Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India

The vast majority of farmers in the drylands are resource-poor smallholders, whose livelihoods depend heavily on their farming systems. Therefore, increasing the resilience of these smallholders is vital for their prosperity. This study quantified household resilience and identified livelihoods and...

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Main Authors: Ramilan, T., Kumar, S., Haileslassie, Amare, Craufurd, Peter Q., Scrimgeour, F., Kattarkandi, B., Whitbread, Anthony M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: MDPI 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119432
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author Ramilan, T.
Kumar, S.
Haileslassie, Amare
Craufurd, Peter Q.
Scrimgeour, F.
Kattarkandi, B.
Whitbread, Anthony M.
author_browse Craufurd, Peter Q.
Haileslassie, Amare
Kattarkandi, B.
Kumar, S.
Ramilan, T.
Scrimgeour, F.
Whitbread, Anthony M.
author_facet Ramilan, T.
Kumar, S.
Haileslassie, Amare
Craufurd, Peter Q.
Scrimgeour, F.
Kattarkandi, B.
Whitbread, Anthony M.
author_sort Ramilan, T.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The vast majority of farmers in the drylands are resource-poor smallholders, whose livelihoods depend heavily on their farming systems. Therefore, increasing the resilience of these smallholders is vital for their prosperity. This study quantified household resilience and identified livelihoods and their influence on resilience in the semiarid tropics of India by analysing 684 households. A resilience capacity index was devised based on the composition of household food and non-food expenditure, cash savings, and food and feed reserves. The index ranged from 8.4 reflecting highly resilient households with access to irrigation characteristics, to -3.7 for households with highly limited resilience and low household assets. The livelihoods were identified through multivariate analysis on selected socioeconomic and biophysical variables; households were heterogeneous in their livelihoods. Irrigated livestock and rainfed marginal types had the highest and lowest resilience capacity index with the mean score of 0.69 and -1.07, respectively. Finally, we quantified the influence of livelihood strategies on household resilience. Household resilience was strengthened by the possession of livestock, crop diversification and access to irrigation. Low resilience is predominantly caused by low household assets. The resilience capacity index and derived livelihood strategies helps to understand the complexity of household resilience, and will aid in targeting technology interventions for development.
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spelling CGSpace1194322025-12-08T10:29:22Z Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India Ramilan, T. Kumar, S. Haileslassie, Amare Craufurd, Peter Q. Scrimgeour, F. Kattarkandi, B. Whitbread, Anthony M. households resilience livelihoods strategies semiarid climate crops irrigation farmers multivariate analysis food science The vast majority of farmers in the drylands are resource-poor smallholders, whose livelihoods depend heavily on their farming systems. Therefore, increasing the resilience of these smallholders is vital for their prosperity. This study quantified household resilience and identified livelihoods and their influence on resilience in the semiarid tropics of India by analysing 684 households. A resilience capacity index was devised based on the composition of household food and non-food expenditure, cash savings, and food and feed reserves. The index ranged from 8.4 reflecting highly resilient households with access to irrigation characteristics, to -3.7 for households with highly limited resilience and low household assets. The livelihoods were identified through multivariate analysis on selected socioeconomic and biophysical variables; households were heterogeneous in their livelihoods. Irrigated livestock and rainfed marginal types had the highest and lowest resilience capacity index with the mean score of 0.69 and -1.07, respectively. Finally, we quantified the influence of livelihood strategies on household resilience. Household resilience was strengthened by the possession of livestock, crop diversification and access to irrigation. Low resilience is predominantly caused by low household assets. The resilience capacity index and derived livelihood strategies helps to understand the complexity of household resilience, and will aid in targeting technology interventions for development. 2022-03-25 2022-04-30T23:46:11Z 2022-04-30T23:46:11Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119432 en Open Access MDPI Ramilan, T.; Kumar, S.; Haileslassie, Amare; Craufurd, P.; Scrimgeour, F.; Kattarkandi, B.; Whitbread, A. 2022. Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India. Agriculture, 12(4):466. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12040466]
spellingShingle households
resilience
livelihoods
strategies
semiarid climate
crops
irrigation
farmers
multivariate analysis
food science
Ramilan, T.
Kumar, S.
Haileslassie, Amare
Craufurd, Peter Q.
Scrimgeour, F.
Kattarkandi, B.
Whitbread, Anthony M.
Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title_full Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title_fullStr Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title_full_unstemmed Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title_short Quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi-arid tropics of India
title_sort quantifying farm household resilience and the implications of livelihood heterogeneity in the semi arid tropics of india
topic households
resilience
livelihoods
strategies
semiarid climate
crops
irrigation
farmers
multivariate analysis
food science
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119432
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