Sustainable rural livelihoods: a summary of research in Mali and Ethiopia

What factors enable some people to achieve secure livelihoods and others to fail? How do poor households respond to changes in institutions and entitlements, and what is the part played by local, national, and international institutions in building livelihoods? This report summarises research from Mali and Ethiopia, which explored alternative routes to achieving sustainable livelihoods. The research was undertaken jointly by several institutions in the UK, Mali and Ethiopia and covered five research sites with varying characteristics. In focusing on policies already in place, the research challenges assumptions that people are merely recipients of good or bad policy. It illuminates the circumstances under which people are able to adapt livelihood strategies to respond to new or different policies.The following factors were identified as influences on decisions about what kinds of livelihoods strategies to follow: the capacity for livelihood diversification is affected by the existence of local opportunities, population density, rainfall, location, and transport links livelihood diversification is more likely to occur in places with higher agricultural potential, higher population density and a more developed local economy creating opportunities.However, in some low-potential areas, diversification can occur in particular circumstances diversification is influenced by the number of workers available to a household.Labour management strategies are a key factor in the success of diversification strategies decisions about capital or labour-led agricultural intensification are affected by the resources available to a household; the institutions which mediate access to resources, the historical background, and the policy context where institutional linkages providing inputs and credit are in place, capital-led intensification is more easily influenced by policy than labour-led intensification decisions about who migrates and the use of remittances are affected by different household structures and gender.Migrations is not strongly correlated with poverty, assets, or education, but the types of migration are likely to be. These insights suggest a number policy implications. Policy achievements are, however, limited by constraints on governments during structural adjustment; and by long histories of poor citizen-state relations in some areas. the livelihoods framework provides key insights into how rural people cope in poor areas livelihood diversification can be supported by improved services (access to credit; infrastructure; livestock facilities); and by supporting existing diversification opportunities such as migration and collective rights over natural resources agricultural intensification can be enhanced by greater flexibility in extension and credit services for capital led intensification; and by identifying and reaching out to those institutions most able to facilitate intensification migration plays a central role in many livelihoods.Providing information about migration opportunities, and facilities for remittances can support migration strategies, although the potential for increasing inequality through migration should be understood policy analysis needs to be linked to livelihoods analysis to identify local institutions which support or constrain livelihoods outcomes identifying local level institutions supportive of livelihood sustainability and/or poor people's participation in policy prioritisation is critical in enhancing the 'social capital' of vulnerable groups.