A review of indicators of agricultural and rural livelihood sustainability

Attempts to provide a background guide to those involved in the development of indicators of sustainable systems with a particular focus on natural resource management. It originated from the need to develop and measure indicators of successful and failing farming systems as part of a research project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The challenge is to identify a set of indicators which will yield useful information about the status and rates of change in the full range of assets managed by individuals, households, and businesses, and that are relevant to both planners and resource users. An important aspect of the choice of indicators will therefore be to identify at least a core set which will allow comparability across different study sites.<B>Conclusions:</B> indicators are useful at the farm level because they:develop capacity and commitment of farmers towards more sustainable land use, and to allow farmers to evaluate their own practices produce the simple diagnosis of problems and improvements to farming practices, and development of appropriate research and extension activities enhance (or improve) the relationship between the researcher, farmer and extension agent, and through this to encourage farmer participation, the incorporation of indigenous knowledge, and ultimately to an increase in the adoption of improved technologiesassess and monitor the spatial and temporal sustainability of different farming systems, and to use this for the evaluation, prediction, planning and management of these systems by farmer, researcher, extension agent and planners</UL.>