Ending Extreme Poverty in Rural Populations

In this chapter, attention shifts to the locality and context of extreme poverty in rural areas and sheds light on the challenges rural people face to overcome poverty. Due to limited information, inadequate access to markets and social services, and lack of opportunities to take ownership of productive assets, little is known about how populations overcome their struggles in extreme poverty in rural areas. The discussion exemplifies the need to examine culture, politics, and the social-historical context in which poor people live. The chapter concludes that rural poverty and the challenges to eliminate its causes and consequences are associated with lack of education, land and livestock, infrastructural technical support, the absence of good enough governance, as well as inability to secure non-farm alternatives to diminishing farm opportunities.

Sustainability impacts of ecosystem approaches to small-scale aquaculture in Bangladesh

This study explores the sustainability impacts of adopting an ecosystem approach in underutilized homestead ponds (ecoponds) operated by women in Bangladesh. Households with ecoponds have significantly higher fish productivity, fish diversity, and income generation potential compared to households with similar underutilized ponds. Furthermore, certain dimensions of women’s empowerment are improved at the individual and household level (e.g., control of income and productive assets), without, however, addressing wider structural inequalities. Food security impacts are rather inconclusive, as despite the higher consumption of more diverse fish species among ecopond households, there is no significant effect on overall dietary diversity.

Determinants of Smallholder Households’ Resilience to Livelihood Insecurity in Goncha District, Northwest Highlands of Ethiopia

Poor households are more likely less resilient under climate change, risks of productive assets, social-related shocks, and decline of land productivity. The ability to deal with household resilience against poverty under the uncertain condition of risk is limited in the highlands of Ethiopia. The study aims to identify determinants of household resilience to livelihood insecurity under the crop-livestock mixed farming systems in Goncha district, Northwest highlands of Ethiopia. Primary data were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews among 280 households using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis test and structural equation modeling were used to analyse the data. The results disclosed that sustainable management of the farming systems, cultivation of more fertile farmland, saving performance, diversification of income-earning activities, intensification of livestock husbandry practices, access to irrigation, and familiarity with practical technologies were found to be significant determinants at p<0.001 to household resilience of smallholder farmers. Social network development and tree plantation were explained household resilience to livelihood insecurity at P<0.01 and P<0.1 significant levels, respectively. The study concluded that scaling up sustainable management of the farming system and practical technologies, enhancing saving behavior, promoting income diversification, and intensifying agroforestry are significant for household resilience to livelihood insecurity of smallholders across agro-ecologies.

Bambara Household Organization

The Bambara households of Kala are very large domestic organizations, in comparison with those found elsewhere in West Africa. This chapter examines the factors which encourage persistence of large domestic groups, including the advantages reaped from production, investment and reproduction, alongside protection of the individual from risk. The drawbacks to the individual from incorporation within a household are examined, such as loss of control over labour and other resources. Membership of a household involves agreement with an unspoken contract regarding the duties and expectations of members; however, such terms are subject to some flexibility and can be renegotiated. Modelling relations within the household allows for a review of options for cooperation, vulnerability to demographic risk, the significance of economies of scale, acquisition and maintenance of productive assets, game-theory, cooperation, conflict and division.

Climate, Cultivation, and Household Income

Maps, figures, and tables present data on rainfall trends and distribution in this Sahelian setting, demonstrating the high level of variability within and between years. The pattern of soils, vegetation and water are described and how these provide the basis for the economy of village and household. Land use, crop choice, and livestock ownership are discussed alongside ownership of other productive assets, such as wells, plough-teams, and donkey-carts. Overall production of the main crop, millet, is described and its allocation to a range of purposes, with a picture of how many days of grain are available from the harvest for different households. Household income and expenditure are shown, the principal sources of income, and cash expenditure by category of purpose, such as purchase of livestock, marriage costs and payment of taxes. It is shown that size of income is partly a function of household size, but also the result of special circumstances, such as whether a marriage is in preparation, or a new ox needs to be bought.

Conservation agriculture's effect on smallholder farmer wellbeing in Mozambique

Conservation agriculture (CA) is an important technology in many developing countries for increasing smallholder agricultural productivity and conserving arable soils. This study focuses on the effect of CA on smallholder household wellbeing including productive assets, livestock and housing material quality. The study uses a survey of CA adopters and non-adopters in the Tete and Barue districts of Mozambique. Propensity score matching was used to develop two counterfactual groups; (1) non-adopters in the communities that had received technical assistance on implementing CA, and (2) non-adopting households in communities that had not received CA instruction. Results suggest that CA adopters realized higher levels of farm production assets and better quality housing materials. CA adoption had no association with livestock ownership. The findings are encouraging with respect to demonstrating the relationship between CA adoption and improvements in smallholder household wellbeing.