Developing resilient and profitable rural livelihood systems in semi-arid Mozambique: A conceptual approach
Abstract
Low agricultural productivity and unsustainable forms of land use in the mixed crop-livestock production systems are major challenges for Mozambique. Yields still remain low and leave large parts of the population in need of food aid. An additional increased food demand of future generations needs to be met by agricultural intensification, without compromising the livelihoods of the poor and the environment. This project will develop a new systemic conceptual approach guided by principles of modern resilience thinking and rural livelihood systems analysis to develop and evaluate pathways for increased food security and reduced rural poverty. Using a value chain approach, essential for market development, will ensure that new system configurations are economically sustainable and that there are sufficient reliable incentives for farmers to invest in improved systems. The thresholds for, and transitions to, higher states will be determined through a combination of bio-economic models and participatory modeling exercises at Innovation Platform (IP) workshops. Innovation Platforms (IPs) will serve as forum for engaging local innovation systems actors in the research process. They will engage in new forms of direct interaction, communication and information exchange, which will assist them to tackle a wide range of locally defined challenges. Scientific knowledge will be inserted into the IPs, whereby participatory modeling will guide the actors to evaluate their current livelihood systems and associated value chains. IP participants will jointly screen and validate the alternative options for their potential to move the socio-ecological systems (SES) further along development pathways. Based on the identified systems’ constraints, practical steps towards more resilient and profitable rural livelihood systems will be defined. In doing so, the project will outline pathways and stimulate changes to more resilient and food secure agriculture, which will enable the poor to participate and benefit from inclusive market-oriented agriculture.
keywords resilience market development livelihood system analysis Mozambique methods development
Publikationen
Project staff
Michael Hauser
Assoc. Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Michael Hauser
michael.hauser@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-93415
BOKU Project Leader
01.08.2015 - 31.12.2015
BOKU partners
External partners
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
none
partner
Mozambiquean Agricultural Research Institute
none
partner