming in southern Kenya." University of the Western Cape, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7905.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Growth rates of three commercial eucheumoids: brown Eucheuma denticulatum and green and brown Kappaphycus alvarezii were studied at three sites (Gazi Bay, Kibuyuni and Mkwiro) in southern Kenya. The study was conducted using the fixed off-bottom rope technique over a 15 month period from August 2001 to October 2002, in 4 plots (5 m x 1.5 m) set up at each site. The brown E. denticulatum had the highest mean growth rate over the entire period of 4.7% day-I compared to the green and brown K. alvarezii which were 4.3% day l and 4.2% dayl, respectively. Mean relative growth rates were highest at Gazi (5.6% dayl), and lowest in Kibuyuni (3.2% day-I) with intermediate values of 4.8% dail at Mkwiro. Increased water motion was observed to increase thallus nitrogen and hence the growth of eucheumoids. The 'ice-ice' syndrome affected both brown E. denticulatum and brown K. alvarezii but not green K. alvarezii. Mean growth was higher during the southeast monsoon (4.7% day+) than during the northeast monsoon (4.0% dayl).The carrageenan characteristics of the three morphotypes were measured for 12 months. The highest carrageenan yield was obtained for green K. alvarezii (59.1% dry wt), whereas the average carrageenan yield for brown K. alvarezii was 56.5% dry wt and 56.6% dry wt for brown E. denticulatum. The plants at Gazi (58.0% dry wt) had a slightly, though significantly, higher carrageenan yield than both those at Kibuyuni (57.1 % dry wt) and Mkwiro (57.3% dry wt). However, from a commercial point of view the differences in carrageenan yields were not meaningful. Highest gel strengths were obtained in carrageenans from green K. alvarezii (1042.1 g cm") and brown K. alvarezii (1053.7 g ern"), whereas low values of 100.8 g ern" were obtained for brown E. denticulatum. The brown E. denticulatum had carrageenan with higher viscosity (81.7 mPa.s) and sulphate content (29.1% dry wt) than both green and brown K. alvarezii. The gel viscosities of all the morphotypes were higher during the southeast monsoon (67.3 mPa.s) than during the northeast monsoon (46.3 mPa.s) and were positively correlated with gel strengths.A survey was conducted among households in the three villages, from April to September 2001 to assess their socio-economic characteristics. There were 182 household heads interviewed; about 20% were women. Fishing was the main source of livelihood for about 48% of the household members. In 2001, the average monthly income for the surveyed households was Kshs. 9904 (1 US$=75 Kshs.), with about 67% having less than Kshs. 10 000. The average prevalence of poverty among the households surveyed was 45.1% with 38.8%,54.8% and 46.7% of households in Gazi, Kibuyuni and Mkwiro villages, respectively, living below the poverty line of Kshs. 1239 per month per adult person. An economic feasibility study for growing brown E. denticulatum and brown K. alvarezii in pilot farms of 0.1 ha was conducted at Gazi and Kibuyuni. A higher yield of 793 kg dry wt was obtained for plants grown at Gazi than those at Kibuyuni (793 kg dry wt). The net income derived from E. denticulatum was estimated at Kshs. 7549 annually in a 0.1 ha seaweed farm. A higher annual income of Kshs. 49 126 was generated from K. alvarezii. The rate of return on investment in farming E. denticulatum ranged from 15 to 63%, while 122 to 380% for K. alvarezii. The pay back period was shorter for the latter (0.3 to 0.7 years) than the former (1.2 to 2.7 years).A cross-sectoral policy analysis regarding legislation and policy relevant to the introduction and development of eucheumoid cultivation in Kenya, with particular reference to Kenyan legislation was conducted. The analysis showed that there is no system of promoting or regulating mariculture, though there are fragmented regulations that are scattered among the policies, Acts and regulations of various institutions. Such regulations were not designed specifically for mariculture and as a result they do not fully address the needs of mariculture. The establishment of a national mariculture development programme in Kenya is proposed as a means to develop and manage the farming of marine resources, including seaweeds.

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Gidi, Lungile Sivuyile. "Rural households livelihoods' strategies and opportunities with regard to farming: a case of Intsika Yethu Local Municipality." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007218.

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South Africa and other developing countries are grappling with high levels of poverty as a result of slow to negligible rural development. Irrigation development is one essential component that can be used to address the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in rural areas. In the President‟s “State of the Nation Address” in 2011, the President of South Africa outlined measures to reduce hunger and poverty in communal areas through enhanced government‟s expenditures in rural infrastructure developments, especially for such amenities as irrigation and roads, with a view to promoting food security. The broad objective of this study is to assess livelihood strategies and opportunities with regard to farming in Qamata area of Intsika Yethu Local Municipality. The stratified random sampling method was applied in order to choose a sample of 70 household that were interviewed by means of semi-structured questionnaires. Out of these, 53 belonged to the irrigation project and 17 farmers were non-irrigation farmers. The results show that women play an active role in agriculture. The Multiple Regression model was used to assess the relative importance of different livelihood strategies adopted by both irrigation and non-irrigation farmers in improving household food security and welfare in Qamata. More specifically, the study assessed the impact of different livelihood strategies on production of butternut, goats, maize and poultry (Chicken) in Qamata. The results show increased agricultural production, crop diversification and higher incomes from irrigation farming as compared to dry land farming. Irrigation farming has enabled many households to diversify their sources of income and therefore include activities and enterprises that contribute to enhanced household welfare. The study showed that household size is crucial in crop production, followed by gender of the household head. The government and research institutes need to come up with programmes to train people on ways to produce crop and livestock products more efficiently.

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Mbusi, Nontembeko. "Assessment of sources of livelihoods and opportunities to improve the contribution of farming within available food chains." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007575.

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Official statistics suggest that as many as 40 percent to 60 percent of people in South Africa are living in poverty, and the 15 percent poorest are in a desperate struggle for survival. Since 1994, Government has been making an effort to help smallholder agriculture through numerous programmes, including those that address land ownership and provide credit and grants for farms and households, but very little change has taken place. Understanding the sources of livelihood and opportunities to improve the contribution of farming within available food chains is therefore an important practical need. The study investigated sources of livelihood and mapped the livelihoods profile of the farming households in parts of the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted in the Alice and Peddie communities in the Amathole district municipality. A set of structured questionnaires were used to interview the sample of 80 farming households selected through a random process within two irrigation schemes and communities that were selected purposively in line with the focus of the larger project on which this study is based. The resulting data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. The descriptive results indicated that members of most rural households were old, married, uneducated and unemployed. Farming was primary livelihood strategy employed in these areas. Rural households were also dependent on remittances, social grants and pension funds because the farming strategy could not meet all their household needs. The major crops that were grown for income and food security to sustain their livelihoods included maize, potatoes, onions and butternut. Factors that had significant influences on outcomes were extension services, grants, pension and remittances, land productivity, type of irrigation system, market accessibility, output price difference and value adding. The available opportunities were land productivity, irrigation facilities, government or NGO programmes and working as a group. For improved livelihood of rural communities in Alice and Peddie, government needs to strengthen agricultural activities and equip farmers with market information, improve their access to irrigation schemes, provide training on value adding and also improve access to extension services.

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Karim, Manjurul. "The livelihood impacts of fishponds integrated within farming systems in Mymensingh District, Bangladesh." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/86.

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Links between the pond and surrounding land for horticulture is a distinctive feature of farming households in Bangladesh. It was hypothesised that the role of fishponds in integrated aquaculture systems has potential towards improving livelihoods and poverty alleviation. Rural and peri-urban settlements in Mymensingh District, Bangladesh were selected for assessing the importance and role of pond-dike systems on the livelihoods of households of different socio-economic level. The study was carried out in view of the sustainable livelihood approaches of the Department for International Development, U.K. Participation of all levels of stakeholders was ensured in the first and last phase of the study. The combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis at community and household level was a major strength and challenge of the study, and was used to explore the potential of integrated farming and factors that undermine such potential to contribute to a sustainable livelihood. The research commenced with a comprehensive situation appraisal and baseline survey to explore the context and characterize farming systems, followed by a longitudinal household survey to understand the effect of seasons on livelihoods. Households with access to ponds were identified as active or passive integrators based on a simple set of criteria and their resources and livelihoods assessed in comparison with non-pond households. During the last phase of the study a farmer participatory research (FPR) trial, based on a priority issue identified during the 1st phase of the study, was launched to investigate the potential of the integrated systems. The situation appraisal conducted within four communities revealed the effects of gender, well-being and location on farmers' regular activities and food consumption patterns. Fish culture was equally important as an enterprise among richer and poorer men, whereas vegetable cultivation was more important to men than women but wealth and location also affected its importance. Lack of knowledge was a particular problem for farmers growing fish and vegetables in the rural areas. Fish disease, high price of input, lack of money were also identified as constraints by fish producers. The expected use and current use of ponds, problems and benefits associated with fish culture were also found to be affected by groups emphasising vegetable, orchard and fish culture within their systems. The role of the pond for family use, which was a major objective for pond construction, was found to be significantly different between rural and peri-urban areas. Fish culture is now the dominant use of ponds for households irrespective of their focus on vegetable, orchard or fish production and they are utilised less for general domestic use. Ponds are relatively more important as a source of irrigation water in rural than in peri-urban communities. Significant differences were observed between locations and well-being categories for the percentage of fish retained for consumption and that sell. Rice bran was the most commonly used pond input (80% of all pond households) but active integrated farmers applied rice bran more frequently than passive groups (91 compared to 63 times/season). ‘Ease of production’ was a major incentive for farmers to integrate fish and vegetable production and this opinion was related to household type i.e. active integrators were more aware and confident about the practice. The literacy levels of household heads, access to information and capital and contact with formal and informal institutions of active producers and the better-off households was significantly higher than other groups and poorer households respectively. It is revealed from the longitudinal households’ analysis that the consumption pattern in terms of food types and amount are linked with income, expenses and food availability in different well-being categories between seasons across locations. The empirical analysis showed that as active households’ income increased, expenditure on food purchases, agricultural labour, pond inputs and poultry per household also increased. However, on-farm contributions as a source of fish and vegetables were important during the lower income and least productive months. Performance of integrated farming systems varied by location. Resource base, accessibility to market and information played key roles in the development of integrated farming system in the study area. Active integrated households in peri-urban areas, in response to higher demand in the nearby market, produced significantly more fish and vegetables than those in the rural areas. The result showed clearly the need for due consideration of these factors while promoting IAA systems in Bangladesh. Farmer participatory research showed that production of fish could be increased by a substantial level through increasing pond nutrient inputs rather than stocking an additional species (tilapia), although this may be related to the ‘improved’ nutrition used by farmers still being well below the level required for optimal tilapia performance. Rural households benefited more than peri-urban through direct consumption of both fish and vegetables; in contrast peri-urban households benefited more through cash sales of both fish and vegetables than rural households. Higher production did not lead to increased consumption, rather households benefited financially through selling fish. Similar production levels of vegetables between groups followed different levels of fish culture practices suggesting that increased investment in fish production is complementary rather than competitive with associated vegetable production. It could be concluded that considerable potential exists for further integration and development of pond-dike systems, which could contribute towards improved livelihoods of both better off and worse off people.

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Eyhorn, Frank. "Assessing the potential of organic farming for sustainable livelihoods in developing countries : the case of cotton in India /." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2006. http://www.zb.unibe.ch/download/eldiss/06eyhorn_f.pdf.

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Kumar, Sanjay. "Social capital, local politics and sustainable rural livelihoods : a case study of the Eastern India Rainfed Farming Project." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.613885.

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Mago, Shamiso. "The impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on rural livelihoods: the case of smallholder farming in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1007185.

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This study seeks to determine the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The study was motivated by the fact that benefits of ICT development still need to be known among rural smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. ICTs have been upheld as catalysts for the promotion of rural livelihoods the world over. The question that remains is whether ICTs in Zimbabwe promote livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Although the Government formulated the ICT policy in 2005, the benefits still need to be known among rural smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe. The challenges faced by smallholder farmers include limited access to ICTs, high costs in ICT services and lack of ICT infrastructural development in the country. The challenges hindered ICT benefits that are expected to accrue to smallholder farmers. This study is significant in the view that most studies on ICT have focused on the general roles of ICT on rural development without giving particular attention to smallholder farming that has a potential of reducing poverty and promoting food security. For a theoretical lens, the Sustainable Livelihood Approach was used with special attention to Chapman et al (2001)’s information wheel. Regarding methodological issues, the study followed a qualitative research methodology guided by a secondary analysis research design. Data were collected from published reports of government, reports from the Ministry of ICT, internet, journals, newspapers and periodicals. The study established that ICTs promote livelihoods of smallholder farmers through the dissemination of vital information for improvement of agricultural productivity. From the research findings, the study proposes four main recommendations. Firstly, strengthening of ICT policy for effective smallholder farmers. Secondly, the government to organise ICT awareness campaigns directed towards rural people especially smallholder farmers. Thirdly, up scaling ICT Infrastructural development .Finally, a large-scale ICTs and livelihoods research must be commissioned in the country.

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Hornby, Angela Donovan. "Cattle, commercialisation and land reform: dynamics of social reproduction and accumulation in Besters, KwaZulu-Natal." University of the Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/4199.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
The thesis examines the processes of social differentiation amongst households living on farms transferred through South African land reform, and the degree to which the ‘commercialisation’ of the cattle economy accounts for these processes. The evidence is drawn from six farms owned by Communal Property Associations (CPAs), which are part of the Besters Land Reform Project in the Besters District of KwaZulu-Natal. Drawing on the scholarship of critical political economists, the thesis shows that social differentiation is a dynamic process that both underlies and exacerbates conflicts over the commercial production of collectively owned cattle. This finding is derived from examining the articulation of three analytically distinct processes. These are the diversification of livelihoods in response to diminishing opportunities for regular wage employment; the social stratifications arising partly from the unequal ownership of cattle; and the differential claims on and extractions made from CPA land and cattle production. The thesis shows that some households are able to accumulate agricultural capital and expand their cattle herds by securing and synchronising a range of livelihoods, including wage employment, social grants and subsidies from CPA farm production. Others, unable to synchronise livelihoods arising from social processes that often run counter to one another, find their cattle herds depleted as they draw on them to survive. When their agricultural production declines, their capacity to generate a livelihood sufficiently robust to withstand shocks is put at risk. This places the collectively owned land, income and assets of the CPAs at the centre of a politics defined by the contradiction between meeting the needs of social reproduction on the one hand, and accumulating farm capital, on the other. This is evidenced in the dynamic nature of the hybridised farm systems in which cattle farming for multiple purposes co-exists with the production of cattle as commodities. Reflecting this materiality, the politics of the CPA draws on older relationships of kinship, underpinned by ceremonial uses of cattle that both reflect and generate broader socio-economic inequalities. The outcome of this fluid and complex ‘politics of the farm’ determines whether land reform produces a small number of ‘winners’ or a greater number of households involved in agricultural petty commodity production. Social differentiation is exacerbated on farms that disband collective production, while households are both more likely to continue farming or to re-enter agricultural petty commodity production where CPA production provides capital and labour inputs. The implications of these findings are that the problems of production on many land reform farms cannot be explained simply in terms of CPAs as troubled institutions. Rather, the dynamics of differentiation constitute CPAs and their enterprises as sites of struggle that render collectively owned production unstable under current land and agrarian policy frameworks. Policy priorities that take cognizance of this politics and support farm level adjudications of member’s rights to land, capital and cash, and support agricultural capital accumulators to exit communal property arrangements could result in limited transformations of the agrarian structure.

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Pritchard, Rosemary Claire. "Woodland transitions and rural livelihoods : an interdisciplinary case study of Wedza Mountain, Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31427.

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Tropical woodlands play a key role in the livelihoods of rural communities in southern Africa, but exist in contexts of constant ecological and socioeconomic change. With research into tropical woodlands neglected compared to tropical forests, it is important to improve understanding of the consequences of tropical woodland change for rural wellbeing. The aim of this thesis is to examine the dynamic interactions between woodland change and rural livelihoods through an interdisciplinary case study of a miombo woodland landscape on and around Wedza Mountain, Zimbabwe. The thesis is organised into three parts addressing: (1) the patterns of land use intensity and provisioning ecosystem service availability around Wedza Mountain; (2) the importance of environmental resources in rural income portfolios and hazard coping strategies; and (3) the adequacy of ecosystem service literature in representing the environmental values of rural African communities. The first part of this thesis explores patterns of land use and woodland structure on the woodland cover gradient around Wedza Mountain. In Chapter 2 I characterise land use intensity in the six study villages using a new method of calculating human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) at the village scale. Use of this approach indicates that previous studies have underestimated land use intensity in African small-scale farming areas, with village-scale HANPP estimates in Wedza ranging from 48% to 113% of total potential annual NPP as compared to 18 to 38% in published studies. In Chapter 3 I combine woodland survey data with a quantitative ethnobotanical assessment of the use values of woody species and demonstrate that per-household availability of provisioning ecosystem services declines with declining relative tree cover. These findings also suggest that more deforested villages have reduced diversity of ethnospecies underlying service provision, with ramifications for service resilience and livelihood option values in response to future change. The focus of the second part of the thesis is on the role of woodland resources in rural livelihoods. In Chapter 4 I quantify the contribution of environmental income to the total income portfolios of 91 households and show that lower village woodland cover is not associated with reduced livelihood diversity, in part because a large proportion of environmental income is derived from degraded woodland or non-woodland environments. In Chapter 5 I assess the importance of environmental resources for coping with hazard exposures, drawing on recall of past exposure responses and a survey exercise weighting the elements of coping strategy portfolios in response to varying shock scenarios. Synthesis of these data sets indicates that environmental resources represent an important safety net in coping with interacting covariate and idiosyncratic hazard exposures. The third part of the thesis consists of critical reflection, firstly on the adequacy of current ecosystem services research in southern Africa landscapes and secondly on this specific research project. In Chapter 6 I identify the value discourses which are most dominant across 356 peer-reviewed papers adopting an ecosystem services approach to miombo landscape research, and contrast these with the environmental values of study communities in Wedza District. Through this I show that the current ecosystem service literature is failing to represent rural African social and spiritual imaginaries of landscapes, with potentially serious consequences for the efficacy and equity of landscape management interventions. In Chapter 7 I examine some of the methodological and ethical challenges encountered during this research project through a discussion of the relationships between researcher, research assistant and respondents in an interdisciplinary field research context. Finally, in Chapter 8 I synthesise the key messages from the thesis, and conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for understanding of how future change will impact the resilience and vulnerability of savanna woodland socioecological systems.

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Markarian, Philippe Daniel. "Family Farming, Biodiesel and Social Inclusion In Bahia: Assessing Brazil's National Program for the Production and Use of Biodiesel." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/36944.

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The present research evaluates the social inclusion component of the Brazilian National Program for the Production and Use of Biodiesel’s (PNPB) by studying its impact on the livelihoods of family farmers in the country’s Northeast region of Bahia. The overall objective is to critically analyze the social sustainability aspect of the program by including different dimensions of social exclusion in its analysis. More specifically, this thesis examines the PNPB’s effectiveness in helping family farmers in Bahia achieve positive livelihood outcomes. In terms of theoretical perspective, the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) is employed while existing research and government data are analyzed using a descriptive method. The findings of this thesis indicate that the PNPB is predominantly designed in economic terms, largely ignoring the multi-dimensional nature of social exclusion. In this sense, the results suggest that the lack of success of the program in the country’s Northeast region can be in part explained by its failure to adopt coherent and sustainable strategies that go beyond market insertion and income generation. In particular, the research demonstrated that the PNPB’s lack of participatory approach and the absence of social and cultural considerations, along with inadequate technical extension services, hampered the program’s success in the region. Based on these results, this research highlights the need for a broader approach when it comes to promoting social inclusion, as well as the importance of taking into account and developing the cultural, social and political capital of family farmers in Bahia. In this sense, this thesis emphasizes the importance of recognizing that social exclusion is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon, which calls for improving the ways with which we evaluate and deepen the understanding of the livelihoods of family farmers in Bahia.

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Manlosa, Aisa Oliveros [Verfasser], and Jörn [Akademischer Betreuer] Fischer. "Leveraging livelihoods for a food secure future : smallholder farming and social institutions in southwest Ethiopia / Aisa Oliveros Manlosa ; Betreuer: Jörn Fischer." Lüneburg : Universitätsbibliothek der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 2019. http://d-nb.info/1187520039/34.

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Manlosa, Aisa Oliveros Verfasser], and Jörn [Akademischer Betreuer] [Fischer. "Leveraging livelihoods for a food secure future : smallholder farming and social institutions in southwest Ethiopia / Aisa Oliveros Manlosa ; Betreuer: Jörn Fischer." Lüneburg : Universitätsbibliothek der Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 2019. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:luen4-opus-145469.

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Bunce, Brittany. "Agricultural investments in the communal areas of the Eastern Cape: The impacts of joint ventures on livelihoods and land rights." University of the Western Cape, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6804.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
A major and unresolved challenge facing South Africa’s post-apartheid government, is how best to overcome the historical injustices of land dispossession and the resultant poverty now found in the communal areas of the former 'homelands'. In line with the South African government’s hybrid of neo-liberal and social welfare approaches to development, one important strategy for addressing these challenges has so far been the promotion of inclusive business models such as joint ventures (JVs), especially in the context of land restitution claims, but also in communal areas. This study explores the impacts of the JV model on livelihoods and land rights and use, and engages with key debates regarding the dynamics of class formation in the former 'homelands' of South Africa. The study undertakes a comparative analysis of two Joint Venture (JV) dairy farms, involving the same agribusiness partner, Amadlelo Agri. The farms are located on irrigation schemes in the former Ciskei of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. The JVs involve residents from the rural settlements of Keiskammahoek and Shiloh, as both landowners and workers. The comparative case study presented here illustrates quite divergent outcomes when the same JV model is implemented in different rural settlements, most powerfully because of differences in the class structure of each settlement. Class analysis helps to explain the more intense intragroup conflicts that have emerged around the JV in Shiloh. Intragroup dynamics and conflicts, which have historical roots extending beyond the implementation of the JV intervention, are also critical to understanding divergent outcomes. A class-analytic approach assists in understanding the tensions that the JV model of capitalist farming generates in relation to household reproduction, in a class-differentiated manner. The sole focus in much of the literature on agricultural investments has been on relationships between agribusiness, and what are too often portrayed as homogenous 'communities’. However, this thesis illustrates that this approach is misleading when applied to analysis of the real politics on the ground. Struggles over jobs, dividends and land take place within highly differentiated communities. Investigating the inter- and intra-household distribution of JV benefits and risks is central to understanding the impacts of the JV on livelihoods and incomes, and also the emerging contentions and conflicts. To this end, I explore how class interacts with other aspects of social difference, particularly gender, kinship, ethnicity, race, generation and religious affiliation. A class-analytic approach is significant because it illuminates the emerging agrarian class structure that a JV-type intervention both reflects and in turn conditions, in dialectical fashion. It thus allows exploration of the implications of the JV model for wider processes of agrarian change in South Africa. Although there is evidence of livelihood benefits being derived by some households, as well as limited opportunities for accumulation, the JV model does not appear to stimulate the emergence of a class of productive black farmers. Significantly, the study could not identify any households as 'middle farmers', reliant on 'accumulation from below', which many authors consider to be a more progressive, dynamic and desirable pathway of agrarian reform. The JV model is at risk of equating ‘black emerging farmers’ with a group of customary landowners, who are in reality workers and 'passive recipients' of JV dividends and land rents.

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Derbyshire, Samuel. "Trade, development and resilience : an archaeology of contemporary livelihoods in Turkana, northern Kenya." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2017. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:13527b7a-0f4e-46e9-a9df-8bdd53a6ce40.

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The recent history of the Turkana of northern Kenya has rarely been explored in detail, a fact that corresponds with, and to a large extent facilitates, their regular portrayal in the popular press as passive, unchanging and therefore vulnerable in the face of ongoing and ensuing socio-economic transformations. Such visions of the Turkana and the region in which they live have, via their manifestation in the policies and practices of development-orientated interventions, actively inhibited (although never fully arrested) the fulfilment of various local desires and aspirations over the years. In addressing these topics, this thesis provides some hitherto largely unexplored and unrecognised historical context to the many socio-economic and political issues surrounding Turkana's ongoing development. It discusses interdisciplinary research which combined archaeological and ethnographic techniques and was undertaken amongst communities engaged in the most prominent livelihoods that have historically underlain the Turkana pastoral economy: fishing (akichem), cultivation (akitare), herding (akiyok) and raiding (aremor). In doing so, it draws attention to some of the ways in which these communities have actively and dynamically negotiated broad economic, environmental and political transformations over the last century and beyond, thereby providing a picture of social change and long-term continuity that might serve as a means for a more critical assessment of regional development over the coming years. By weaving together a series of historical narratives that emerge from a consideration of the changing production, use and exchange of material culture, the thesis builds an understanding of Turkana's history that diverges from more standard, implicitly accepted notions of recent change in such regions of the world that envisage globalisation purely as a process of convergence or homogenisation. Its central argument, which it demonstrates using various examples, is that seemingly disruptive transformations in daily practices, social institutions, livelihoods and systems of livelihood interaction can be envisaged as articulations of longer-term continuities, emerging from a set of durable yet open-ended dispositions within Turkana society and culture. Moreover, rather than being built on a stable, passive repertoire of cultural knowledge, the thesis shows that this capacity for change is established upon a dynamic generative process where value systems and institutions are reconfigured to the same extent as daily practices and skills, as knowledge is continually reconstituted and recast in relation to the shifting constraints and possibilities of daily life. It thus characterises this process as a form of resilience that is deeply rooted in and determinant of the Turkana pastoral economy.

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Vestling, Veronika, and Viktoria Forsberg. "The livelihoods of female seaweed farmers : A study about women's experiences of old and new techniques of seaweed farming on Zanzibar, Tanzania." Thesis, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Globala studier, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-40719.

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Seaweed has been hit hard by climate change around the world. The island of Zanzibar, which is the world’s third biggest exporter of seaweed, is one of the places where seaweed is affected. 80 percent of the seaweed farmers on Zanzibar are women who are directly affected by climate change since they are making a living from seaweed farming. New efforts to tackle the impact of climate change on seaweed has been made on Zanzibar through the SEA PoWer project which is a new technique of growing seaweed and enables twenty-four female seaweed farmers to grow in deep and cooler waters instead of the more traditional way which is in shallow waters. The aim of this study is to, from a livelihood perspective, examine women’s experiences and perceptions of the old versus the new techniques of farming seaweed on Zanzibar, Tanzania. The research questions for this study focus on finding out the women’s experiences and perceptions of the changes in the techniques in relation to opportunities for livelihoods through seaweed farming. Furthermore, this study investigates if women experience conflicts of interest with men regarding the use of ocean space. Semi-structured interviews with eleven women who have used the new technique of growing seaweed were conducted and the results was analyzed in the light of previous research, through the definitions of livelihood and gender, and the theoretical concept of feminist political ecology. The result has shown that all women experienced improvements in their livelihoods through the new technique of seaweed farming. One clear improvement was that there were no negative health effects when using the new technique. The study also found that there are no conflicts of interest between men and women regarding the use of ocean space when using the new technique of seaweed farming. The women had a positive view on the future and had high expectations, they had already noticed positive effects on their livelihoods in form of social, human, physical capital and health.

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Nhongonhema, Rutendo. "A gender-sensitive analysis of farmers' perceptions on conservation farming technologies :case study of Insiza Distric in Matebeleland South Province, Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2009. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_9906_1297931261.

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The aim of the research was to identify what female and male farmersthink are the best strategies to enhance the role of conservation farming as a buffer against social, economic and environmental hazards, and a means of ensuring livelihood sustainability and food security. The study also aimed at coming up with information useful to policy and other decision makers on how to improve adoption of these technologies. The empirical component of the research included a questionnaire survey of one hundred and fifty two(152) selected households in one identified ward in Insiza District, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with key informants and in-depth interviews of individual male and female members of a few selected farming households from the sampled population. The desktop portion of the study used secondary data from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government and other stakeholders involved in conservation farming. Collected data was then disaggregated by gender and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Perception statements that emerged as significant in chi-square tests of independence were be subjected to factor analysis and weighted factor scores from factor analysis were then used as independent variables in binary logistic regression analysis. The study concluded that both practising and non practising farmers were of the opinion that conservation farming was good though they indicated that information on conservation farming was not readily available The study found out that most farmers agreed on the possible positive effects of CA in addressing livelihood challenges effected by hazards such as HIV and AIDS and environmental hazards such as declining soil fertility but it had is labour intensive therefore is not suitable for people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS...

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Constant, Natasha Louise. "A socio-ecological approach towards understanding conflict between leopards (Panthera pardus) and humans in South Africa : implications for leopard conservation and farming livelihoods." Thesis, Durham University, 2014. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10807/.

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The thesis investigates the socio-ecological factors driving human-leopard conflict due to livestock and game depredation in the Blouberg Mountain Range, South Africa. Local people’s perceptions of conservation are shaped by historical and contemporary relationships with protected areas and particularly, by conflicts of land and natural resource use. Legacies of disempowerment, marginalisation and stigmatisation manifest through people’s conservation discourses, social conflict and resistance towards protected area establishment, a process defined as traumatic nature. Traumatic nature elevates distrust of local people towards wildlife authorities and decreases support for wildlife conservation, aggravating human-leopard conflicts. Leopard predation on livestock and game is most strongly influenced by distance to village and distance to water, respectively, in addition to seasonal grazing patterns, the calving season and poor livestock husbandry practices. Livestock depredation represents significant economic costs for subsistence communal farmers’, which is exacerbated by the erosion of traditional cattle sharing systems and a lack of alternative livelihood strategies. Livestock depredation results in the loss of functional and material benefits, social capital, a spiritual resource, diminished wellbeing and perceived cultural decay. Camera trap results showed a lower leopard density of 0.7 leopards per 100km2 on commercial farms compared to the Blouberg Nature Reserve of 5.4 leopards per 100km2. Commercial farms may function as ecological traps because they represent areas with disproportionate leopard mortality that otherwise provide a high abundance of prey species for leopards. A male-biased sex ratio and a high number of sub-adult male leopards indicate high leopard mortality rates in the population. Camera trap results show low occupancy rates on communal land that may reflect a low large prey biomass, potentially caused by overhunting and habitat conversion. Farming communities ascribe a wide range of environmental values to the leopard that provide barriers and support for leopard conservation. Environmental institutions need to improve responses to reports of human-leopard conflicts and build trust and legitimacy in the eyes of local people by developing stronger working relationships with farming communities. The decentralisation of authority to local government actors to manage human-leopard conflicts and the devolution of responsibility to farmers to improve livestock husbandry practices is necessary to reduce depredation incidents. Incentive and education schemes are important for reducing lethal control measures and to improve tolerance of depredation incidents and leopard conservation.

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Hänke, Hendrik [Verfasser], Rainer [Akademischer Betreuer] Marggraf, Jan [Gutachter] Barkmann, and Meike [Gutachter] Wollni. "Livelihoods on the edge: farming household income, food security and resilience in southwestern Madagascar / Hendrik Hänke. Betreuer: Rainer Marggraf. Gutachter: Jan Barkmann ; Meike Wollni." Göttingen : Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, 2016. http://d-nb.info/1103233858/34.

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Trozzo, Katie E. "Non-timber forest product livelihood opportunities in Appalachia." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/103572.

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Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been harvested in the wild for generations in Appalachia. Demand for forest farmed raw material and transparent supply chains is growing, which has increased attention on the role of NTFPs in regional livelihoods. We conducted an embedded case study to understand contemporary NTFP harvest, perceptions of community-based development of NTFP livelihood opportunities, and the extent to which forest landowners are interested forest farming. One case study focused on Grayson County, Virginia and included semi-structured interviews with 16 key stakeholders. Interviews explored motivations, species preferences, and uses of NTFPs among individuals and then perceived assets, obstacles, and desired strategies for NTFP livelihood development within the community. Through qualitative analysis we found financial benefits, engagement with nature, and personal preferences (personal fulfillment, learning and creativity, and lifestyle) were key motivators. Newcomers to Appalachia were more likely to balance monetary, environmental, and lifestyle motivations, and multigenerational residents focused more on financial motivations and to a lesser degree lifestyle. We used the community capitals framework to analyze the community focused data and found references to natural, human, and cultural capital as both an asset and an obstacle. Financial capital was a top-obstacle whereas social capital was a top asset. Strategies focused on social, human, and financial capital investments such as social networking, educational programming, tax incentive programs, and local fundraising. The regional case study surveyed via mail those who own 5 or more acres of forestland in 14 Southwest Virginia Appalachian counties to understand extent to which they are interested in forest farming or leasing land for forest farming. We had a response rate of 28.9% and found 45% of forest landowners, owning 47% of the forestland, were interested in forest farming. Those that were likely to lease their land accounted for 36% of all respondents and owned 43% of the forestland. Further, those who were interested did not differ based on demographic and land characteristics. Our study reveals the contemporary state of NTFP livelihoods combines markets sales with broader homesteading objectives and that lifestyle and environmental motivators are an increasing focus as newcomers take roots in the region. Further, communities may be able to draw upon the cultural and natural capital around NTFPs as well as the strong social capital often present in rural communities to further invest in social networking, education, financial incentives, and funding to support NTFP livelihood development. Finally, forest farming and leasing of land for this practice is of considerable and broad appeal to forestland owners in Southwest Virginia, which may indicate possibilities for a critical mass to supply a growing demand for sustainably sourced and quality NTFP raw materials.
Doctor of Philosophy
In recent decades Appalachia has experienced socioeconomic challenges with lack of employment opportunities, high poverty levels and the resulting outmigration of residents, especially youth, in search of work. At the same time newcomers are migrating into the area drawn by the culture and natural environment, which is shifting the social fabric of the region. It is in this new context that communities are asked to develop livelihood opportunities using what is available to them. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have been harvested in the wild for generations in Appalachia and offer one avenue of possibility, especially as the market has begun to support higher prices for raw materials that meet the increasing consumer demand for sustainability and quality. Within these new dynamics we set out to understand contemporary uses of NTFPs in Appalachia, and what motivates people to work with these species, as well as community perceptions about how to develop NTFP livelihood opportunities, and the extent to which Appalachian residents are interested in forest farming (the cultivation or stewardship of NTFPs in an existing forest). Our study reveals the contemporary state of NTFP livelihoods combines markets sales with broader homesteading objectives and that lifestyle and environmental motivators are an increasing focus as newcomers take roots in the region. Further, communities may be able to draw upon the cultural and natural capital around NTFPs as well as the strong social and human capital often present in rural communities to further invest in social networking, education, financial incentives, and funding to support NTFP livelihood development. Finally, forest farming and leasing of land for this practice is of considerable and broad appeal to forestland owners in Southwest Virginia, which may indicate possibilities for a critical mass to supply a growing demand for sustainably sourced and quality NTFP raw materials.

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Luca, Fernando Vieira de. "Produção de carvão vegetal e agricultura de corte e queima como estratégias de meio de vida rurais sustentáveis em Biguaçu/SC." reponame:Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da UFRGS, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10183/132975.

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Essa pesquisa foi desenvolvida no município de Biguaçu, litoral de Santa Catarina, especificamente na localidade de Três Riachos, e visou compreender o quão sustentáveis são as maneiras com que famílias de agricultores aí residentes conduzem suas vidas em meios rurais, que estão associados a duas práticas particularmente associadas: a agricultura de corte e queima e a produção de carvão. Esses agricultores familiares movimentaram historicamente um sistema social e ecológico do qual estiveram fortemente subsidiados por recursos florestais, um ativo particularmente importante para essas pessoas. De um ponto de vista multidimensional, ancorado pelo conceito de desenvolvimento como liberdade e da capacitação de pessoas em acessarem múltiplos recursos, ou ativos, nos propomos discutir possíveis respostas para as perguntas que seguem: possuem qualidade de vida essas pessoas? São sustentáveis seus meios de vida? Procuramos descrever as particularidades sociais e ecológicas do contexto de estudo através de dados coletados com etnografia e observação participante, confrontá-los com dados secundários e discutindo-os com bibliografias pertinentes. Para tal, levamos em consideração o acesso a cinco tipos de ativos relacionados, capital natural, capital humano, capital financeiro, capital social e capital físico e mais um associado, o capital cultural. Concluiu-se que as características particulares de cada ativo/capital que aumentam ou diminuam a sustentabilidade dessas pessoas são: para o capital natural: a possibilidade de utilização de recursos naturais advindos da própria propriedade da família e a capacidade de regeneração, ou renovação desses recursos naturais; para o capital humano, físico e financeiro: o trabalho excessivo e insalubridades relacionadas às suas atividades, a precariedade da infraestrutura e dos processos produtivos, a falta de conhecimentos para acessarem tecnologias e políticas públicas para melhorar essa infraestrutura; para o capital social: as relações de confiança e reciprocidade entre as pessoas das comunidades, a possibilidade de melhorias das relações de confiança com o público externo; no capital cultural: as características de cuidado dos agricultores que fazem com que eles estabeleçam relações de reciprocidade para com pessoas externas, seus clientes, sendo que para isso, depositam um esforço para que seus produtos sejam de boa qualidade. A busca de meios de vida sustentáveis é a maneira de se criar sistemas sócioecológicos resilientes. A sustentabilidade social e ambiental dessas famílias possuem potenciais positivos e negativos, e que certamente possuem desafios para que sejam reproduzíveis em sistemas sócioecológicos resilientes. A pesquisa contribuiu com o esforço de gerar dados para a compreensão dessa realidade complexa. A gestão de sistemas sociais e ecológicos deve levar em consideração um portfólio de ativos sociais, econômicos, ecológicos, humanos e culturais para que seja possível constituir sistemas sócio ecológicos resilientes.
This research was conducted in the city of Biguacu, Santa Catarina coast, specifically in the town of Três Riachos, and aimed to understand how sustainable are the ways in which families residing farmers lead their lives in rural areas, that are associated with two practices particularly associated with: a cut and burn agriculture and charcoal production. These farmers historically handled a social and ecological system of which were heavily subsidized by forest resources, a particularly important asset for these people. A multidimensional perspective, anchored by the concept of development as freedom and empowerment of people to access multiple resources, or assets, we propose to discuss possible answers to the following questions: have quality of life these people? Are sustainable livelihoods? We try to describe the social and ecological characteristics of the study context through data collected with ethnography and participant observation, confront them with secondary data and discussing them with relevant bibliographies. To this end, we consider access to five types of related assets, natural capital, human capital, financial capital, social capital and physical capital and another associate, the cultural capital. It was concluded that the particular characteristics of each asset / capital that increase or decrease the sustainability of these people are for natural capital: the possible use of natural resources from their own family property and regeneration capacity, or renewal of these resources natural; to the human, physical and financial capital: overwork and? insalubrity related to its activities, poor infrastructure and production processes, the lack of knowledge to access technologies and policies to improve the infrastructure; to social capital: trust relationships and reciprocity between people of the communities, the possibility of improvements in trust with the general public; the cultural capital: the care of characteristics of farmers who make them establish reciprocal relations to external people, your customers, and for that, deposit an effort to make its products are of good quality. The search for sustainable livelihoods is the way to create resilient ecological systems partner. The social and environmental sustainability of these families have positive and negative potentials, and they certainly have challenges that are playable on resilient ecological systems partner. The research contributed to the effort to generate data for the understanding of this complex reality. The management of social and ecological systems must take into account a portfolio of corporate assets, economic, ecological, human and cultural so that you can be resilient ecological systems partner.

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De, Kock Carinus. "Farming in the Langkloof : coping with and adapting to environmental shock and social stress." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97054.

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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the period 2006-2012, the Langkloof area, situated in the Eden District Municipality, suffered severely from environmental shocks and social stress including drought, flooding, hail, wildfire, heatwaves and reduced labour demand. These events negatively impacted many farmers and their livelihoods. In response to these external shocks and stressors, large-, medium- and small-scale farmers adopted numerous coping and adaptive strategies. This study performed a comprehensive livelihoods analysis of large-, medium- and small-scale farmers in the Langkloof area, using the widely recognized sustainable livelihoods framework developed by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, with a particular focus on coping and adaptive strategies against severe environmental shock and social stress. Variables used in the analysis were the vulnerability context in which farmers pursue a livelihood; livelihood assets (social, human, financial, natural and physical); the policies, institutions and processes in the external environment that influence the degree of ownership and access to assets; livelihood strategies pursued; and the various livelihood outcomes ultimately produced. The analysis of coping and adaptive strategies employed by farmers during these periods formed an integral part of this study. Sixteen livelihood asset indicators were identified to determine the total assets (human, social, physical, financial and natural) of the farmers. After scaling the indicators, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to assign weights to each indicator and to subsequently calculate the total assets of each household. Regarding the coping and adaptive strategies employed by farmers against environmental shock and social stress, the average number of strategies was calculated for each household. Spearman’s rank correlations were calculated for total assets achieved (capacity) and the number of strategies employed against environmental shock and social stress.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Langkloofgedied, geleë in die Eden Distriksmunisipalitiet, is gedurende die tydperk 2006-2012 geweldig geteister deur omgewings- en sosiale gebeure, wat droogte, vloede, hael, veldbrande, hittegolwe en ʼn gevolglike verlaagde arbeidsaanvraag sluit. Hierdie rampe het verreikende nadelige gevolge op boere se lewensbestaan gehad. Terwyl hulle lewensbestaan tot die uiterste uitgedaag is, is verskeie hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres geïmplementeer. Met die gebruik van die Verenigde Koninkryk se Departement van Internasionale Ontwikkeling se volhoubare lewensbestaansraamwerk is ʼn gedetailleerde en alomvattende analise van groot, medium- en kleinskaalboere in die Langkloof se lewensbestaan gedoen, met ʼn sterk skem op hul hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë teen omgewingskok en sosiale stress. Die analise veranderlikes het die kwesbaarsheidskonteks waarin boere hul lewensbestaan aanpak; hul verskeie bates (menslik, sosiaal, finansieel, fisies en natuurlik); die beleide, instansies en prosesse in die eksterne omgewing wat toegang tot en eienaarskap van bates reguleer; hul lewensbestaanstrategieë; en die lewensbestaansuitkomste wat bereik word, behels. Die analise van die boere se hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë geïmplementeer teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres gedurende hierdie tydperk was ʼn integrale rol van hierdie studie. Sestien aanwysers is geïdentifiseer om die totale lewensbestaansbates (menslik, sosiaal, fisies, finansieel en natuurlik) van die boere te bepaal. Nadat die aanwysers geskaal is, is ‘n Hoofkomponentanalise (PCA) uitgevoer om gewigte aan elke aanwyser toe te ken vir die berekening van totale bates van huishoudings. Die hanterings- en aanpassingstrategieë ingestel deur boere teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres, is die gemiddelde aantal strategieë per huishouding. Spearman se rangorde korrelasies is bereken vir die totale bates (kapasiteit) en die getal strategieë geïmplementeer teen omgewingskok en sosiale stres.

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Magqibelo, Sinovuyo. "Impact of smallholder irrigation schemes on rural livelihoods of farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa: the case of Melani Irrigation Scheme." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1774.

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Irrigation farming is one of the most important rural development investments that can have both direct and indirect impacts on poverty and food security. The irregular and unreliable rainfall in the Eastern Cape Province has caused the smallholder farmers to deepen the irrigation farming systems as a strategy to cope with food shortage, income and poverty. South Africa has invested substantially in smallholder irrigation to benefit smallholder farmers in the less developed areas. Although the investment on small scale irrigation was to improve the welfare of the people, the performance and welfare impact of smallholder irrigation schemes has been poor and fall far short of the expectations of many stakeholders. The broad objective of the study was to examine the contribution of smallholder irrigation scheme on rural livelihoods of smallholder farmers at the project area. The null hypothesis was that smallholder irrigation schemes have no impact on farmer’s livelihoods. The alternative hypothesis for this study was that Melani irrigation scheme is contributing in improving rural livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the area. Cross study research design was used in the methodology. The purposive sampling was applied in order to choose a sample of 107 respondents that were interviewed using questionnaires, including both irrigating and non-irrigating farmers. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to find out whether the performance of the two groups of farmers is different and to what extent. To determine the specific role of irrigation an Independent T-Test was ran. Out of the selected sample 68 percent of households were farmers, 7.5 percent informal employed and 27 percent unemployed. It was found that the majority of participants were males and were uneducated. They depended on social grants for a living. The findings from the study showed that 84 percent of the respondents agreed that there is no market available in the village and farmers had limited access to credits. The crop income was the most contributing factor to household income. The results showed that whether the farmer is a non-irrigator or an irrigator the performance is not significant. Irrigation scheme improvement attained by smallholder farmers need to be maintained.

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Gao, Ze. "Organic Farming is Coming to Our Valley : The Development of Pumi Eco-Agriculture and the Indigenisation of Modernity in Sino-Myanmar Borderlands." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388436.

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How do indigenous people perceive and practice eco-agriculture, especially when it was introduced as a development project? This thesis aims to delve into this question by focusing on a policy-induced agrarian transition for Pumi community in Sino-Myanmar borderlands. Using ethnographic methods, I intend to offer an intimate account of a provincial programme to facilitate eco-agriculture in this ethnic region. With the conceptual framework presented, the current research starts with the introduction of Pumi agricultural history and indigenous farming knowledge, with a focus on Pumi biocultural heritage. Then, I will examine how the process of ‘indigenisation of modernity’ (Sahlins 2000) has occurred against the backdrop of Pumi eco-agriculture programme. The insights will be distilled from three different aspects, which are agricultural land use, technical practices, and governance issues. For each aspect, I will scrutinise to what degree the government is following an industrial model to design the eco-agriculture agenda which corresponds to the ‘conventionalisation hypothesis’ of organic production (Buck 1997) and is thus in alignment with their long-term strategic goals to ‘modernise’ this borderland region through agricultural transformations, whereas the local Pumi farmers are actively coping with the government’s external interventions, meanwhile searching for the ‘alternative pathway’ towards agricultural modernisation. In the final chapter, I will interpret the motives of the both actors in the programme. For the government, the post-development theory will be employed to provide a critique of the ‘development discourse’ embedded in the agenda. For local farmers, the concept of ‘environmentality’ (Agrawal 2005) will be focused to interpret the Pumi farmers’ motives to indigenise, which ultimately questioning the transforming powers of modernity and globalisation on Pumi agrarian society. Basically, this thesis aims to trace the socio-political processes which drive the ‘agrarian transition’ in a Southeast Asian frontier, and further demonstrate how the resource abundance in the borderlands can underpin intense processes of commodification and dispossession (Nevins and Peluso 2008; Ishikawa 2010; see also Milne and Mahanty, 2015), the implications of which crystallised in an ethnographic context. To a larger extent, this research aims to shed lights on the interactions between social structure and individual agency ― although the Pumi farmers are struggling to survive with the adaptation to modern inputs, they are still marginalised by the structured inequality of the market economy, which limited the farmers’ opportunities to improve their own livelihoods. Furthermore, this research also has significant policy implications as it addresses the issues such as agricultural policy and ethnic relations in the borderland regions. By reflecting upon the overlapping implications of highland livelihoods, agencies, and the transforming powers of social change, the current study aims to build a locally rooted understanding of Pumi eco-agriculture programme, and provide lessons for sustainable planning and future policy-making for rural development in developing countries such as China.

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Campanale, Letizia. "Integrated study and modelling of the factors affecting small-scale subsistence farming in eSwatini (southern Africa) through the use of causal diagrams and agent-based models." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2021. http://amslaurea.unibo.it/23940/.

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The dependence of small-scale subsistence farmers on natural resources highlighted the need of a transition towards a more sustainable management of resources. An extensive literature is available on the structural factors affecting small-scale agricultural production in developing countries, while few studies are available on the role of social dynamics on the capacity of the system to react to adverse conditions. What are then the social, economic and environmental factors affecting small-scale subsistence agriculture? and, what is the effect of social behaviours on the adoption of agricultural innovation? This study is based on the specific case of eSwatini (southern Africa). A causal loop diagram was adopted to show the cause–effect relationship between variables. The role played by social behaviors in the diffusion of innovation is explored with the use of agent-based modelling (ABM). The model is based on agents, environment, links and five processes: crop production, social learning, individual learning, decision making, and resource recovery. In the simulation three farming behaviours can be adopted: no cropping, traditional practices or conservation agriculture (CA). The ABM was implemented in the Netlogo 6.2.0 platform. The case study is supported by scientific literature and interviews with local stakeholders. The results highlight the role of gender equality in the diffusion of knowledge. The model was run with and without gender equality for 10, 25 and 50 cycles representing farming seasons. The results show an increase in the spread of CA in the scenarios with no gender discrimination for which the rate of innovation adoption is faster. Moreover, the study casts light on the role of social learning and its dependence on training and education centres for the diffusion of new behaviours. Also, results show how an increase in the number of learning centres leads to a higher rate of knowledge diffusion.

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35

Kawamura, Masahiro. "High value cash crop farming as a livelihood strategy in mountain agriculture : A case study of cardamom farming in eastern Nepal." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.520449.

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36

Schmid, Mary Elizabeth W. "BINATIONAL FARMING FAMILIES OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIA AND THE MEXICAN BAJIO." UKnowledge, 2018. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/anthro_etds/34.

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Over the last four decades, farming families throughout North America experienced significant transitions due, in part, to the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. This multi-sited dissertation investigates the ways in which a network of binational (Mexican-American) families organize their small- to mid-scale farming enterprises, engage in global networks as food producers, and contribute to rural economies in the southeastern U.S. and the Mexican Bajío. To mitigate difficult transitions that came with the globalizing of agri-food markets, members of this extended family group created collaborative, kin-based arrangements to produce, distribute, and market fresh-market fruits and vegetables in the foothills of southern Appalachia and basic grains in the foothills of the Mexican Bajío. Members of extended binational families regularly negotiate social, economic, and political borders within and across regions, genders, and generations. This study shows how these binational kin use cooperative practices to navigate two distinct, yet interrelated, contemporary agricultural political economic environments in North America. The study counter-constructs stereotypes of Latinx and their roles in southeastern U.S. agriculture by focusing on a vertically integrated, kin group of allied, migrant farming families and theorizing them as binational collective strategists. Their stories and strategies provide insight into the importance of temporalities and practices of kin relatedness to agri-food enterprises and suggest possibilities for alternative distributions of surplus value within the globalized agri-food system.

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Arias, ElieÌzer G. "Cultivating boundaries : market liberalisation and livelihood strategies among farming households in the Venezuelan Andes." Thesis, University of Bath, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250816.

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Olson, Garrett Kenneth. "Forests and farming an analysis of rural livelihood programs for poverty reduction in eastern Zambia /." CONNECT TO THIS TITLE ONLINE, 2007. http://etd.lib.umt.edu/theses/available/etd-06042007-102523/.

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39

Hill, Nicholas Anthony Owen. "Livelihood diversification for conservation : interactions between seaweed farming and fishing in Danajon Bank, Central Philippines." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.550817.

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Livelihoods-based approaches are increasingly used within conservation projects in developing countries to help reduce the exploitation of species for food or income. The objective of these livelihood interventions is often to provide a more attractive substitute for that exploitation. However, the evidence for whether they do manage to achieve conservation goals is scarce, and where present, mixed. In this thesis I examine the case study of seaweed farming and fishing on Danajon Bank, central Philippines. I show that seaweed farming and declining fish catches are associated with reductions in fisher numbers in some villages, but not others. The form of income and risk profile associated with an alternative occupation such as seaweed farming can be more important than its profitability in determining its potential to substitute for fishing. The level of engagement in different occupations with different risk profiles correlates with a range of socioeconomic variables, particularly the level of existing experience in an occupation. Household livelihood portfolios vary between those self-defining as primarily fishers or seaweed farmers, as well as with wealth. Finally, seaweed farming is only associated with lower fishing income when it is perceived to be the most important occupation in the livelihood portfolio. This case study demonstrates the challenges to livelihoods-based approaches, indicating that while they may contribute to increased resilience of households faced with declining fish catches, the conservation benefits are more elusive. The results indicate that greater effort should be put into reducing the risks associated with alternative occupations, and careful consideration should be given to the frequency and timing of income obtained. They also indicate that, because of the potential for perverse incentives and the offsetting effects of increasing human populations, livelihoods-based approaches should be closely linked to direct forms of resource management, such as effort or spatial restrictions, and human population management.

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Kassa, Belay Habtemariam. "Livestock and livelihood security in the Harar highlands of Ethiopia : implications for research and development /." Uppsala : Dept. of Rural Development Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 2003. http://epsilon.slu.se/a388-ab.html.

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41

Hellström, Benjamin, and Leila Sultan. "Hybrid patches of commoning - Unpacking influences of the hydrosocial cycle on commoning in a downstream desert reclamation area : case study in Youssef El Seddik, Egypt." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Utveckling och internationellt samarbete, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-40934.

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Water stress is increasing globally, especially affecting arid regions of the world such as Egypt. Due to challenges related to intensifying effects of climate change and a rapidly growing population, the levels of and access to water is a continuous area of concern for the country – making it important to analyze how these water issues are managed. This study connects the hydrosocial cycle and commoning frameworks in analyzing how water is managed in a downstream, desert reclamation area in Fayoum, Egypt – and how this management, or lack thereof, affects the livelihoods of the people living there. In doing so, we examine how possible commoning practices are influenced by factors related to the hydrosocial cycle. Fieldwork has been conducted for this case study by holding participatory workshops, semi-structured interviews, and observations. Our findings imply that the hydrosocial cycle has shaped the management of water in our studied site, which has in turn affected the commoning practices that take place there. The low water levels and the saline quality of the water is what has created the prevalent forms of commoning that can be seen in the community. The presence of a local agricultural association has also influenced the commoning practices. The quality and levels of water in the area are in part managed by neighbors borrowing irrigation minutes from each other, and by collective olive harvest. To a lesser extent there are also instances of neighbors helping each other with agricultural work throughout the year, and sharing reservoirs. There are indications that these commoning practices play a part in sustaining livelihoods in the community. The commoning practices found in the studied site have emerged in a relatively new social context and can be characterized as context specific patches of commoning, occurring on the peripheries of hybrid institutions – that have largely been shaped by hydrosocial forces. As the hydrosocial cycle is ever-changing, these commoning practices will likely also come to change.

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Nyirasafari, Philomene. "Some demographic aspects of women's access to land for farming in South Africa: a comparison from 2004 to 2007." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/2713.

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Magister Philosophiae - MPhil
The issue of women's access to land is a developmental issue. From a fundamental research view point, this study aims to explore the circumstances in which women access land in South Africa. The study examines the inequalities that may arise in the context of land access, land acquisition; land use, activities taking place on land and closely related issues focusing specifically on women in general, and women headed households in particular. The study is based on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, occupational groups, education, province of residence and ethnic groups. Bringing together the demographic variables and land related variables, the study captures the structural changes between 2004 and 2007. Using 2004 and 2007 GHS secondary data requested from Statistics South Africa, cross tabulation and bivariate statistical analysis by means of SPSS software was performed. The results obtained indicate that the inequality against women's access to land still persists. Some women have access to land for agricultural purpose but few own it. The findings suggest that a number of factors including age, place of residence, marital status, ethnic group, literacy, educational level, of women are associated with the ability of women to access and acquire land. The sustainable livelihood framework is a theory that guided this study. Diversification is commonly used to prevent time of risks and shocks. In general, the study shows that the proportion of women who had access to land was 16% in 2004. This figure dropped to 14% in 2007.
South Africa

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Quan, Truong Tan. "Transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam." Lincoln University, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1557.

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The purpose of the study was to investigate how farmers in Quang Bing Province, Vietnam have been making the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture. This process began in 1986 when the Vietnam economy changed from central planning to a market orientation. The research strategy was based on case study analysis of two communes in each of three agro-ecological zones, defined as coastal, plains and mountains. Within each commune there were six embedded household case studies, i.e 36 in total. Case studies were selected purposively to capture diversity of agro-ecological zones, market access and communications, wealth and income status, and ethnic communities. Households were interviewed twice; first in either late 2006 or early 2007, and again in late 2008. The study was approached using a constructivist paradigm and a lens of livelihood analysis, focusing on resources, institutions, interventions and the dynamics of change. Particular attention was given to the development of markets (inputs, outputs, land, labour and credit) and supply chain factors. Separate measures of commercialisation were constructed based on outputs and inputs, and at the level of both individual activities and the overall household. Investigations were informed by existing theory, but no hypotheses were tested. Instead, the research focused on emergent patterns and insights, and the enrichment and modification of existing theory. A review of literature indicated that the transition from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture in Vietnam was different from other countries on account of the specific combination of low technology agriculture, typical of much of developing Asia, combined with the transformation from a centrally planned economy to a market orientation as occurred in Central and Eastern European countries. At commune level, the key determinants of commercialisation were strong physical connections to markets, with good road access being paramount. Once all weather road access for motorised vehicles was available, then rapid commercialisation occurred. Supply chains typically developed faster for outputs than inputs. New technologies that increased the yield of basic food crops, and facilitated by Government and NGO programs, led to the release of land resources no longer required for meeting food security needs. Households retained their production of food crops that provided food security, and added additional cash earning activities. At the level of individual households, the commercialisation process was led by entrepreneurial families who perceived opportunities relating to profitable activities, and combined this with hard work. Often these opportunities were linked to what they had observed or learnt elsewhere. Once first movers took up a new technology, others observed and followed. There were many enabling factors, such as access to land, access to capital, and access to credit. However, none of these could be considered a determinant, in that the absence of any one factor did not by itself preclude successful commercialisation. Absence of an active male worker was a major constraint to commercialisation, as was lack of necessary crop and livestock skills. There was evidence that income disparities were increasing between the wealthy and the poor. Output commerciality across all households averaged 88 % in 2008 and was higher for wealthy households (95 %) than poor households (83 %). All households still produced their own food crops, but these crops had low market values and hence had a low impact on the output commerciality index. Output commerciality measured in percentage terms obscured that wealthy families had net incomes almost 13 times greater than poor households. A major theoretical insight was that key commercialisation factors are multiple and context dependent. Accordingly, there is a need in any investigation for a holistic approach, based on a livelihood framework that incorporates the complexities associated with the development of markets, as well as giving consideration to the range of interventions and institutional policies that impact on livelihood development.

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Mukotami, Samuel. "Rural households livelihood strategies in communities around the Fort Hare and Middle Drift rural dairy projects in Eastern Cape Province South Africa." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1021132.

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In this study, rural households livelihood strategies in communities around Fort Hare and Middle Drift dairy projects in the Nkonkobe Municipality are explored from a household perspective. Rural communities around Fort Hare and Middle Drift dairy projects in Eastern Cape, South Africa are found choosing a multiple of livelihood portfolios that are linked to dairy project activities to increase food, generate income, and safeguard against risks and shocks. The dairy projects in rural areas can reduced the problem of shrinking livelihood options in rural areas were most of the households are relying on government grants which has characterised the rural areas with long queues during month ends. The main objectives of this study are, to assess whether the rural dairy projects set goals are being achieved; to identify dominant livelihood strategies of households living around dairy projects in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and to identify determinant factors influencing rural households around dairy projects to choose certain livelihood strategies that improve their welfare. The study analysed socio-economic survey data that had been collected from households in six rural villages in Nkonkobe Municipality surrounding the Fort Hare and Middle drift dairy projects. The stratified and random sampling method was used. The descriptive analysis comparing the livelihood portfolios’ in the six rural villages around Fort hare and Middle Drift dairy projects has revealed that there is an increasingly important role of the non-farm economy in the area (income from activities not linked to farming) as compared to farming, non-labour (income from remittances and government grants) and non-farm activities that are combined with farming (non-farm and farming activities). The multinomial logistic regression model revealed, with respect to the household variables, social-economic and institutional related variables as some of the barriers faced by poor households in rural areas sharing boundaries with rural dairy projects to enter into various livelihood strategies. Results from this study outlined that rural communities around dairy projects do not rely much on one livelihood pathway but they link multiple strategies together to improve their standard of living. The study, therefore, conclude that rural dairy projects with activities that are complementing with rural livelihood pathways available can be trusted as a reliable and sustainable livelihood source to reduce poverty in communities which share boundaries with rural dairy projects.

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Zabala, Aiora. "Motivations and incentives for pro-environmental behaviour : the case of silvopasture adoption in the tropical forest frontier." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2015. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/253009.

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On the frontier of biodiversity-rich tropical forests, how land is used has an important role in buffering the primary ecosystem. Unsustainable small-scale cattle farming endangers soil quality and degrades the landscape. Silvopasture is a type of agroforestry that provides both ecological and livelihood benefits. A number of projects have been implemented across the tropics to encourage silvopasture adoption, with varying success. This dissertation questions the reasons for variable outcomes among participants within these projects: what motivates smallholders to adopt innovative land-use practices, and what form of incentives may help to overcome obstacles and catalyse adoption. This dissertation contributes to the ongoing debate on payments for ecosystem services, specifically about their suitability and effectiveness. To understand what influences decisions to adopt sustainable land-use practices, I review systematically and quantitatively the literature on adoption predictors, and I empirically analyse participation and short-term adoption in a pilot project for planting fodder trees in the border of a protected forest in Chiapas, Mexico, using primary and secondary data. I focus on subjective perspectives and livelihood strategies of actual and potential participants as explanatory variables, which have received unduly scarce attention in past studies. This lack of attention is partially caused by the difficulties of operationalising internal variables. I address this challenge by developing an analytical approach that increases the precision of the resulting perspectives in Q methodology. I cluster livelihood strategies and model adoption. This in-depth case-study suggests the type of incentives that are adequate to encourage adoption of sustainable land-use practices. Results indicate that payments may not be the best incentive for pioneer adopters, and that the adoption process is composed of separate individual steps, which are influenced distinctly by identifiable predictors, such as livelihood diversity. Uncovering this heterogeneity of motivations towards adoption provides useful knowledge for designing more effective external policy interventions.

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(9733271), Sarah D. Huang. ""If we can't grow rice, then what?": Farming Livelihoods in the Production of Vietnam's Rice Farming Landscapes." Thesis, 2020.

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This dissertation challenges dominant food security discourses and practices that seek to address food insecurity through technoscientific approaches to agricultural production. Situated in Vietnam’s An Giang province in the Mekong River Delta, this work ethnographically explores and historically grounds global, national, and household scalar implications of these same discourses and practices on rice farmers’ livelihoods. The central research question that guided this project asks: if farmers are producing security for the nation, then why do they remain food insecure? Through a 16-month ethnographic study utilizing a mixed-methods approach I combined participant observation, household surveys, semi-structured interviews, and participatory mapping with rice farmers, farm laborers, and local and national government officials in order to address this question from a historically and ethnographically ground perspective. I show how Vietnam’s history of hunger and famine, experienced most recently in the late 1970’s, colors the nation’s current and future agricultural development. Focused on a future of rural development, economic growth, and values of modernity, new models of agricultural production are implemented across the Mekong River Delta to ensure the nation’s self-sufficiency in producing “enough” rice and food. Amongst these strategies, intensive triple cropping rice practices, food safety certifications and practices, and an increased reliance on agro-chemicals has resulted in differing farming practices and mixed impacts on farming livelihoods. I leverage a feminist political ecology and science and technology studies framework to foreground the rice farmers’ perspectives and differed experiences, while tracking the rooted inequalities within government policies, market logics, and social relationships. In three articles, I (1) examine differential experiences of state-based agricultural models and their impact on farmers’ livelihood security (2) trace how dominant discourses raise questions about individual and state responsibility; and (3) explore emergent farming livelihood opportunities and challenges within late socialist agricultural development. Drawing on ethnographic accounts and experiences, particularly from farmers, results showed that these dominant discourses that narrows food security to only be governable through techno-scientific approaches and agricultural practices are insufficient to address farmers’ insecurity.

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Hänke, Hendrik. "Livelihoods on the edge: farming household income, food security and resilience in southwestern Madagascar." Doctoral thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-0028-8774-E.

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48

Manyelo, Kgabo Winnie. "Street trader livelihoods linked to smallholder farming at the Dzindi canal scheme." Thesis, 2011. http://encore.tut.ac.za/iii/cpro/DigitalItemViewPage.external?sp=1000661.

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Thesis (MTech. degree in Agriculture)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011.
Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as a guide, livelihoods of street traders involved in the purchase and retail of fresh produce from farmers at the Dzindi smallholder irrigation scheme were documented, analysed and assessed.

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Koster, Heleen Philippine. "Livelihoods and the farming sector of the Mier community in the Northern Cape Province." Diss., 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/30458.

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Being part of the semi-arid, southern Kalahari, the Mier area has a complex and sensitive ecosystem, with a low carrying capacity. Factors, such as population growth, uneconomical farm units and restricted communal areas, have resulted in serious degradation of the natural resource base. Due to their strong agricultural history, the Mier community is generally still perceived as being agriculturally inclined, which easily leads to an overall main objective, namely "to stabilising the Mier community in their agricultural environment". Development and assistance initiatives mostly focus on the natural resource base. The majority of the Mier community, however, has undergone an evolutionary process which has changed their attitudes to agriculture. In order to determine the current role of agriculture, this study aims to identify the livelihood strategies of the Mier community in the dynamic sphere of conditions and trends, livelihood resources as well as institutional and organisational structures. The main socio-economic results are as follows: (a) forty-two percent of the total economically active age (EAA) group is unemployed, with the highest rate under EAA persons younger than 30, i.e. 58%; (b) households diversify in one or more of the following livelihood sustaining activities: (i) casual labour (49%), (ii) government allowances (50%), (iii) livestock agriculture (46%), (iv) permanent work (28%), (v) migrancy (33%), (vi) fruit/vegetable/pasture production for own consumption (28%), (vii) support through private transfers (21%), and (viii) small scale trading activities (11%); (c) households perceive the following as their most important livelihood strategies: government allowances for 43% of all households, permanent work for 21 %, casual labour for 16% and livestock for only 10% of all households. The following results from this study indicate that the role of agriculture is declining. (a) Fifty-four percent of the community do not own livestock. (b) Only 39% of people who are not full time involved in agriculture, are very interested in farming, 19% are fairly interested and 42% are not interested. Only 4% of the grade 10-12 pupils are very interested, 42% fairly interested and 54% not interested in agriculture. (c) None of the communal farmers regard their livestock as their main livelihood strategy. For them, livestock mainly playa supplementary role, supplying milk and sometimes meat. (d) For every 55 persons who perceive a lack of land as the major problem of the Mier area, 100 persons believe that it is rather a lack of employment opportunities. It is concluded that the image of the Mier community as being a farming community should change to a community looking urgently for alternative livelihood opportunities. Support through agricultural assistance would only benefit a limited part of the community and it would exclude many of the poorest households.
Dissertation (M Inst Agrar ( Plant Production))--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Plant Production and Soil Science
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Kabiti, Hlekani Muchazotida. "Critical analysis of the contribution of smallholder dairy farming to the livelihoods of households: The case of Nharira, Zimbabwe." Thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/914.

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PhDRDV
Institute for Rural Development
As has been the case in Eastern and Southern Africa, Zimbabwe continues to regard smallholder dairy farming as a viable strategy for reducing poverty and malnutrition, especially in rural areas. Although the country has since the early 1980s been promoting smallholder dairy development, available literature does not provide a clear picture of the extent to which the specific livelihoods of rural communities in terms of human, social, physical and financial capitals, have improved. Nor is there knowledge on its negative contribution to the farmers’ livelihoods. Thus, this study was undertaken to critically analyse the contribution of smallholder dairy farming towards the livelihoods of rural households using the Nharira dairy scheme as a focal area. The DfiD sustainable livelihood framework was used to build this understanding. Apart from characterizing the farmers, the contribution of smallholder dairy farming towards social, physical, human, natural and financial capitals was investigated. A sequentially integrated mixed methods approach was used. This was divided into two phases, which were quantitative and qualitative in nature. Results from the first phase were used to inform and design the second study. A census of the 21 active smallholder dairy farmers in Nharira, and management committee of the Nharira dairy processing plant was conducted. A household-focused questionnaire, key informant interviews, participatory mapping, record review, Global Positioning System (GPS) locating and focus group discussions were used to collect data. A tape recorder, GPS locator and camera were used as assistive devices during data collection. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data and interpret participatory maps. Livelihood capital indices were derived per household and used to complement descriptive statistics as part of quantitative data analysis. A social capital index was computed for each household using collective action, empowerment, groups and networks, and trust and solidarity as its components. Resource stocks and access were the building blocks of the natural capital index. Income, savings and investments, and access to funding were used to derive the household financial capital index. Contribution of dairy farming to productive equipment (such as cattle herd size) and basic infrastructure (such as quality of housing) were used to calculate the physical capital index. The index for human capital was obtained taking into account education, workforce and employment, enabling environment, and health and wellness. Equal weights were applied to the components when deriving the household livelihood indices because each one of them was considered to be substantially important for sustainable livelihoods. The quantitative data were stored and analysed using the International Business Machines (IBM) Statistical iii Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. Pearson correlation coefficients, means and standard deviations were calculated. Most of the farmers (65 %) were female. Approximately, 95 % of the women farmers were literate. Only 1 % of the farmers were youth (< 35 years old), a situation that threatened the sustainability of smallholder dairy farming. A daily smallholder dairy farming routine was derived using the focus group and participatory mapping results. This showcased the various daily activities and linked them with the household members actively involved. Smallholder dairy farming was found to be labour intensive. This might deter the farmers from diversifying into other livelihood strategies. Smallholder dairy farming was observed to have strengthened financial, human, natural, physical and social capitals in the local households. However, the respective indices of 0.59 and 0.52 for social and natural capitals, suggested that smallholder dairy farming impacted on these more than any other. Even though social capital was strong, further reinforcement through improved smallholder dairy farming activities was still vital because of its power of enhancing access to other forms of livelihood capitals. Human and physical capitals had the least index scores of 0.48 and 0.47, respectively. On average, the overall household livelihood capital index as a result of smallholder dairy farming was 0.51. One of the study respondents supported the positive contribution in the following way, ‘’Zvakanakira dairy hatingazipedzi. Tinotoda zuva rese” (There are many positive things that we attribute to our involvement in smallholder dairy farming. Narrating these demands considerable time). It was concluded that smallholder dairy farming significantly strengthened livelihood capitals of households involved in it. The results of the current study suggest that smallholder dairy farming is a viable option for improving household livelihood capitals. Thus, establishment of dairy farming schemes in rural areas should be promoted. However, the participation of youth in smallholder dairy farming as enterprise owners deserves attention because it threatens sustainability of the sector. An integrated multiple angle view encompassing technical, social, institutional, economic and organizational ideas of the impact of dairy farming as a livelihood strategy on household capital portfolio was provided. Moreover, application of the sustainable development framework to understanding the smallholder dairy farming context at household level was a novel way of understanding the local realities. Lastly, a set of variables that can be utilised to measure livelihood capitals of households involved in smallholder dairy farming-related activities was distilled.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Farming livelihoods'

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