Household livelihoods in semi-arid regions: options and constraints

By B. Campbell, S. Jeffrey, W. Kozanayi, Martin K. Luckert, M. Mutamba, C. Zindi. 2002

249 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The overall aim of this study was to explore what the development community can do, or facilitate, to significantly improve livelihoods in semi-arid systems.The authors based their analysis on two case-study sites in the communal lands of southern Zimbabwe. The main tool was a detailed livelihood questionnaire, supplemented by participatory appraisal and observation, action research, biophysical analysis and systems modelling. Most households rely on cash and subsistence income from a number of sources - dryland crop production, gardening, livestock production, woodland activities, wage or home industries and remittances/gifts. Marked wealth differentiation occurs, with local people recognising the different wealth groupings largely on the basis of various capital assets. One factor driving differentiation is whether a household has access to remittance income. Elements of change can be identified in numerous aspects of the capital assets and the livelihood strategies. The authors suggest that there are some key drivers of change, namely: (a) rainfall, (b) macro-economic changes, (c) changing institutional arrangements and social processes, and (d) demographic processes and HIV/AIDS. The overall conclusion is that there are very few options for significantly improving livelihoods in semi-arid regions and that the poverty alleviation targets set by the international community are overly ambitious.The analyses suggest that rainfall variation and the state of the macro-economy are likely to have a greater impact on livelihood status than local rural development interventions.

Subfields: Economics and Econometrics, General Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fd8aeff85d9c58895e35c7bef33b6e6c68ac44e1

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Economics and Econometrics

In General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

From Subsistence to Safety Nets and Cash Income: Exploring the Diverse Values of Non-timber Forest Products for Livelihoods and Poverty Alleviation (2011, background): “Despite recent studies indicating the critical role of dry forests in mitigating the effects of extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (Campbell et al. 2002; Shackleton and Shackleton 2004), manyAfrican governments still fail tomake the link between continued degradation of dry forests and increasing”
Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods: A Global-Comparative Analysis (2014, background): “Seminal studies published over a decade ago (Campbell et al., 2002; Cavendish, 2000) brought our attention to what Scoones, Melnyk, and Pretty (1992) and Campbell and Luckert (2002) refer to as “the hidden harvest”—the diversity of goods provided freely from the environment, i.e., from…”
Collapse and Reorganization in Social-Ecological Systems: Questions, Some Ideas, and Policy Implications (2006, background): “The human populations in the communal lands grew steadily, crop yields and livestock numbers declined, and livelihoods were supplemented by food aid, remittances, and trading (e.g., Campbell et al. 2002, Cumming 2005).”
Integration of the biophysical and social sciences using an indicator approach: Addressing water problems at different scales (2006, background): “…other attempts have been made to develop water management tools that facilitate a more sustainable approach to water management, by addressing more specifically the livelihood needs of local populations (Campbell et al., 2002; Acreman et al., 2000; Jackson et al., 2004; Sullivan et al., 2001).”
Household welfare and forest dependence in Southern Malawi (2004, background): “The data concern a single year – a random snapshot of forest-people relationships which can vary considerably across years (Campbell et al., 2002; McSweeney, 2002).”
Managing the Miombo Woodlands of Southern Africa: Policies, Incentives and Options for the Rural Poor (2010, unknown): “…undertook a pioneering, very detailed and innovative case study about woodland income in Zimbabwe, and this has been followed by several others (Campbell et al. 2002; Fisher 2004; See also Technical Annexes 2 and 4 for results from case studies in Zambia and Mozambique).12 These studies all…”
The Socio-Economic Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to Rural Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: Knowledge Gaps and New Directions (2010, background): “…et al. 2002, Sunderlin et al. 2005); • funding investments in consumptive activities (such as new clothes, school uniforms, gifts, pots, and pans) (Campbell et al. 2002, Schreckenberg 2004); • dealing with medical emergencies as they arise (Sunderland et al. 2004, Sunderlin et al. 2005) or…”
Valuation methods for environmental benefits in forestry and watershed investment projects. (2004, unknown): “Many forest valuation studies have been done over the past years (Bann, 1997; Gregersen et al., 1995; Kengen, 1997) although rigorous quantitative studies (Cavendish, 2000, 2002; Campbell et al., 2002; Fisher, 2002) are only recent and very rare (Angelsen and Wunder, 2003).”