Hanging in, stepping up and stepping out: livelihood aspirations and strategies of the poor

Dorward, Andrew; Anderson, Simon; Bernal, Yolanda Nava; Vera, Ernesto Sánchez; Rushton, Jonathan; Pattison, James; Paz, Rodrigo

doi:10.1080/09614520802689535

Cited by 211 publications

(214 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

207

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Clark (2002) in South Africa. Nonetheless, there are few examples of what Dorward et al (2009) characterise as 'stepping out' rather than 'hanging out' within our sample. This may evidence a diminished capacity to aspire, perhaps because, as Ray (2003) argues, respondents are defeated by the size and duration of the gap between their 6 King Bhumibol Adulyadej first put forward his "philosophy of Sufficiency Economy", which includes sustainability, moderation and broad-based development in a speech in 1997.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

, it provides an opportunity for staff, associated researchers and fellows to disseminate original research and policy advice on a wide range of subjects. All papers are peer reviewed within the School. About the School of International DevelopmentThe School of International Development (DEV) applies economic, social and natural science disciplines to the study of international development, with special emphasis on social and environmental change and poverty alleviation. DEV has a strong commitment to an interdisciplinary research and teaching approach to Development Studies and the study of poverty.International Development UEA (formerly Overseas Development Group) Founded in 1967, International Development UEA is a charitable company wholly owned by the University of East Anglia, which handles the consultancy, research, and training undertaken by the faculty members in DEV and approximately 200 external consultants. Since its foundation it has provided training for professionals from more than 70 countries and completed over 1,000 consultancy and research assignments. International Development UEA provides DEV staff with opportunities to participate in on-going development work, practical and policy related engagement which add a unique and valuable element to the School's teaching programmes. AbstractThe paper provides micro-level evidence of rising inequality in Thailand, using data from an intensive study of seven communities in Northeast and Southern Thailand. This inequality affects participants' material and subjective wellbeing, their aspirations, and the extent to which they feel these are realised. The paper argues that adaptation, expressed as reduced aspirations, could explain why the effect of material poverty on people's satisfaction with their lives is small. The reduction in attainment of aspirations linked to socio-economic status suggests that a small, but constant group of people are being excluded from a shift in the societal consensus over what constitutes a good life.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As the theory of Dorward et al (2009) and results of Tittonell et al (2010) and Doumbia et al (2012) show, it is likely that a fraction of farmers will step up and that a portion will remain where they are -that is, hang in or (at least partly) step out. Developments in non-tropical regions, where the number of farms reduced drastically (Whittaker, 2000), suggest that production increase is associated with diminishing farm number and farm enlargement as a result of the need for economics of scale.…”

Section: Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tittonell et al (2010) described three pathways for the dynamics of smallholder crop-livestock farmers: (1) market orientation (2) increasing dependency on off-farm income or (3) marginalisation. These pathways were characterised by Dorward et al (2009) as stepping up, stepping out and hanging in, respectively. Resource endowment, which could be the cause or effect of a stronger market orientation, was better for market-oriented farmers.…”

Section: Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of livestock production in the tropics: farm and farmers’ perspectives

Oosting

Udo

Viets

2014

Animal

128

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because of an increasing demand for animal-source foods, an increasing desire to reduce poverty and an increasing need to reduce the environmental impact of livestock production, tropical farming systems with livestock must increase their productivity. An important share of the global human and livestock populations are found within smallholder mixed-crop-livestock systems, which should, therefore, contribute significantly towards this increase in livestock production. The present paper argues that increased livestock production in smallholder mixed-crop-livestock systems faces many constraints at the level of the farm and the value chain. The present paper aims to describe and explain the impact of increased production from the farm and farmers' perspective, in order to understand the constraints for increased livestock production. A framework is presented that links farming systems to livestock value chains. It is concluded that farming systems that pass from subsistence to commercial livestock production will: (1) shift from rural to urban markets; (2) become part of a different value chain (with lower prices, higher demands for product quality and increased competition from peri-urban producers and imports); and (3) have to face changes in within-farm mechanisms and crop-livestock relationships. A model study showed that feed limitation, which is common in tropical farming systems with livestock, implies that maximum herd output is achieved with small herd sizes, leaving low-quality feeds unutilised. Maximal herd output is not achieved at maximal individual animal output. Having more animals than required for optimal production -which is often the case as a larger herd size supports non-production functions of livestock, such as manure production, draught, traction and capital storage -goes at the expense of animal-source food output. Improving low-quality feeds by treatment allows keeping more animals while maintaining the same level of production. Ruminant methane emission per kg of milk produced is mainly determined by the level of milk production per cow. Part of the methane emissions, however, should be attributed to the non-production functions of ruminants. It was concluded that understanding the farm and farmers' perceptions of increased production helps with the understanding of productivity increase constraints and adds information to that reported in the literature at the level of technology, markets and institutions.

show abstract

“…This may allow diversification, which Dorward et al (2009) characterise as 'stepping out' into wage employment or into the non-farm economy. It may also allow accumulation ('stepping up'), which may be from (re)investments from agriculture.…”

Section: Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plantations, outgrowers and commercial farming in Africa: agricultural commercialisation and implications for agrarian change

Hall¹,

Scoones

Tsikata

2017

The Journal of Peasant Studies

185

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Whether or not investments in African agriculture can generate quality employment at scale, avoid dispossessing local people of their land, promote diversified and sustainable livelihoods, and catalyse more vibrant local economies depends on what farming model is pursued. In this Forum, we build on recent scholarship by discussing the key findings of our recent studies in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. We examined cases of three models of agricultural commercialisation, characterised by different sets of institutional arrangements that link land, labour and capital. The three models are: plantations or estates with on-farm processing; contract farming and outgrower schemes; and medium-scale commercial farming areas. Building on core debates in the critical agrarian studies literature, we identify commercial farming areas and contract farming as producing the most local economic linkages, and plantations/estates as producing more jobs, although these are of low quality and mostly casual. We point to the gender and generational dynamics emerging in the three models, which reflect the changing demand for family and wage labour. Models of agricultural commercialisation do not always deliver what is expected of them in part because local conditions play a critical role in the unfolding outcomes for land relations, labour regimes, livelihoods and local economies.

show abstract

Hanging in, stepping up and stepping out: livelihood aspirations and strategies of the poor

Cited by 211 publications

References 9 publications

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

Cultures of Aspiration and Poverty? Aspirational Inequalities in Northeast and Southern Thailand

Development of livestock production in the tropics: farm and farmers’ perspectives

Plantations, outgrowers and commercial farming in Africa: agricultural commercialisation and implications for agrarian change

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About