scholarly journals Tree products, food security and livelihoods: a household study of Burkina Faso

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIGEL POOLE ◽  
CAMILLA AUDIA ◽  
BARTÉLÉMY KABORET ◽  
REBECCA KENT

SUMMARYThis paper examines the contribution of products derived from baobab (Adansonia digitata), shea (Vitellaria paradoxa) and néré (Parkia biglobosa) to rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso. A survey was conducted in northern and southern regions to identify and understand the social and environmental factors influencing the utilization of tree products by rural households for home consumption and commercialization, and to explore the contribution of tree products to food security. Emphasis was placed on the roles and responsibilities of women for tree product utilization. Inter- and intra-household relationships governing tree foods were found to vary between regions and tree species, and with gender and household composition. Collection and utilization of tree products differed between north and south because of contrasting ecological contexts and evolving social mores. Household decision making processes were negotiated and consensual in both regions. The results suggest that domestication and dissemination of planting and regeneration technologies, and product processing and marketing initiatives, need a gendered and tree-specific approach in order to build on local norms and capacities. Measures for the conservation and management of tree resources are most important where ecological constraints are most severe but dependence is greatest for sustaining food security.

Author(s):  
Esther Cheburet ◽  
Wanjugu Wachira ◽  
Janerose Mayabi

The study sought to determine challenges to food security among households of CBOs implementing agroforestry in Rongai Sub County in Nakuru and mitigation factors. The study was anchored on the systems theory and employed a mixed research methods design with simple random sampling used to get the CBOs from which the respondents were drawn. The target population was 630 members of all forty-seven (47) CBOs implementing agroforestry in the study area. The sample size was 245 respondents selected using the proportionate random sampling method. Questionnaires comprising of both open-ended and closed-ended questions were used to collect the data. From the study, the food produced by the households is insufficient and has to be supplemented by those outside the households. The food produced is of quality controlled by factors including farm management practices and capital availability for production. There is food inaccessibility as those produced are a source of income for the households yet insufficient. However, there is an improvement compared to previous years. The households’ food production is unstable as shown by variations in production and insufficiency of the food. Food security is challenged by the failure of all members of CBOs to take part in decision-making processes, reporting, roles, and responsibilities not being assigned appropriately. Mitigation factors are hardly employed by the CBOs to curb the challenges faced in implementing agroforestry. The study recommends building the capacity of CBOs implementing agroforestry in areas of resource mobilization, empowering them to harmonize governance processes, developing and implementing an M&E framework. It also recommends the development and implementation of sound policies that promote agroforestry expansion


Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Gajda ◽  
Marzena Jeżewska-Zychowicz

AbstractThe growing number of elderly people who are at increased risk of food insecurity for a variety of reasons, including financial ones, requires the current situation to be monitored. The purpose of this research was therefore to determine: (1) how older people perceive their situation in terms of food security; (2) whether older people use any form of external financial support; and (3) the relationship between people’s perception of their food security and the use of financial support from social services and their family. The survey was conducted on a group of 1150 people aged 65 years and above at the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019. In total, 762 questionnaires were analysed for the study. The study was conducted in the Świętokrzyskie and Śląskie voivodeships (provinces). Multivariate correspondence analysis (MCA) and the chi-square test were used to compare qualitative variables describing food security, financial assistance and socio-demographic features. Over two thirds of the respondents declared that they had no need of financial assistance from the social services or their family. Two categories of variables were selected using the MCA method: people who declared that their household had food security and that they had no need for financial assistance from social services or their family, and people who said they did not have food security and simultaneously used financial assistance or did not use such assistance but had financial problems. Place of residence and household composition were features that significantly distinguished the opinions about the lack of food security. Financial social programmes and the social education of families should be improved to minimize the risk of food insecurity in households of elderly people, especially those not benefiting from financial social support.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2985
Author(s):  
Vincent-Paul Sanon ◽  
Raymond Ouedraogo ◽  
Patrice Toé ◽  
Hamid El Bilali ◽  
Erwin Lautsch ◽  
...  

Small-scale inland fisheries are essential for livelihoods and food security in developing countries such as Burkina Faso. However, there is a gap in research on the ongoing transformation of the sector toward sustainability. This article analyzes the transition in inland fisheries and aquaculture in Burkina Faso and its implications in terms of natural resources management, food security, and livelihoods. We used the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) method as a reference transition framework and sampled using a mixed approach including 63 qualitative interviews, with fisheries experts and stakeholders, as well as quantitative data gathered through a representative survey with 204 fishermen’s households. We examined open access, concession, and co-management fisheries systems. Our results show that technical and institutional changes in fisheries over the last decades deeply shaped and transformed fisheries governance. Technological changes improved the sector’s productivity and its contribution to households’ livelihoods. Fishermen’s households consume up to 25% of fishermen’s catches. The share of the catches consumed is typically higher when commercial fishing is “not important”, but it remains typically low when it is “very important”. The income is higher for fishermen who allocate more time to or gain more income from animals breeding. The establishment of state-based management affects the balance between the coexisting traditional and newer “republican” institutions. Concession and co-management niches can contribute to the empowerment of the stakeholders and establishment of more effective management. However, they are still dominated by the traditional and centralized state regimes and governance. The support of the socio-technical landscape is paramount for the scaling-up of the fish farming niche, which has the potential to improve food security and sustain rural livelihoods in the least developed country, Burkina Faso.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110074
Author(s):  
Tariq H. Malik ◽  
Jae Chul Choi

South Korea imports a large amount of agricultural and aquatic food products from China, which meets its food security. However, the import from China raises food safety questions, leading to food safety apprehension. We explored the source of the Korean consumer’s apprehension. Based on the apprehension reduction theory (ART) developed from interviews with Korean consumers in the first stage of the study, we conducted a survey to assess the social media as an indirect source of information and direct experience of the consumer in the second stage of the study. We received 504 responses, of which 1/3 of the respondents had visited China in the last year. Using FSS (Food Safety Satisfaction) as the dependent variable (1— low to 5— high), we link information from the social media vis-à-vis direct experience and made three discoveries. (a) The information quantity of social media increases the consumer’s apprehension, partially refuting the ART. (ii) FSS increased in response to information flow from the direct experience of the consumer with Chinese imported food. (c) The direct information from experience mediates the effects of indirect information (social media) on apprehension about agricultural and aquatic product imports. We made three inferences. First, information quantity and quality have separated roles in the ART. Second, social media increases the free-market style information flow, turning legitimate products to illegitimate and vice versa. Third, the collective irrationality from the information quantity needs institutional bricolage to legitimize the chaotic nature of the untamed information.


Author(s):  
Luzian Messmer ◽  
Braida Thom ◽  
Pius Kruetli ◽  
Evans Dawoe ◽  
Kebebew Assefa ◽  
...  

AbstractMany regions around the world are experiencing an increase in climate-related shocks, such as drought. This poses serious threats to farming activities and has major implications for sustaining rural livelihoods and food security. Farmers’ ability to respond to and withstand the increasing incidence of drought events needs to be strengthened and their resilience enhanced. Implementation of measures to enhance resilience is determined by decisions of farmers and it is important to understand the reasons behind their behavior. We assessed the viability of measures to enhance resilience of farmers to drought, by developing a general framework that covers economic-technical and psychological-cognitive aspects, here summarized under the terms (1) motivation and (2) feasibility. The conceptual framework was applied to cocoa farmers in Ghana and tef farmers in Ethiopia by using questionnaire-based surveys. A portfolio of five specific measures to build resilience (i.e., irrigation, shade trees, fire belts, bookkeeping, mulching, early mature varieties, weather forecast, reduced tillage, improved harvesting) in each country was evaluated with a closed-ended questionnaire that covered the various aspects of motivation and feasibility whereby farmers were asked to (dis)agree on a 5-point Likert scale. The results show that if the motivation mean score is increased by 0.1 units, the probability of implementation increases by 16.9% in Ghana and by 7.7% in Ethiopia. If the feasibility mean score is increased by 0.1 units, the probability of implementation increases by 24.9% in Ghana and by 11.9% in Ethiopia. We can conclude that motivation and feasibility matter, and we improve our understanding of measure implementation if we include both feasibility and motivation into viability assessments.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Bruckhaus ◽  
Aidin Abedi ◽  
Sana Salehi ◽  
Trevor A Pickering ◽  
Yujia Zhang ◽  
...  

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disparities among vulnerable populations are a paramount concern that extends to COVID-19 vaccine administration. We aim to better characterize the scope of vaccine inequity in California by comparing the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) of California counties and respective vaccination rates, modeling the growth rate and anticipated maximum proportion of individuals vaccinated by SVI group. Methods: Overall SVI, its four themes, and 9228 data points of daily vaccination numbers across all 58 California counties were used to model, overall and by theme, growth velocity of proportion of population vaccinated and the expected maximum proportion of individuals (at least 1 dose of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson/Janssen) that will be vaccinated for each theme. Results: Overall high vulnerability counties in California have lower vaccine coverage velocity compared to low and moderate vulnerability counties. The largest disparity in coverage velocity between low and highly vulnerable counties was observed in Theme 3 (minority status & language). However, our model showed that highly vulnerable counties based on Theme 3 are expected to eventually achieve a higher proportion of vaccinated individuals compared to low vulnerable counterparts if current trajectories continue. Counties in the overall low vulnerability category are estimated to achieve a higher proportion of vaccinated individuals when compared to high and moderate vulnerable counties, assuming current trajectories. The largest disparity in asymptotic proportion vaccinated between high and low vulnerable counties was observed in Theme 2 (household composition & disability). Conclusion: This study provides insight into the problem of COVID-19 vaccine disparity across California which can be used to help promote equity during the current pandemic as well as guide the allocation of future vaccines such as COVID-19 booster shots.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-18
Author(s):  
Yasinta Zulaikha ◽  
Edhi Martono ◽  
Fathul Himam

The phenomenon of the declining interest of young workers working in the agricultural sector has consequences for the sustainability of the agricultural sector going forward. In the future, the burden on the agriculture sector will be heavier with the inc reasing population and increasing food demand. The reasons for the decline in the interest of young workers works at agricultural sector are mainly caused by the image of the agricultural sector which is less prestigious and can not provide adequate rewards. The crisis of young farmers in the agricultural sector and the predominance of older farmers has consequences for the agriculture sector development, particularly on agricultural productivity, market competitiveness, ruraleconomic capacity, and further it will threaten food security and agricultural sector sustainability. The objective of the research is to know the effect of social to career prospects on agricultural career empirically. The research involves 110 respondents with a questionnaire as a research instrument. The type of research in this study is survey research, the type of research which the way to collect data obtained or collected from the sample or population under study. Testing is done with a regression test to determine the effect of social status on career prospects in agriculture. The results of this study indicate that social status has an influence on perceptions of career prospects in the agricultural sector. 


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Dew ◽  
P Norris ◽  
J Gabe ◽  
K Chamberlain ◽  
D Hodgetts

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. This article extends our understanding of the everyday practices of pharmaceuticalisation through an examination of moral concerns over medication practices in the household. Moral concerns of responsibility and discipline in relation to pharmaceutical consumption have been identified, such as passive or active medication practices, and adherence to orthodox or unorthodox accounts. This paper further delineates dimensions of the moral evaluations of pharmaceuticals. In 2010 and 2011 data were collected from 55 households across New Zealand and data collection techniques, such as photo- and diary-elicitation interviews, allowed the participants to develop and articulate reflective stories of the moral meaning of pharmaceuticals. Four repertoires were identified: a disordering society repertoire where pharmaceuticals evoke a society in an unnatural state; a disordering self repertoire where pharmaceuticals signify a moral failing of the individual; a disordering substances repertoire where pharmaceuticals signify a threat to one's physical or mental equilibrium; a re-ordering substances repertoire where pharmaceuticals signify the restoration of function. The research demonstrated that the dichotomies of orthodox/unorthodox and compliance/resistance do not adequately capture how medications are used and understood in everyday practice. Attitudes change according to why pharmaceuticals are taken and who is taking them, their impacts on social relationships, and different views on the social or natural production of disease, the power of the pharmaceutical industry, and the role of health experts. Pharmaceuticals are tied to our identity, what we want to show of ourselves, and what sort of world we see ourselves living in. The ordering and disordering understandings of pharmaceuticals intersect with forms of pharmaceuticalised governance, where conduct is governed through pharmaceutical routines, and where self-responsibility entails following the prescription of other agents. Pharmaceuticals symbolise forms of governance with different sets of roles and responsibilities.


2010 ◽  
Vol 306 (306(4)) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babou André Bationo ◽  
Alkassoum Maïga ◽  
Pascal Compaore ◽  
Antoine Kalinganire

Le baobab, Adansonia digitata L., est classé parmi les cinq espèces ligneuses prioritaires au Burkina Faso dont le paysage agraire montre une distribution irrégulière de cette espèce. Les principaux déterminants socioculturels de cette distribution demeurent cependant peu ou mal connus. Le but de cette étude est de caractériser la structure et les facteurs socioculturels qui déterminent la distribution du baobab dans le Centre-Nord et le Centre-Ouest du Burkina Faso. Les travaux ont été menés à travers des inventaires forestiers, des enquêtes socio-éco-nomiques et des observations de terrain sur les pratiques paysannes. Les résultats montrent qu'à l'intérieur d'un même terroir la structure du baobab varie en fonction du type de champ (case, village, brousse). La structure des diamètres épouse une forme en «L» dans les champs de case, une forme en «j» dans les champs de brousse et irrégulière dans les champs de village. Le baobab est considéré dans toute la zone d'étude comme une espèce maléfique abritant des génies, mais aussi en tant que plante alimentaire et médicinale de premier plan. Contrairement au Centre-Ouest, les produits du baobab sont largement utilisés dans l'alimentation et l'artisanat dans le Centre-Nord, où les populations l'entretiennent dans les champs de case et de village par la pratique de la régénération naturelle assistée. La faible présence du baobab dans le Centre-Ouest est en partie liée aux habitudes, au développement du maraîchage qui favorise la disponibilité de condiments alternatifs et aux perceptions que les populations ont vis-à-vis de cet arbre. (Résumé d'auteur)


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