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Why do rural communities do what they do in the context of livelihood activities? Exploring the livelihood priority and viability nexus

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  • Gideon Baffoe
  • Hirotaka Matsuda

Abstract

This study seeks to empirically understand why rural households do what they do in the context of livelihood activities, even though most of the activities are not economically viable. Mixed methods, including interviews and questionnaire survey (n = 200), were used to collect primary data. Findings showed that livelihood priority is not the same as economic viability. We argued that most livelihood related projects in rural communities tend to be either nonstarter or counterproductive because of the failure of development agents to separate priority from viability. A gender perspective is applied to understand the differences in livelihood participation as well as preferences among households. While female-headed households tend to favor livelihood activities with stable income, their male counterparts prefer activities with higher income, suggesting that the former tend to be more risk averse. Results suggest that policy aimed at improving livelihood activities in rural communities should focus on viable projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Gideon Baffoe & Hirotaka Matsuda, 2017. "Why do rural communities do what they do in the context of livelihood activities? Exploring the livelihood priority and viability nexus," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 715-734, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:comdev:v:48:y:2017:i:5:p:715-734
    DOI: 10.1080/15575330.2017.1366927
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ellis, Frank, 2000. "Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296966.
    2. Frank Ellis, 2000. "The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 289-302, May.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nigussie, Zerihun & Tsunekawa, Atsushi & Haregeweyn, Nigussie & Adgo, Enyew & Tsubo, Mitsuru & Ayalew, Zemen & Abele, Steffen, 2020. "Economic and financial sustainability of an Acacia decurrens-based Taungya system for farmers in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Yanwei Zhang & Hualin Xie, 2019. "Welfare Effect Evaluation of Land-Lost Farmers’ Households under Different Livelihood Asset Allocation," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-41, November.
    4. Xiaolan Wang & Li Peng & Dingde Xu & Xuxi Wang, 2019. "Sensitivity of Rural Households’ Livelihood Strategies to Livelihood Capital in Poor Mountainous Areas: An Empirical Analysis in the Upper Reaches of the Min River, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, April.
    5. Misganaw Teshager Abeje & Atsushi Tsunekawa & Enyew Adgo & Nigussie Haregeweyn & Zerihun Nigussie & Zemen Ayalew & Asres Elias & Dessalegn Molla & Daregot Berihun, 2019. "Exploring Drivers of Livelihood Diversification and Its Effect on Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Hong Chang & Xinchao Liu & Yu Xie & Yahong Liu & Wu Yang & Jianming Niu, 2022. "The Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy Drives the Differentiation of Herders’ Livelihoods in Inner Mongolian Desert Grassland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, August.
    7. Gideon Baffoe & Keith Kintrea, 2022. "Towards Understanding the Landscapes of Neighbourhood Research: An Insight from Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-16, March.
    8. Baffoe, Gideon, 2019. "Exploring the utility of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in ranking livelihood activities for effective and sustainable rural development interventions in developing countries," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 197-204.
    9. Isael Fierros-González & Jorge Mora-Rivera, 2022. "Drivers of Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from Mexico’s Indigenous Rural Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Yang Liu & Qing Zhang & Qingfu Liu & Yongzhi Yan & Wanxin Hei & Deyong Yu & Jianguo Wu, 2020. "Different Household Livelihood Strategies and Influencing Factors in the Inner Mongolian Grassland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.

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