The Impact of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) on Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural Communities

This study sought to assess the impact of savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) on rural sustainable livelihoods using the case of Nekatambe Ward 13 in Hwange district of Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a qualitative approach and a descriptive research design which were consistent with the research problem. Using convenience and purposive sampling, local leaders, non-governmental organisation (NGO) officials and members of the existing SACCOs were selected as respondents. The major findings were that SACCOs played a significant role in sustaining rural livelihoods particularly through enabling members to fend for themselves and their families. In addition, NGOs helped cooperatives through capacitating members with knowledge and technical skills and that SACCOs impacted positively on sustaining rural livelihoods. However, quite a number of challenges are associated with SACCOs in their bit to sustain rural livelihoods; with the major ones being failure to recover loans, competition from more established cooperatives, lack of start-up capital, poor financial and managerial skills and the general national economic meltdown. From the study findings, the researchers concluded that, despite the challenges associated with SACCOs, their existence under members’ resilience, has generally improved the lives of people in rural communities to generate employment, boost food production, send their children to school and empower the marginalized among other positive developments. Accordingly, the researchers recommend that SACCOs should diversify their operations and invest in fixed assets in order to curtail challenges and make lucrative benefits that can sustain their families and communities. On the other hand, the government and other concerned stakeholders should support SACCOs in order to alleviate the possible challenges that cripple them in their bid to promote rural livelihood sustainability.

Sustainable Rural Livelihood and Poverty Reduction Strategies

This chapter presents the framework of sustainable livelihoods. The interests of this chapter derive from three issues: (1) How can one determine who in the population achieves a sustainable livelihood and who does not? That is, how does sustainable livelihood assist in eliminating poverty and reduce deprivation in rural communities? (2) What livelihood resources and institutional processes are necessary for enabling or constraining sustainable livelihoods for different groups? That is, does household livelihood help individuals or families to escape poverty? (3) What are the practical, operational, and policy implications of adopting a sustainable livelihood approach to poverty reduction? Namely, what constitutes a satisfactory basis for adopting a livelihood framework?

Rural Livelihood Activities

Rural households are found to depend on diverse portfolio of activities and income sources. This study sought to explore the diverse livelihood activities of rural households in Awra Amba Community. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to collect data. Content analysis method was used to analyze the data. The results of the study revealed that almost all members (94%) of Awra Amba community are depending on non-farm activities because of the scarcity of land. As a result, they are dominantly weavers (86%) and the rest are traders. The results of the study indicated that weaving is their major source of livelihood and a backbone for their survival.

COVID-19 and the Livelihoods of the Migrant Workers

The spread of the corona-virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and subsequent nationwide lockdown in India from March 22, 2020 to control its further outbreak brought turmoil in the lives of millions who are primarily involved in the informal sector. A primary survey was conducted in the District of South 24 Pgs. in the state of West Bengal, India to know the effects of COVID-19 on rural livelihood, particularly of the migrant workers. Types of disruptions of rural livelihood of the households have been explored in the study. Perceptions of the effects of shocks of COVID-19 on the rural households have been assessed in terms of the following variables: loss of assets, loss of income, food insecurity/shortage, death of livestock, decline in consumption, decline in health conditions, socialization, effects on education, problems in accessing health facilities. Types of government supports provided to the households have been found for the study area. The role of the government in overcoming the crisis of livelihood has also been assessed.

Impact of Climate Change on Rural Livelihood: A Case Study of Central Rajasthan

Climate change is already bringing tremendous influence on people’s lives, particularly the underprivileged. It’s already visible in a variety of ways. In recent decades, Asia and the Pacific have seen consistent warming trends as well as more frequent and powerful extreme weather events such as droughts, cyclones, floods, and hailstorms. This study was done in Ajmer District of Rajasthan, to find out the climate variation in the last 10 years. The study describes the effects due to climate change on the livelihoods of the people, so a descriptive research design was used for the study to find out the impact of climate change on rural livelihood in central Rajasthan. The study is based on a large representative of sample, quantitative data was collected to gain an idea of the impact on the livelihoods due to climate change at the household level. It shows the negative impact of climate change on rural livelihood which forced the people to change their livelihood directly or indirectly. It was found that climate change had an impact on people’s lives and people do understand the variation in climate change in terms of changes in the weather, unseasonal rain, and drought.

Integrating evidence of potential impacts of climate-smart agriculture in Tanzania.

National governments across Sub-Saharan Africa include climate-smart agriculture (CSA) - context-specific interventions that support resilience, productivity, and climate mitigation-in plans and policies and strategies to jointly address climate change, agricultural production and rural livelihood goals. This paper synthesizes the evidence on field-based CSA management practices generated through ten years of research led by the CGIAR in Tanzania, an agriculturally diverse country in East Africa that has prioritized climate-smart agriculture practices in its climate adaptation strategies. Tanzania provides an illustrative example of how countries can use evidence of impacts, synergies and tradeoffs to prioritize activities for sustainable development.