Livelihood

Rural men and women, especially in poor households, engage in diverse and multiple activities to improve their livelihoods by maximising income-generating activities, while minimising vulnerability and risk, and achieving other household objectives (improved health, nutrition and education, etc.). These activities may include farm and non-farm actions, many times linked with other activities carried out by rural, as well as non-rural households. The effectiveness and profitability of these diverse livelihood systems will vary depending on the general development environment, each household member’s access to and control of the asset base, their productive and reproductive roles and responsibilities, their capabilities and their linkages with other rural and urban actors. Poverty is the major cause of food insecurity. The rural sector includes a wide and diverse array of stakeholders including large and small landholders, landless workers, non-agricultural entrepreneurs, public institutions, private firms, providers of inputs and services, farmer organizations and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs). Hence, rural livelihoods reflect this diversity and therefore comprise a mix of agricultural, fisheries, forestry, mining, tourism and a wide variety of non-agricultural enterprise activities involving interactions among several different classes of rural and urban economic actors. Improving rural livelihoods therefore needs to take rural diversity into account.