Impacts of livelihood assets on livelihood security in drought-prone Gamo lowlands of southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Livelihood assets are a matter of high concern for secured survival. Drought-prone Gamo lowland households have differential access to livelihood resources which indicates the varying capacity of resisting to shocks. The main objective of this study is to explore the impacts of livelihood assets on livelihood security in the drought-prone Gamo lowlands. Multistage sampling procedures were employed to select the study sites and sample respondents. Primary data of households’ capital assets and livelihood security status were produced from 285 survey households, agricultural experts, key informants, focus group discussants, and field observation through transect walks. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, whereas discussions and annotations were employed for analyzing qualitative data. The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework is used with modifications to schematize the study conceptually. The findings indicated that the study households possessed combinations of livelihood resources differentially. Financial and natural capitals were found to be the most deficient and better-accessed capitals, respectively. The study also showed that lowland residents’ access to assets has significant indications of livelihood security. Households’ poor access to assets such as financial, information, and social capital demands raised attention of the concerned stakeholders and policy debates in the drought-prone rural setup. Hence, it has been concluded that the more assets are accessed, the stronger the capacity of the households to resist shocks, and better the livelihood security. Accordingly, enhancing people’s access to multiple livelihood assets is suggested to sustainably secure livelihoods.

Keywords

Asset hexagon / Gamo lowlands / Livelihood security / Sustainable livelihoods framework

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Arba Minch University for sponsoring the first author. Communities of the study districts, agricultural office experts and development agents, focus group attendees, key informants, and local-level administrative bodies deserve respective thanks for their cooperation during field duties. The authors are also grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editors who added crucial inputs via repeated perusals and strengths of the manuscript for publication level.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the first author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Inapplicable

Funding

No Funding or grant was received from any institution/ donor for this study.

Authors’ Contribution

All authors contributed in the entire process of this research work responsibly. Preparing the material, data gathering and analysis as well as first draft writing were done by Thomas. Degefa and Abera reviewed and finally approved the manuscript before sending it for journal publication.

Disclaimer

The manuscript in full or partially is not previously published or not under consideration elsewhere.

References

[1] Abebe, A., Arega, B., 2021. Rural households’ livelihood vulnerability to climate variability and extremes: A livelihood zone-based approach in the Northeastern Highlands Ethiopia. Ecol. Process. 10, 55.

[2] Akter, S., Rahman, S., 2012. Investigating livelihood security in poor eettlements in Bangladesh. Contributed Paper prepared for presentation at the 86 th Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society. University of Warwick, United Kingdom 16-18 April.

[3] Antwi-Agyei, P., 2012. Vulnerability and adaptation of Ghana’s food production systems and rural livelihoods to climate variability, Ph.D. thesis.. University of Leeds, Leeds UK.

[4] Awal, A.M., 2015. Vulnerability to disaster: Pressure and release model for climate change hazards in Bangladesh. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Prot. 2 (2), 15-21.

[5] Befikadu, E., Belay, S., Ermias, T., Ongoma, V., Nigussie, T., 2019. Climate variability and farmers’ perception in Southern Ethiopia. Adv. Meteorol. 2019, 7341465.

[6] Bhandari, B.S., Grant, M., 2007. Analysis of livelihood security: A case study in the Kali-Khola watershed of Nepal. J. Environ. Manage. 85 (1), 17-26.

[7] Burchi, F., De Muro, P., 2012. A Human Development and Capability Approach to Food Security: Conceptual Framework and Informational Basis. UNDP Working paper.

[8] Debebe, C., 2018. A review of factors affecting food security situation of Ethiopia: From the perspectives of FAD, economic and political economy theories. Int. J. Agric. Innov. Res. 6 (6), 336-344.

[9] DFID, 1999. Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets. Department for International Development, London.

[10] DFID, 2000. Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets. Department for International Development.

[11] Elizondo, D., Mordt, M., Munoz-Blanco, J., Paz, C., Gonzalez, C., Iftikhar, U., 2017. Guidance notes: Application of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework in Development Projects.

[12] Fraser, E.D.G., Dougill, A.J., Hubacek, K., Quinn, C.H., Sendzimir, J., Termansen, M., 2011. Assessing vulnerability to climate change in dryland livelihood systems: Conceptual challenges and interdisciplinary solutions. Ecol. Soc. 16 (3), 3.

[13] Gichure, J.N., Njeru, S.K., Mathi, P.M., 2020. Sustainable livelihood approach for assessing the impacts of slaughterhouses on livelihood strategies among pastoralists in Kenya. Pastoralism 10 (1), 26.

[14] Ha-Mim, M., Hossain, Z., Rahaman, R., Mallick, B., 2020. Exploring vulnerability-resilience-livelihood nexus in the face of climate change: A multi-criteria analysis for Mongla, Bangladesh. Sustainability 12, 7054.

[15] Harishkumar, V.H., Umesh, B.K., Satish Kumar, M., Murali, N.D., 2016. Livelihood security of farm households under different farming systems in Kolar district of Karnataka -An economic analysis. Int. J. Agric. Environ. Biot. 9 (2), 313-322.

[16] Hundera, H., Mpandeli, S., Amare, B., 2019. Smallholder farmers’ awareness and perceptions of climate change in Adama district, central rift valley of Ethiopia. Weather Clim. Extremes 26, 100230.

[17] Ibrahim, Z., Hassan, H., Kamaruddin, R., Anuar, R., 2018. The level of livelihood assets ownership among vulnerable group in east coast of Malaysia. Eur. J. Sustain. Dev. 7 (3), 157-161.

[18] Jeyarajah, S., 2016. Livelihood security of marine small-scale fisheries households in Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka. Int. J. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 5 (8), 9-16.

[19] Kasim, Y., 2019. Impacts of livelihood assets on wellbeing of rural households in Northern Nigeria. Int. Trans. J. Eng. Manag. Appl. Sci. Tech. 10 (13), 10A13K.

[20] Kauti, K.M., 2009. Rural livelihood security assessment for smallholders undergoing economic changes and agro-climatic events in Central Kenya. Working Paper on Social-Ecological Resilience Series No. 2009-007.

[21] Khalili, S., Harre, M., Morley, P., 2018. A temporal social resilience framework of communities to disasters in Australia. Geoenviron. Disasters 5 (1), 23.

[22] Kuswanto, H., Hibatullah, F., Soedjono, E.S., 2019. Perception of weather and seasonal drought forecasts and its impact on livelihood in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Heliyon 5 (8), e02360.

[23] Li, W., Shuai, C., Shuai, Y., Cheng, X., Liu, Y., Huang, F., 2020. How livelihood assets contribute to sustainable development of smallholder farmers. J. Int. Dev. 32 (3), 408-429.

[24] Makame, O., Salum, A., Kangalawe, M., 2018. Livelihood assets and activities in two east coast communities of Zanzibar and implications for vulnerability to climate change and non-climate risks. J. Sustain. Dev. 11 (6), 205-221.

[25] Makoka, D., 2009. The impact of drought on household vulnerability: The case of rural Malawi. University of Bonn, Boon.

[26] Moret, W., 2017. ASPIRES Vulnerability Assessment Handbook for Economic Strengthening Projects. FHI 360, Washington, D. C..

[27] Mthethwa, S., Wale, E., 2021. Household vulnerability to food insecurity in rural South Africa: Evidence from a nationally representative survey data. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18 (4), 1917.

[28] Nanni, P., Peres, D.J., Musumeci, R.E., Cancelliere, A., 2021. Worry about climate change and urban flooding risk preparedness in Southern Italy: A survey in the Simeto River Valley (Sicily, Italy). Resources 10 (3), 25.

[29] Nasrnia, F., Ashktorab, N., 2021. Sustainable livelihood framework-based assessment of drought resilience patterns of rural households of Bakhtegan basin, Iran. Ecol. Indic. 128, 107817 ).

[30] Odero, K.K., 2006. Information capital: 6th asset of sustainable livelihood framework. Discov. Innovation 18 (2), 83-91.

[31] Robaa, B., Tolossa, D., 2016. Rural livelihood diversification and its effects on household food security: A case study at Damota Gale Woreda, Wolayta, Southern Ethiopia. East. Afr. Soc. Sci. Res. Rev. 32 (1), 93-118.

[32] Sani, S., Kemaw, B., 2017. Assessment of households food security situation in Ethiopia: An empirical synthesis. Dev. Country Stud. 7 (12), 30-37.

[33] Singh, R.B., Hietala, R., 2014. Livelihood Security in Northwestern Himalaya Case Studies from Changing Socio-economic Environments in Himachal Pradesh, India. Springer, Tokyo, Heidelberg, New York, Dordrecht, London.

[34] Tagalo, D., 2020. How does government discourse make people vulnerable? Disaster Prev. Manag. 29 (5), 697-710.

[35] Tatwangire, A., 2011. Access to productive assets and impact on household welfare in rural Uganda, Ph.D. thesis.. Norwegian University of Life Sciences Ås.

[36] Thomas, T.T., Degefa, D.T., Utallo, A.U., 2021a. Drought vulnerability perceptions and food security status of rural lowland communities: An insight from Southwest Ethiopia. Curr. Res. Environ. Sustain. 3, 100073.

[37] Thomas, T.T., Degefa, D.T., Utallo, A.U., 2021b. Schematizing vulnerability perceptions and understanding of drought-prone Gamo lowland communities: An evidence from Southwest Ethiopia. Int. J. Clim. Change Strategies Manage. 13 (4/5), 580-600.

[38] World Food Programme 2013. Building resilience through asset creation: Fighting hunger worldwide. World Food Programme, Rome.

[39] Xu, D., Deng, X., Guo, S., Liu, S., 2018. Sensitivity of livelihood strategy to livelihood capital: An empirical investigation using nationally representative survey data from rural China. Soc. Indic. Res. 144 (1), 113-131.

[40] Yamane, T., 1967. Statistics:An Introductory Analysis, second ed.ed. Harper and Row, New York.

[41] Yang, L., Liu, M., Lun, F., Min, Q., Zhang, C., Li, H., 2018. Livelihood assets and strategies among rural households: Comparative analysis of Rice and Dryland Terrace Systems in China. Sustainability 10 (7), 2525.

[42] Zhao, Y., Fan, J., Liang, B., Zhang, L., 2019. Evaluation of sustainable livelihoods in the context of disaster vulnerability: A case study of Shenzha County in Tibet, China. Sustainability 11 (10), 2874.