Cotton production for the sustainable livelihoods in Punjab Pakistan: a case study of district Muzaffargarh

Purpose This study aims to analyze access of cotton growers to Sustainable Livelihoods Assets Pakistani Punjab. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the department for international development (DFID’s) sustainable livelihoods framework (DFID) (1999). Where data collection was done by using a well-structured questionnaire from 200 randomly selected cotton growers of the district Muzaffargarh. There are five livelihood assets (human assets, natural assets, financial assets, physical assets and social assets) in the SLF, this study has used three different indicators/proxies for each asset except natural assets, where four indicators were used to capture the salient features of the respondents’ access to that assets. Each indicator was given a weight by using the entropy technique to keep the consistency of the quantification. Livelihood assets indices were calculated in case of each livelihood asset for conducting Livelihood Assets Pentagon Analysis. Value of livelihood index ranged from 0–4. Findings Livelihoods Assets Pentagon analysis shows that cotton growers do not have proper access to all five livelihood assets. The asset with the highest capacity were social assets (sustainable livelihood index value = 0.3994), followed by natural assets (0.3294), financial assets (0.2511), human assets (0.2143) and physical assets (0.0897). Originality/value This study uses the SLF developed by DFID for analyzing factors affecting access to livelihoods assets of cotton growers in Pakistani Punjab. Sustainable agriculture and sustainable rural livelihoods lead to sustainable livelihoods where environment quality is taken into consideration. The study contains significant and new information.

Livelihood pattern and food security of tribal people in a selected area of Bangladesh

Asset’s possession and food consumption level of tribal people in Bangladesh express their socioeconomic status. The study was conducted to analyze the socioeconomic characteristics, measure the livelihood assets, and determine the calorie intake level of the sample households. Primary data were collected through field survey using an interview schedule from 60 tribal households. Tabular analysis and capital asset pentagon from DFID livelihood framework were used for data analysis. Household consumption data were converted to per person per day calorie intake level. The major findings of the study were that about 41.67% of the respondents were being 15-29 years of age, 30% respondents’ education was in the secondary level, average family size was 5.81, 40% of the respondents were occupied with agriculture as their primary occupation, average annual income and expenditure were Tk. 258560 (US$3015.28) and Tk. 242373.50 (US$2826.51), respectively. The livelihood assets were moderate. About 83.34% of the respondents belonged to the poor category and rest 16.67% of the respondents belonged to non-poor category. About 98.33% and 96.67% respondents suggested that, if job opportunity increases and ensure proper education; then their socioeconomic improvement will be faster. So, government and other organizations need to come forward to create more employment opportunity and education facilities for improving their livelihood pattern and food security status.

Livelihood Assets and Income Generating Activities: A Comparative Analysis in the Scheduled and Non-Scheduled Areas of Jharkhand

The main objective of the article is to identify different types of livelihood assets, income generating activities (IGAs) and choices of these activities by households across social groups in the Fifth and non-Fifth Scheduled areas of Jharkhand in eastern India. It is based on a primary survey of 785 households randomly selected across caste and Scheduled Tribe groups in Giridih and Latehar districts of Jharkhand. K-means clustering is applied for determination of latent class activity clusters and Multinomial Logistic Regression (MLR) model used for understanding the importance of livelihood assets in determining livelihood activity cluster (LC) for income generation. Further, discriminant analysis is applied to obtain probability of choice of individual households in determining livelihood generating activity. The analysis shows that forest-based activity remains a better livelihood support system in the Fifth Scheduled areas, which is less significant and further diminishing in the non-Fifth Scheduled areas. Rural households engaged in a diverse set of IGAs to obtain additional income to reduce risk and maintain a balanced consumption. Occupational transition is marked by the decline of agriculture and increasing reliance on daily-wage activities as the primary source of income. Other traditional livelihood activities such as animal husbandry and the collection of forest produce have less scope for income in the absence of institutional support.

Livelihood Assets of Small-Scale Fisherman in Tanah Merah District, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province, Indonesia

People in Tanah Merah Village, Tanah Merah Subdistrict, Indragiri Hilir Regency generally have a livelihood as fishermen. Fishermen can be said to be prosperous if they have good control over their livelihood assets. Livelihood assets consist of human, natural, social, financial and physical resource assets. This study aims to: (1) find out the meaning of the sustainable livelihood approach, (2) find out the livelihood assets of small-scale fishermen and (3) determine the condition of the livelihood assets of small-scale fishermen. The research was conducted in Tanah Merah District, Indragiri Hilir Regency, Riau Province. Respondents from this study were 45 people. The method used in this research was survey method. The data analysis used was descriptive analysis. Descriptive analysis was used to generate an overview of the data that has been collected based on the respondents’ answers through the distribution of items from each variable. The presentation of the data was done by cross tabulating according to the parameters of several aspects of the assets that support fishermen’s livelihoods. The result showed that the livelihood assets of small-scale fishermen namely natural assets, human resources, social, financial and physical are in the medium category. The acquisition of this value can indicate that the control of the livelihood assets of small-scale fishermen in Tanah Merah Village is not sustainable.

FARMERS’ LIVELIHOODS STRATEGY BASED ON ASSET IN PANDANSARI VILLAGE POST ERUPTION OF MOUNT KELUD

This study examines farmers' livelihood strategies based on livelihood assets in Pandansari Village, Ngantang District, Malang Regency. This study uses a quantitative descriptive approach using a Likert scale. Primary data were obtained through in-depth interviews using questionnaires and field observations, while secondary data were obtained through literature studies from various related sources. The location was determined purposively with the consideration that Pandansari Village was the area in Ngantang District that was the worst affected by the eruption of Mount Kelud. Seventy-five farmers with simple random sampling technique were selected as respondents in this study. The respondents' livelihood assets include human capital, natural capital, social capital, financial capital, and physical capital. Meanwhile, livelihood strategies are classified into survival strategies, consolidation strategies and accumulation strategies. The results show that the most vital livelihood asset is social capital, while the indicator for natural capital is the weakest. The strongest indicator of the farmer's livelihood strategy in Pandansari Village is the consolidation strategy.

Livelihood assets and socio-economic characteristics of communities to flood hazards in Central Niger Delta, Nigeria

The study examined the livelihood assets and socio-economic characteristics of communities to flood hazards In Niger Delta, Nigeria. The population of the study consists of communities impacted by flood within the Niger Delta States. Purposive and random sampling methods were adopted in selecting the sample size of the respondents for this study as three of those most vulnerable Local Government Areas are selected. A self-designed instruments titled “Livelihood Assets and Socio-economic Characteristics of Communities” were used for data collection. Face and content validities of the instruments were ensured. Its instrument consists of 10-item while grand mean statistics was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study found among others that considering the various factors that may have contributed to flooding residents’ strategy to mitigate and survive its effects are imminent. Actions to control and/or cope with the factors that are mainly responsible for flooding in the study area are more than necessary in order to save human lives and forestall loss of properties to flood ravage. Based on the findings, the study recommended that massive campaign against improper dumping of refuse and public awareness of flood risks should be highlighted; creation of awareness among people living in disaster-prone areas of the risk they face and how best to respond when it occurs can be done to enhance local people’s confidence and empower them to act when faced with danger and there should be policies that target the marginalized in society, such as women, children, elderly, or the poor otherwise these groups will remain most vulnerable.

Livelihood Assets and Outcomes of Rural Farm Households in Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan

This study explores the factors of livelihood assets possessed by small farm households in Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan that determines the livelihood outcomes using sustainable livelihood framework. Primary data were collected from 349 small farm households using well-structured pre-tested questionnaire having both closed and open-ended questions. The study first measured the livelihood assets worth through composite indices followed by the factors that influencing the livelihood outcomes using multiple regression model. The overall value of livelihood assets of small farm households in the study area was 0.297. The area small farmers were lacked in livelihood assets along with low level of living standards as well as economic development in the area. The empirical findings of regression model revealed that all the five capitals of livelihood asset had significant positive effect on livelihood outcomes. Additionally, household active labour and education of labor earners of human capital, family land of natural capital; livestock and access to formal financial credit of financial capital, distance to public services of physical capital and membership in MFSCs, access to service providers of social capital had significant positive effect on the livelihood outcomes. The study suggests that the livelihood asset should be upgraded in all capitals followed by changing the approach of agriculture departments and other allied stakeholders for developing agriculture sector and rural economy.