Small-scale farming in semi-arid areas: Livelihood dynamics between 1997 and 2010 in Laikipia, Kenya

Ulrich, Anne; Speranza, Chinwe Ifejika; Roden, Paul; Kiteme, Boniface; Wiesmann, Urs; Nüsser, Marcus

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2012.02.003

Cited by 87 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This variability impacts greatly on all natural resources and particularly on water, which continues to become scarcer. The major river systems in the area show a significant decline in water even though there has been no significant change in the rainfall regime [18]. The growing number of water abstractions for irrigation, livestock, and domestic purposes has intensified competition for this scarce resource [45].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study spatially assesses, quantifies, and visualizes the agricultural expansion and land use intensification in the northwestern foothills of Mount Kenya over the last 30 years: processes triggered by population growth, and, more recently, by large-scale commercial investments. We made use of Google Earth Engine to access the USGS Landsat data archive and to generate cloud-free seasonal composites. These enabled us to accurately differentiate between rainfed and irrigated cropland, which was important for assessing agricultural intensification. We developed three land cover and land use classifications using the random forest classifier, and assessed land cover and land use change by creating cross-tabulation matrices for the intervals from 1987 to 2002, 2002 to 2016, and 1987 to 2016 and calculating the net change. We then applied a landscape mosaic approach to each classification to identify landscape types categorized by land use intensity. We discuss the impacts of landscape changes on natural habitats, biodiversity, and water. Kappa accuracies for the three classifications lay between 78.3% and 82.1%. Our study confirms that rainfed and irrigated cropland expanded at the expense of natural habitats, including protected areas. Agricultural expansion took place mainly in the 1980s and 1990s, whereas agricultural intensification largely happened after 2000. Since then, not only large-scale producers, but also many smallholders have begun to practice irrigated farming. The spatial pattern of agricultural expansion and intensification in the study area is defined by water availability. Agricultural intensification and the expansion of horticulture agribusinesses increase pressure on water. Furthermore, the observed changes have heightened pressure on pasture and idle land due to the decrease in natural and agropastoral landscapes. Conflicts between pastoralists, smallholder farmers, large-scale ranches, and wildlife might further increase, particularly during the dry seasons and in years of extreme drought.

show abstract

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The livelihood systems of small-scale farmers in this region have been studied intensively for more than 20 years [18][19][20][21][22][23]. However, to date, there is only little spatially explicit quantitative information on agricultural expansion and land use intensification in the region, if any at all.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Schuler [26,27] highlights a -[…] strong opponent pattern between the scarcity of the natural resources and the profitability of the use of the same resources for horticultural purposes‖. In light of farmers having identified limited water resources as the most important constraint for their livelihood [14,28], questions must be raised on how to best contribute to sustainable water use; including modalities for fair access to water, options for effective water storage and addressing underlying issues such as unequal power relations between different user groups. There appears to be more scope for research in identifying modalities aimed at addressing user demands and environmental needs in a more sustainable fashion.…”

Section: Water Scarcitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are particularly vulnerable due to lower pay and lack of employment security [16,17,33]. While the off-farm activities have the potential to increase well-being of the local population, a longitudinal livelihood survey conducted in the region found that existing low levels of pay and highly insecure employment conditions reduce their ability to sustainably build up capital [28]. Leipold and Morgante ([34]: p. 12) confirm these findings in their Kenyan study and state that -wages are significantly below a living wage‖ that enable an acceptable minimum living standard.…”

Section: Living Wagementioning

confidence: 99%

Export-Oriented Horticultural Production in Laikipia, Kenya: Assessing the Implications for Rural Livelihoods

Ulrich

2014

Sustainability

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Smallholders in the global South are confronted with new opportunities and risks emanating from globalized markets of agricultural goods. In Kenya, large-scale export-oriented horticulture farms, cultivating fruits, flowers and vegetables, were by and large established in the 1980s. In Laikipia County, the farms have grown to be the most important employers tying the region into global markets. The growth of the industry has direct as well as indirect impacts on local livelihoods. Based on qualitative data gathered from 55 interviews held with experts, local households and employees, the assessment shows a range of economic, social and environmental opportunities as well as constraints. Three major shortcomings are identified, the first being increasing river water abstractions and related water scarcity, second the call for living wages and social security, and third constraints smallholders face as out-growers. Addressing these issues can contribute to a more sustainable development in the region.

show abstract

“…Ulrich et al (2012) for example, illustrate continuity and change in the composition of the capital portfolio of small-scale farming households in semi-arid areas of Kenya over a period of 13 yr. While they explicitly refer to Bourdieu's notion of capital, it continues to be treated as a relatively neutral and autonomous additional input for livelihoods analysis.…”

Section: From Stocked and Static Assets To Relational And Contextualimentioning

confidence: 99%

Livelihoods as social practices – re-energising livelihoods research with Bourdieu's theory of practice

Sakdapolrak

2014

Geogr. Helv.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The persisting problem of poverty in the global south, since the 1990s, has been increasingly analysed and tackled from the perspective of the poor themselves. The shift of view point from a structurally oriented perspective to a more actor-oriented view was closely related to the concept of livelihoods, which put strong emphasis on people-centredness, and examined the coping and survival strategies of people at risk. Livelihoods analysis has been widely applied by research scholars as well as development practitioners since the 1990s, but the drawbacks and pitfalls of the approach have become more and more obvious with its continued application. The approach has been criticised for its imbalanced consideration of the structure-agency relation, narrow focus on the household as a unit of analysis, narrow and non-embedded understanding of assets, and negligence of spatial and temporal dynamics. The livelihoods perspective is at a crossroads. Several scholars have drawn on Bourdieu's theory of practice to overcome the identified challenges. This article seeks to bring together these insights and show how a Bourdieusian perspective can inform and contribute to the advancements in livelihoods research.

show abstract

Small-scale farming in semi-arid areas: Livelihood dynamics between 1997 and 2010 in Laikipia, Kenya

Cited by 87 publications

References 28 publications

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

Agricultural Expansion and Intensification in the Foothills of Mount Kenya: A Landscape Perspective

Export-Oriented Horticultural Production in Laikipia, Kenya: Assessing the Implications for Rural Livelihoods

Livelihoods as social practices – re-energising livelihoods research with Bourdieu's theory of practice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About