Thumbnail Image

Africa’s unique transformation from a household livelihood strategies perspective

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Policy brief

Series title FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief

Series number No. 66

Synopsis (short abstract) Livelihood diversification continues to be the norm rather than the exception globally. This means that, to be successful, livelihood support interventions need to consider households’ decisions in terms of the distribution of labour, time and risk management strategies. The main message of this policy brief is that, at similar levels of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and of agricultural value-added in GDP, rural households in sub-Saharan African countries show greater specialization in on-farm activities and lower participation in non-agricultural wage employment. Therefore, for African households to shift to opportunity-led pathways, there is urgent need to boost social protection and invest in education, while enhancing the agricultural productivity of small-scale producers and value addition.

The findings of this brief have been adapted from the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 23-05 Economic transformation and diversification towards off-farm income in rural and urban areas – A global update with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2023. Africa’s unique transformation from a household livelihood strategies perspective. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 66. Rome. 


https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4503en

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Economic transformation and diversification towards off-farm income in rural and urban areas
    A global update with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa
    2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This working paper is the update of an earlier cross-country study on household income sources using an expanded harmonized dataset. The analysis presented covers a total of 93 surveys representing 41 countries – nearly double that of the previous study – to depict rural and urban households’ livelihood strategies across different levels of economic development. The findings shed light on the relationship between household livelihood activity portfolios and per capita gross domestic product, confirming a picture of multiple livelihood activities across the rural and urban space, at different levels of development. However, we find an emerging divergence between countries from sub-Saharan Africa and those from the rest of the world regarding employment and income generation.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Book (stand-alone)
    Village chicken production system in rural Africa - household food security and gender issues 1998
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This publication presents the results of a field study on village chicken production and health and an analysis of their importance in household and national economies. The research was carried out under an FAO André Mayer Research Fellowship, granted to scientists whose research inputs may contribute to FAO's global work towards improved food security. Poultry is viewed within FAO's Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) as a crucial element in the struggle for sustained food production and poverty alleviation. In rural Africa, the poultry production systems are mainly based on scavenging indigenious chickens, which are found in virtually all villages and households. Over 70 percent of the poultry products and 20 percent of the animal protein intake in most African countries come from this sector. The author, with over 20 years experience in agricultural research and development in rural farming systems of Africa, promotes a holistic multidisciplinary approach to rural poultry production, embracing institutional and organizational capacity building. Gender issues are strongly emphasized. A model for village chicken production systems is presented, and the text is supported by a comprehensive review of the global literature on the subject. The study confirms that enhanced village chicken production forms the basis for transforming the rural poultry sector from subsistance to a more economically productive base. The material is particularly pertinent to countries par ticipating in the SPFS, where village chicken production will have a special impact in increasing household food security and gender equity.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Book (stand-alone)
    Safety nets to protect consumers from possible adverse effects 1997
    Also available in:
    No results found.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.