Livelihood diversification: continuity and change in the Sahel

Abstract

Livelihood diversification can be crucial for poor rural households in the African Sahel. Migration is a common diversification strategy during the dry season, but there are also areas with significant strategies on the farm, such as incomes from gum and resins. Sudan is a country where the income from gum arabic, the gum from the Acacia senegal tree, has played a large economic role for smallholders for generations, but there are signs of a declining production which is detrimental if people have no alternative incomes. The results showed that in parts of the country, the 1984 drought caused an event-driven change resulting in a discontinuation of production. However, in other parts of the country, the agricultural system providing gum arabic proved to be more resilient to the drought and the incomes from gum arabic still play a large role. The results illustrated a complexity of driving forces, regional differences and a large variability in incomes between households. Some causes were indirect such as prices, drought, precipitation and locust, whereas the others were direct and hence more controllable by households. This study underlined the direct causes, such as how labour input is prioritised between livelihood activities, which have not been given as much attention in previous literature. Secondly, the need for a holistic view of livelihoods is underlined in order to understand the future of gum arabic production. Empirical data were collected from extensive fieldwork.

Cultural barriers to climate change adaptation: A case study from Northern Burkina Faso

“…In recent years, a number of studies on livelihood diversification have been published (Ellis, 2000;Barrett et al, 2001;Carswell, 2002;Elmqvist and Olsson, 2006;Wouterse and Taylor, 2008), all emphasising that off-farm work constitutes a significant part of observed livelihood diversification in rural communities and has increased over time in importance in sub-Saharan Africa (Bryceson, 1996(Bryceson, , 2002. Similarly, Mortimore (1998) noted that while there are often few on-farm diversification strategies in the Sahel, off-farm strategies seem to be swelling in number, indicating that rural livelihood diversification is increasingly non-agricultural.…”

Temporality and the problem with singling out climate as a current driver of change in a small West African village

“…Understanding the relative impact and importance of climate change and variability on contemporary rural life in the Sahel and elsewhere in dryland Africa is, however, not straightforward (Barbier et al, 2009;Elmqvist and Olsson, 2006;Mertz et al, 2008a, b;Mortimore et al, 2005;Reenberg, 2001;Reid and Vogel, 2006;Reynolds et al, 2007;Thomas et al, 2005Thomas et al, , 2007Tschakert, 2007;Wardell et al, 2003;Ziervogel et al, 2006). On a very general level this is due to the fact that climate is often, if not always, only one of many factors influencing coping and adaptation strategies to environmental changes (Adger, 1999;Eakin, 2000Eakin, , 2006 as these are always played out within the context of multiple pressures on and disturbances to livelihoods (Belliveau et al, 2006;Leichenko and O'Brien, 2008).…”

The Outburst: Climate Change, Gender Relations, and Situational Analysis

“…Rimaiibe follow in this regard the trends seen elsewhere in the Sahel (Batterbury and Warren 2001;Bolwig 1999;de Bruijn and van Dijk 1995, 2001;Elmqvist and Olsson 2006;Mertz et al 2009;Mortimore 1998;Mortimore and Adams 2001;Mortimore and Turner 2005;Rain 1999;Raynaut 1997Raynaut , 2001Reenberg, Nielsen, and Rasmussen 1998; Reenberg and Paarup-Larsen 1997;Roncoli, Ingram, and Kirshen 2001).…”