Rural farm households continue to face significant risks from climate change, resulting in many of them diversifying their livelihood sources into other income‐generating activities to increase their incomes and improve food and nutrition security. In this study, we examine the drivers and impact of farm households' participation in livelihood diversification as a climate change adaptation strategy among livestock farmers in rural Pakistan. We employ a multinomial endogenous switching regression (MESR) model to account for potential selection bias from both observed and unobserved factors. The empirical results indicate that the average temperature and precipitation contribute significantly to the joint adoption of livestock and non‐farm activities among rural households. In addition, the total number of earning members in the household, total cultivated land, distance to city, and climate change information are significant drivers of participation in livelihood diversification strategies. The results also demonstrate that diversified households with three livelihood sources are more food secure compared to households who did not diversify or are less diversified with two livelihood sources. Our findings suggest that development policies in rural Pakistan should promote livelihood diversification by engaging farm households in other income‐generating activities to improve their food security.
Rural households in developing countries increasingly combine farm and non-farm livelihood activities to reduce income risk, improve resilience, and enhance household welfare. Access to financial services is an important driver of livelihood diversification because it improves investment capacity, facilitates risk management, and supports income-generating activities. This study examined the effects of financial inclusion and livelihood diversification on farm income among rural households in Osun State, Nigeria.
Primary data were collected from 320 rural households selected through a multistage sampling procedure. An Endogenous Treatment Regression (ETR) model was employed to account for potential selection bias associated with households' participation in livelihood diversification. A Probit model was used to identify factors influencing participation in livelihood diversification, while the outcome equation estimated the effects of livelihood diversification and financial inclusion on farm income.
The Probit estimates revealed that gender, education, farm size, land ownership, access to extension services, support from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and financial inclusion significantly influenced participation in livelihood diversification. The outcome equation showed that age, gender, education, household size, land ownership, NGO support, and financial inclusion significantly affected farm income. The treatment effect estimates indicated that livelihood diversification had a positive and significant effect on farm income. The Average Treatment Effect (ATE) further confirmed that households engaged in diversified livelihood activities earned higher incomes than non-diversified households.
The findings demonstrate that financial inclusion and livelihood diversification are complementary strategies for improving farm income and strengthening rural resilience. Enhanced access to financial services enables households to invest in productive activities, diversify income sources, and reinvest earnings into agriculture. Therefore, policies aimed at expanding financial inclusion, improving rural credit access, strengthening extension services, enhancing financial literacy, supporting NGO interventions, and promoting rural enterprise development can contribute significantly to sustainable livelihood improvement and poverty reduction among rural households.
A. Kehinde, T. Ojo, A. Tijani et al.· Frontiers in Sustainable Foo...· 0 citations
Porang cultivation is characterized by delayed economic returns and high exposure to market and climate uncertainties, requiring farming households to adopt adaptive livelihood strategies. Understanding how households manage income volatility and welfare stability in such conditions is critical for rural development policy. This study examines how porang-farming households in Bontolempangang Village construct and organize their livelihood strategies to manage risk, stabilize income, and reduce vulnerability. Using a qualitative case-study approach, the study analyzes household livelihood structures, income sources, and adaptive strategies across on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm sectors. Data were examined through a sustainable livelihoods framework to identify patterns of diversification and risk management. The findings reveal that livelihood patterns are multi-stranded and risk-oriented. Households adopt adaptive strategies grounded in a combination of multiple income sources, including: (i) agricultural livelihood engineering (intensification and extensification), (ii) occupational and institutional diversification, and (iii) spatial strategies such as temporary/circular migration and remittances. Agriculture remains the primary livelihood base, with maize functioning as a short-cycle cash-flow bridge, rice as a subsistence anchor with marketable surplus, and cattle raising as a precautionary liquid asset. These strategies are reinforced by off-farm bamboo crafts and non-farm income (e.g., construction work and village institutional honoraria), which improve cash-flow stability and facilitate consumption smoothing. Porang-farming households construct resilient livelihood systems through strategic diversification and cross-sectoral income buffering. The integration of agricultural and non-agricultural activities serves as an adaptive mechanism to manage delayed returns and mitigate economic vulnerability under uncertain market and environmental conditions.
N. Nurwahidah, Jumiati Jumiati, N. Nadir et al.· Indonesian Journal of Agricu...· 0 citations
Food insecurity and youth unemployment remain alarmingly high in many Sub‐Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Ghana. In response, governments and development partners increasingly promote livelihood diversification as a policy option to improve household welfare. Although a growing body of literature examines the welfare effects of livelihood diversification, limited evidence exists on its implications for youth‐headed households (YHHs), despite youth constituting a large share of the population in many developing countries. Using a mixed‐methods approach, this study analyzes the effect of livelihood diversification on food security among YHHs in coastal fishing communities in the Greater Accra and Central Regions of Ghana. Primary data were collected from 424 YHHs, complemented by 20 focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in 14 coastal fishing communities. Food security was measured using the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The inverse probability weighting regression adjustment (IPWRA) estimator was employed to analyze the quantitative data. The results show that livelihood diversification significantly improves food security among YHHs in coastal fishing communities in Southern Ghana. The findings suggest that government agencies such as the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), the Fisheries Commission, and development partners should expand and support context‐specific livelihood diversification strategies, in particular access to nonfisheries skilled trades and income opportunities to enhance food security and welfare among YHHs in coastal fishing communities.
Esther Aba Eshun, D. Sarpong, J. Jatoe et al.· World Food Policy· 0 citations
Climate change is an increasing environmental issue that has threatened food security and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, where most farmers depend on climate-vulnerable rain-fed agricultural systems, including Ethiopia. In response, tree planting has been promoted as part of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative (GLI), serving as an effective climate adaptation strategy to increase resilience and restore degraded forest ecosystems. This study was conducted to examine the factors influencing rural households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for tree planting and to estimate the overall labour contribution of such initiative in the study area. A multistage sampling approach was used to select both study districts and sampled respondents, and a face-to-face survey of 385 randomly selected farm households was administered. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a double-bounded contingent valuation survey supplemented with open-ended follow-up questions. Descriptive statistics and a bivariate probit model were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the average annual labour contribution of smallholder farmers for tree planting was 35.2 labour days per household, which suggests that rural households place a fair amount of labour into keeping the GLI program implementation. The model results revealed that sex of household head, education level, farming experience, training, perception of climate change, and access to climate information positively and significantly influenced farmers' WTP, whereas credit use, distance to market, and initial bid value had negative and significant effects. The estimated aggregate welfare benefit of the proposed tree planting was 4,908,112 labour days, equivalent to 1,717,839,200 birrs per year, implying substantial economic gains through creating rural employment and ecological resilience via biodiversity conservation. On the basis of these findings, the study recommends that local administrators should strengthen efforts through green legacy initiative campaigns to increase awareness, encourage participation, and promote sustainable forest restoration.
Alemu Molla Zegeye, Bosena Tegegne, A. Bedemo· Discover Environment· 0 citations
This study investigates the extent and determinants of livelihood diversification among integrated crop- livestock farming households in North-West Nigeria. The study aimed at assessing the integrated crop- livestock farming practices and analyse the factors influencing the livelihood activities of the farmers in the study area. The study used a multistage sampling procedure consisting of 3 states, 3 agricultural zones, 21 LGAs and 84 villages. Data were collected from 405 respondents through structured questionnaires andanalysed using descriptive statistics, the Simpson Diversification Index (SDI) and Tobit regression. Findings revealed a moderate level of livelihood diversification, with an average SDI of 0.58. Farmers engaged in diverse on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm income-generating activities, with on-farm income accounting for 66.66% of the total annual household income, followed by non-farm (23.57%) and off-farm (9.77%) sources. Tobit regression results showed that household size, gender of the household head, and access to credit were significant at the 5% level, respectively while education level and income from various sources were significant at the 1% level, all positively influencing livelihood diversification. Conversely, farm size had a negative and significant relationship, suggesting that larger farms often reduce the likelihood of engaging in alternative livelihood strategies. The study concludes that diversification is a critical strategy for income stability and risk management among smallholders. It recommends enhancing access to credit, promotingrural farmer education and improving rural infrastructure to sustain and expand livelihood diversification.
M. Abdullahi, M. Sulaiman· Agro-Science· 0 citations
In the context of mounting climate variability and agrarian distress, sustainable farming practices are widely acknowledged for their contribution to food security, ecological resilience, and the strengthening of rural livelihoods in India. However, their adoption among smallholder farmers continues to be relatively low. Drawing on the conceptual framework, the present study investigates how various motivators and constraints shape farmers’ engagement with sustainable practices and influencing their livelihood security in Karnataka, India. Using survey data from 243 farm households across four administrative divisions, the research employed structural equation modeling to empirically evaluate the proposed direct effects and moderating relationships. It was found that economic and market constraints as well as knowledge and capacity deficits significantly hindered adoption, while positive motivators including premium pricing, environmental awareness and health consciousness facilitated adoption. Notably, behavioral factors did not operate independently but shaped how farmers’ interpreted economic and institutional outcomes. Institutional support further enhanced the impact of adoption on livelihood security, emphasizing its moderating role. The findings highlighted the need for integrated policies that can address structural barriers, foster capacity-building, and strengthen institutional networks meanwhile harnessing behavioral drivers. These findings suggest that policy interventions focusing solely on incentives are unlikely to succeed unless they are aligned with farmers’ behavioral orientations and supported by robust institutional mechanisms.
Poornima V, Amitabh Patnaik, K. Karunakaran· OIDA International Journal o...· 0 citations