IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agisys/v126y2014icp3-14.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Livelihood strategies, resilience and transformability in African agroecosystems

Author

Listed:
  • Tittonell, Pablo

Abstract

Aiming to translate resilience thinking theory into farming systems design practice, this paper examines fundamental properties of complex systems dynamics and their relation with the mechanisms that govern resilience and transformability in African smallholder agriculture. Agroecosystems dynamics emerge from the aggregation of diverse livelihood strategies in response to changes in the agroecosystem context, and are characterised by non-linearity, irreversibility, convergence/divergence and hysteresis. I examine a number of case studies from Africa to verify three guiding hypotheses in connection to the diversity of rural livelihood strategies: (1) diversity as alternative system regimes; (2) diversity as the result of transformability; (3) diversity determined by changing agricultural contexts. The hierarchy of constraints that determine the space for manoeuvring in agroecosystems is described through the analogy of the Matryoshka nesting dolls: each system level confines and is confined by their immediate sub- and supra-systems. Agricultural contexts, as defined by agro-ecological potential, demography and market connectivity are also dynamic and their trajectory can be described as shifts across stability domains. An example from Kenya shows that household diversity can be described as alternative system regimes, through hysteretic rather than continuous, reversible models. In some particular cases diversity emerges from divergent pathways that may have implied radical transformations in the past, as shown here for rural livelihoods in northern Cameroun. A comparative analysis of East African agroecosystems shows that thresholds in specific variables that may point to the existence of possible tipping points are rather elusive and largely site specific, requiring systematic categorisation of agricultural contexts. While agroecology needs to provide the knowledge base for the ecological intensification of smallholder landscapes, policy and market developments are needed to deal with the Matryoshka effect – or with interactions that are presumably panarchical in certain cases. Desirable shifts in farming systems can only be stimulated by working on both ends simultaneously.

Suggested Citation

  • Tittonell, Pablo, 2014. "Livelihood strategies, resilience and transformability in African agroecosystems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 3-14.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:126:y:2014:i:c:p:3-14
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2013.10.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X13001340
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agsy.2013.10.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Travis J. Lybbert & Christopher B. Barrett & Solomon Desta & D. Layne Coppock, 2004. "Stochastic wealth dynamics and risk management among a poor population," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 114(498), pages 750-777, October.
    2. Tittonell, P. & Vanlauwe, B. & de Ridder, N. & Giller, K.E., 2007. "Heterogeneity of crop productivity and resource use efficiency within smallholder Kenyan farms: Soil fertility gradients or management intensity gradients?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 376-390, May.
    3. Marten Scheffer & Steve Carpenter & Jonathan A. Foley & Carl Folke & Brian Walker, 2001. "Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems," Nature, Nature, vol. 413(6856), pages 591-596, October.
    4. Landais, E., 1998. "Modelling farm diversity: new approaches to typology building in France," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 505-527, December.
    5. Tittonell, P. & van Wijk, M.T. & Herrero, M. & Rufino, M.C. & de Ridder, N. & Giller, K.E., 2009. "Beyond resource constraints - Exploring the biophysical feasibility of options for the intensification of smallholder crop-livestock systems in Vihiga district, Kenya," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 101(1-2), pages 1-19, June.
    6. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & DiGregorio, Monica & McCarthy, Nancy, 2004. "Methods for studying collective action in rural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 197-214, December.
    7. Waithaka, M.M. & Thornton, P.K. & Herrero, M. & Shepherd, K.D., 2006. "Bio-economic evaluation of farmers' perceptions of viable farms in western Kenya," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-3), pages 243-271, October.
    8. Tittonell, P. & Muriuki, A. & Shepherd, K.D. & Mugendi, D. & Kaizzi, K.C. & Okeyo, J. & Verchot, L. & Coe, R. & Vanlauwe, B., 2010. "The diversity of rural livelihoods and their influence on soil fertility in agricultural systems of East Africa - A typology of smallholder farms," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 83-97, February.
    9. Barrett, Christopher B. & Swallow, Brent M., 2006. "Fractal poverty traps," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-15, January.
    10. repec:bla:devpol:v:27:y:2009:i:2:p:131-146 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giller, K.E. & Tittonell, P. & Rufino, M.C. & van Wijk, M.T. & Zingore, S. & Mapfumo, P. & Adjei-Nsiah, S. & Herrero, M. & Chikowo, R. & Corbeels, M. & Rowe, E.C. & Baijukya, F. & Mwijage, A. & Smith,, 2011. "Communicating complexity: Integrated assessment of trade-offs concerning soil fertility management within African farming systems to support innovation and development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 191-203, February.
    2. Le Gal, P.-Y. & Dugué, P. & Faure, G. & Novak, S., 2011. "How does research address the design of innovative agricultural production systems at the farm level? A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 104(9), pages 714-728.
    3. 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," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-12(4):466.
    4. Tittonell, Pablo & Gérard, Bruno & Erenstein, Olaf, 2015. "Tradeoffs around crop residue biomass in smallholder crop-livestock systems – What’s next?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 119-128.
    5. Komarek, Adam M. & McDonald, Cam K. & Bell, Lindsay W. & Whish, Jeremy P.M. & Robertson, Michael J. & MacLeod, Neil D. & Bellotti, William D., 2012. "Whole-farm effects of livestock intensification in smallholder systems in Gansu, China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 16-24.
    6. Janz, Teresa & Augsburg, Britta & Gassmann, Franziska & Nimeh, Zina, 2023. "Leaving no one behind: Urban poverty traps in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Christopher B. Barrett, 2005. "Rural poverty dynamics: development policy implications," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 32(s1), pages 45-60, January.
    8. Adelhart Toorop, Roos & Ceccarelli, Viviana & Bijarniya, Deepak & Jat, Mangi Lal & Jat, Raj Kumar & Lopez-Ridaura, Santiago & Groot, Jeroen C.J., 2020. "Using a positive deviance approach to inform farming systems redesign: A case study from Bihar, India," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Jindo, Keiji & Schut, Antonius G.T. & Langeveld, Johannes W.A., 2020. "Sustainable intensification in Western Kenya: Who will benefit?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    10. Dylan Fitz & Shyam Gouri Suresh, 2021. "Poverty traps across levels of aggregation," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 16(4), pages 909-953, October.
    11. Raghbendra Jha & Raghav Gaiha & Anurag Sharma, 2006. "Calorie Deprivation and Poverty Nutrition Trap in Rural India," ASARC Working Papers 2006-02, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    12. Tanui, Joseph & Groeneveld, Rolf & Klomp, Jeroen & Mowo, Jeremiahs & Ierland, Ekko C. van, 2013. "Explaining investments in sustainable land management: The role of various income sources in the smallholder farming systems of western Kenya," 2013 Fourth International Conference, September 22-25, 2013, Hammamet, Tunisia 161275, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    13. Jensen, Nathaniel D. & Barrett, Christopher B. & Mude, Andrew G., 2017. "Cash transfers and index insurance: A comparative impact analysis from northern Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 14-28.
    14. Nhantumbo, Nascimento S. & Zivale, Clemente O. & Nhantumbo, Ivete S. & Gomes, Ana M., 2016. "Making agricultural intervention attractive to farmers in Africa through inclusive innovation systems," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 4(C), pages 19-23.
    15. Janzen, Sarah A. & Carter, Michael R. & Ikegami, Munenobu, 2012. "Valuing Asset Insurance in the Presence of Poverty Traps: A Dynamic Approach," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124805, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Turner, Matthew D., 2020. "Assessment through socioecological abstraction: The case of nutrient management models in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    17. Giesbert, Lena & Schindler, Kati, 2012. "Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1594-1609.
    18. Falconnier, Gatien N. & Descheemaeker, Katrien & Van Mourik, Thomas A. & Sanogo, Ousmane M. & Giller, Ken E., 2015. "Understanding farm trajectories and development pathways: Two decades of change in southern Mali," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 210-222.
    19. d'Errico, Marco & Letta, Marco & Montalbano, Pierluigi & Pietrelli, Rebecca, 2019. "Resilience Thresholds to Temperature Anomalies: A Long-run Test for Rural Tanzania," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1-1.
    20. Jensen, Nathaniel & Barrett, Christopher B. & Mude, Andrew, 2014. "Index Insurance and Cash Transfers: A Comparative Analysis from Northern Kenya," MPRA Paper 61372, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agisys:v:126:y:2014:i:c:p:3-14. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.