Understanding livelihood strategy-poverty links: empirical evidence from central highlands of Ethiopia |
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Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Ali?Mohammed?OumerEmail author Andreas?de Neergaard |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Agricultural Economics, Research Extension and Farmer Linkage (AEREFL) Coordination, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Holleta Research Centre, P.O. Box 2003 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;(2) Department of Agriculture and Ecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark |
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Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to disclose livelihood strategy-poverty links and gain a better understanding by developing typologies
of rural households. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, we group households into different typologies and explore
interactions. We identified six main agronomic strategies, four dominant livelihood diversification strategies, and income
quartiles (proxies for poverty) using cluster and principal component factor analysis. We found that nearly 82% of the surveyed
farmers in the study area belong to the bottom income quartiles while about 18% are on the upper quartiles. Households in
the bottom income quartiles engaged in casual off-farm work and cereal-dominated livelihood strategies that tend to pursue
subsistence farming by growing cereals and oil crops. Contrarily, farmers in the upper income quartiles adapted intensive
agronomic strategies by integrating root crops, legumes, and vegetables with livestock. This was largely attributed to access
to key livelihood assets such as land, livestock, education, and institutional support in which the upper quartiles were more
endowed. Improving availability of the key assets for the bottom income quartiles might be a way out of poverty and ensuring
sustainable development. It is crucial to recognize local-level heterogeneities of rural households when targeting development
interventions. |
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