Food poverty,hunger and household production in rural Eastern Cape households

More than two decades since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the place of small-scale agriculture in rural development, poverty alleviation and food security remains ambiguous and highly contested. However, there is now some new evidence that official income poverty estimates in South Africa may be underestimating the contribution of rural, land-based livelihoods when measuring household well-being. This paper aims to explore this possibility further by identifying how household production activities are associated with improved food security among rural Eastern Cape households in the former homelands. The analysis is based on data from Statistics South Africa’s 2008/9 Living Conditions Survey and its annual General Household Surveys. In adopting a food poverty lens, the findings suggest that hunger levels are lower among farming households in the Eastern Cape even though a higher percentage of these households (relative to non-farming households) live below the national food poverty line. The paper concludes by discussing some implications for policy.     

Migrants,urban poverty and the changing nature of urban–rural linkages in Kenya

In the literature on rural–urban linkages in sub-Saharan Africa the focus has so far been predominantly on the urban dwellers contributing to the livelihood of the rural ones, usually through remittances from family members living in the city. Although acknowledged in the last two decades, the reverse flow, i.e. the extent to which town dwellers realise part of their livelihood from rural sources, remains poorly understood. Based on recent research in Nakuru town, Kenya, this paper demonstrates that urban–rural linkages are not only important for the rural households, but are becoming an important element of the livelihood (or survival) strategies of poor urban households.     

An economic assessment of the value of cattle to the rural communities in the former Venda region

This article assesses the economic value of livestock to rural communities in quantitative terms. A quantitative valuation of livestock is assessed in terms of milk production, manure use, draught power and offtake/sales criteria. The study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 125 small-scale cattle farmers interviewed in the Venda region of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The results of the study estimated the average total value of an adult cow to be R1 152. This value should be viewed as an opportunity cost of the cattle. A quantitative valuation of livestock is important in indicating the degree of impact of cattle mortalities on the livelihood of rural households. In addition, it offers important guidelines for farmers' compensation by the government, should a disaster occur.     

Few Opportunities, Much Desperation: The Dichotomy of Non-Agricultural Activities and Inequality in Western Kenya

Using data from Western Kenya, we confirm the existence of a dichotomous non-agricultural sector. The poverty and inequality implications of the differently motivated diversification strategies only partly correspond to expected patterns. While high-return activities are indeed confined to richer households, low-return activities constitute an important income source for households across the entire income distribution. Finally, we examine the wider implications of our findings for rural livelihoods. We find that only engagement in high-return non-agricultural activities is significantly associated with increased agricultural productivity. It seems that such high-return activities play a key role in triggering cumulative effects of relative livelihood success.     

基于生计资本路径的贫困地区生计策略研究——广西凤山县四个可持续生计项目村的调查

可持续生计方法是社会组织解决贫困问题的一种方法。文章以香港PCD投资扶持广西凤山县可持续生计发展项目为例,运用极差标准化、多元logistic回归分析等方法,以生计资本为基础单元,对农户的生计资本状况进行定量与定性分析,揭示了农户生计资本与生计策略之间的关系。结果表明:(1)项目村整体生计资本状况不充裕,由于有PCD项目农村小额信贷资金等方面的扶持,人力资本、金融资本相对富裕;(2)人力资本、金融资本更丰富的农户倾向于选择非务农的生计活动,而自然资本丰富的农户更多地愿意从事农业生产;(3)PCD项目推行以集约化、扩大化、移民、可持续发展等生计策略来推进项目村可持续扶贫的进程。     

The determinants of rural and urban household poverty in the North West province of South Africa

Based on standard poverty measures, the extent of poverty in the North West province is on average worse than in South Africa. For instance, the poverty gap ratio for North West is twice that of the South African average, and the FGT index is three times as high. This article therefore aims to identify the determinants of rural and urban poverty in the North West province of South Africa. Using data gathered from a survey of 593 black households across the province, probit model estimates suggest that the major significant determinants of household poverty in both rural and urban areas are education and household size. A difference between rural and urban poverty is, first, that extra female adults in a rural household raise the probability of poverty. Secondly, having a migrant (out) worker as head of the household in rural areas lowers the probability of poverty, while this does not apply to urban households. A sensitivity analysis for the robustness of the results over a range of poverty lines reveals that the impact of education is much stronger for poorer households than for more wealthy households.     

The rationale for an employment guarantee in South Africa

This article considers what would happen if unemployed people in South Africa had a right to a minimum level of regular work on decent terms. It looks at the example of India, where a law was passed in 2005 guaranteeing rural households up to 100 days of work a year at minimum wage rates. More than 55 million households now participate in this programme – a rare example of a policy innovation bringing about significant change in a society. India's employment guarantee has important implications for social and economic policy and gives new meaning to the concept of ‘a right to work’. The article explores how structural inequality limits South Africa's development options, and considers early lessons from South Africa's Community Work Programme to make the case for an employment guarantee in South Africa.     

REGIONAL VARIATION IN LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES IN MALAWI

We identified livelihood strategies at the household level as a function of assets held using survey data from Malawi. We only included endowments that we expected to be predetermined. As expected, land, household size, age and primary education are important determinants of livelihood strategies. It also turned out to be significant regional variation in livelihood strategies, with more diversification in the southern region, and with regional variation in the role of ethnic and religious identity as determinants of livelihood strategies. In particular, we found that households from the Chewa community have more livelihood opportunities in the south, where they are in a minority.     

退耕还林工程对农户生产要素投入与收入的影响——基于长期连续跟踪大样本农户数据

利用6省区、15县市、2707个样本农户1995—2016年连续跟踪调研数据,在充分考虑相关政策和市场因素等动态变化的基础上,定量估计退耕还林工程对农户生产要素投入的影响,采用递归方程模型估计了退耕还林工程对农户收入的直接影响(退耕还林补助与放弃的退耕地种植业收益之差)和间接影响(退耕还林工程引起生产要素配置调整带来的收入变化)。结果表明:第一,农户参与退耕还林使其耕地经营面积减少25.06%,林地经营面积增加57.88%,以土地为基础的生产费用减少11.41%,非农劳动力投入增加9.99%;退耕还林工程对样本农户以土地为基础的劳动力投入和种植业集约经营未产生显著影响。第二,退耕还林工程直接增加了样本农户3.73%的以土地为基础的收入,间接增加了8.57%的以土地为基础的收入和7.85%的非农收入。第三,相对于黄河流域,退耕还林工程对长江流域样本农户收入的直接影响较大,但间接影响较小。在退耕还林工程后续政策设计中,需充分重视退耕还林工程对农户生产要素投入和收入的影响及其路径,强化因地制宜的理念。     

Impacts of Food and Energy Price Hikes and Proposed Coping Strategies

Based on sample survey data for the years 2006 and 2007, we find that inflation of food and energy prices in China is moving at a slower pace than in the international market; however, the livelihood of low income groups has been significantly impacted. Urban sample households in low income groups have been shifting from consumption of high value food to lower value substitutes; and all of the rural sample households are reducing their total consumption expenditure in real terms. The Engel＇ s coefficient of the rural household enlarged while their proportion of spending on clothing and energy declined. Farmers＇ households are moving toward more imbalanced diets, and the nutritional status of the poor is apparently deteriorating. The emergency-response measures that the government should implement include stopping subsidies to biofuel producers, who use foodstuffs as inputs, and providing food aid to the poor. The mid-term strategies should include anti-monopoly tactics, improving the market environment for the right competition, and eliminating price distortion. Midterm and long-term socioeconomic policy reform must be undertaken to adjust the social structure, to correct the mechanism of factor price formation, and to transform the pattern of economic growth.     

Financial inclusion as a pathway to welfare enhancement and income equality: Micro-level evidence from Nigeria

While the importance of financial inclusion as a means of poverty and income inequality reduction has long been recognised, the paths to welfare enhancement and income equality through financial inclusion remain partially acknowledged. Using micro-level data on 1 750 rural Nigerian households, this study examines the finance-welfare nexus by constructing a multi-variable financial inclusion index. The results first show that financial inclusion exerts a strong positive influence on household welfare. However, the decomposition analysis shows that middle- and high-income households gain more from financial inclusion in comparison to the targeted low-income households. Second, informal livelihood strategies, such as environmental resource extraction, crops, and livestock production, revealed reduced welfare disparities across income distributions. Therefore, for financial inclusion to alleviate welfare inequality and ensure income convergence, rural financial markets must be redesigned to allow wider access to credit, specifically for low-income and vulnerable households.     

HIV/Aids and land: case studies from Kenya,Lesotho and South Africa

Recent research conducted in Lesotho, Kenya and South Africa has revealed that HIV/Aids will seriously impact on a range of land issues as a direct result of very high infection rates in these countries. HIV/Aids will affect different forms of land use, the functioning of land administration systems, land rights of women and orphans as well as the poor generally, and inheritance practices and norms. The epidemic not only affects the productivity of the infected, but also diverts the labour of the household and extended family away from other productive and reproductive activities as they take care of the sick. Affected households fall below the social and economic threshold of vulnerability and ‘survivability’, leaving the survivors – mainly the young and elderly – with limited resources to quickly regain a sustainable livelihood. This indicates the importance of effective land administration systems and of land rights as HIV/Aids impacts on the terms and conditions on which households and individuals hold, use and transact land. This has a particular resonance for women and children's rights, which, in the context of rural power relations that are themselves coming under increasing pressure from the epidemic, are especially vulnerable to being usurped. Thus, the impact of HIV/Aids on land raises complex and sensitive issues for land policies and programmes, particularly if they are intended to underpin rural development and sustainable livelihoods.     

The contribution of income components to income inequality in the rural former homelands of South Africa: a decomposable Gini analysis

Households in developing countries adopt livelihood strategiesthat often rely on income from a diversity of sources. Froma policy perspective it becomes important to understand therelative importance of income sources in driving inter-householdinequality and poverty. Recent theoretical advances allow forthe decomposition of the Gini coefficient by income componentsand for an assessment of the impact of changes in income componentson the Gini coefficient. This paper applies such a techniqueto South African data for the rural former 'homeland' areas.In doing so, the paper extends existing knowledge of South Africanincome inequality. Particular attention is paid to integratingthe decomposition work into debates about rural developmentpolicy in South Africa.     

Poverty,livelihood and class in rural South Africa

Using data from a national living standards survey undertaken in late 1993, this paper disaggregates and explores the economics of livelihood generation and class in rural South Africa in an effort to contribute to the ongoing and vociferous debate in South Africa about poverty and its alleviation. Pursuant to the suggestion of participants in a recent participatory poverty assessment, this paper analyzes what might be termed the class structure of poverty. After exploring the range of claiming systems and livelihood tactics available in rural South Africa, the paper offers a first look at who the poor are by disaggregating the rural population into discrete livelihood strategy classes. Non-parametric regression methods are used to then estimate and graphically explore the nature of the livelihood mapping between endowments and real incomes. In addition to identifying those endowment combinations that map to consumption levels below the poverty line (the asset basis of poverty), the topography of the estimated livelihood mapping helps identify the constraints that limit household's ability to effectively utilize their assets and endowments. These results suggest that poverty is a matter of not only having few assets, but also of constraints which limit the effectiveness with which those assets are used, and poverty and livelihood policy needs to be designed accordingly.     

Rural Nonfarm Employment and Incomes in Chile

This article analyzes the evolution of rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and income in Chile during 1990–96. The data used come from the National Socioeconomic Survey (CASEN), and from a household survey undertaken by the authors in two municipalities in 1999. The latter contrasted two zones, very different in terms of economic dynamism and rural poverty. We show that during the period, RNFE and incomes increased 10% and 18%, respectively, in 1996, reaching 39% of rural employment and 41% of rural incomes. The rate of multiactivity (the share of households participating in more than one sector) was only 20%, lower than expected, indicating a tendency toward economic specialization in rural income strategies. The determinants of such employment are mainly household characteristics, in particular variables related to human capital, such as the age and gender of the household head, and the schooling of the household members, although also important are access to credit and physical capital. The level of nonfarm income of rural households is determined mainly by the economic context, in particular the economic level and dynamism of the overall zone and the quality of the roads. It is proposed that policies to develop RNFE should be geared to zone characteristics, and should in general favor investments in education, in roads, and in access to credit. Moreover, households headed by women should be the object of special attention. To promote such policies, it will be necessary to address important gaps and weaknesses in the public institutional structure.     

The contribution of livelihood activities in the Limpopo province: Case study evidence from Makua and Manganeng

This article uses case study evidence from Makua and Manganeng, two rural villages in the Capricorn region, to investigate the effects of private and social costs, such as land degradation, on rural livelihoods in the area. Information is derived from household surveys, key informant interviews, participatory appraisal techniques, and a detailed ecological baseline study of the area. Livelihood activities such as agricultural practices (crop and livestock production), and wood and edible product gathering are included. This article attempts to synthesise the information gathered and lessons learnt from these studies, quantifies the contribution of these livelihood activities in monetary terms, and considers the implications for sustainable livelihood practices. The study finds that non-cash earnings contribute an important component of overall household income - between 40 and 50 per cent before social and opportunity costs are deducted. However, external costs significantly undermine overall earnings from natural resource-based products.     

HOW DO POOR RURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN MYANMAR COPE WITH SHOCKS? COPING STRATEGIES IN A FISHING AND FARMING VILLAGE IN RAKHINE STATE

This paper examines how poor rural households in Myanmar cope with shocks which incur unexpected expenditure, namely, the sickness or death of a household member, using data collected in a fishing and farming village in Myanmar in 2008. The paper analyzes the sequence of coping strategies and the background factors behind the sequence. Self‐insurance, the dissaving of assets or cash, is given priority over intra‐party strategies, such as loans or gifts. The reason for this lies in the persistent severe credit constraints faced by households, both in terms of access and cost (high level of interest rates), and the absence of strong social norms for mutual insurance in the community. Both factors appear to force these households to self‐insure themselves from the outset.     

Non‐farm Income Diversification in Rural Ghana: Patterns and Determinants

Abstract: Evidence abounds in the rural livelihoods literature that rural households do not only receive a significant proportion of their incomes from non‐farm sources, but also it is a significant source of employment for rural folks. This paper examines the pattern and determinants of non‐farm income diversification in rural Ghana. Results show that off‐farm income constituted 43 percent of rural household income in 2005/6. Female‐headed households tend to have larger off‐farm income shares compared to male‐headed households. Non‐farm income shares followed the same gender pattern albeit less pronounced. Unlike in Latin America and Asia, in rural Ghana, non‐farm self‐employment income is more important than non‐farm wage‐employment income. Regression results show that the gender composition of households, age, education, and access to credit, electricity and markets are important determinants of multiple non‐farm activities and non‐farm income. The findings call for strategies that can help rural households maximize the benefits from income diversification.     

The effect of rural inequality on fertility and migration: A literature review

This article is based on a literature review, which draws together evidence on the extent and nature of asset (land, machinery, durables, etc) inequality in rural areas and its impact on demographic incentives and behaviour of rural households. Although sufficient literature on the topics of rural inequality, migration and fertility was found, very little research on the interrelationship between such inequality and the demographic and environmental consequences exists. This complex interrelationship among different population and economic variables is acknowledged and is currently being tested in field research in Botswana, South Africa and India.     

The challenges facing empirical estimation of household food (in)security in South Africa

This paper sets out to describe current principle theoretical positions in food security research, describe and compare empirical South African food security studies with key international methodologies and pose research challenges for food security research in the country. Scant available food security studies for South Africa seem to indicate that food insecurity and hunger exist and are likely to increase due to increasing food price trends, greater reliance on cash food purchases and spiralling vulnerability as a result of HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality. Empirical research is urgently needed to determine the coping strategies of households under ‘normal’ conditions, identify vulnerable households, and monitor the impact of various shocks and stresses on household food security.