Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Economic resources
OG production is one of a portfolio of agricultural and livelihood strategies
pursued by OG households in both communities. Among interviewed OG
households, rice and sugarcane are cultivated
in addition to
crops that are grown
by non-OG households. Both OG and non-OG farmers grow rain-fed lowland
rice and maize, and a vareity of crops including sunflower, cassava, pigeon pea,
cowpeas, bananas, pumpkin, and indigenous and improved vegetables for home
consumption and sale. Many OG and non-OG households in Lungo village
keep livestock, and poorer households in both communities engage in petty
trading activities connected to local natural resources, such as fishing, brick
production, production of local brew, and selling vegetables and snacks from
local food stands. Better-off farmers also engage in processing and sale of crops
to larger towns within the district. The ability to diversify economically and
gain access to a broader range of income sources is an important component of
adaptive capacity for dealing with uncertain production environments (Eriksen
et al. 2005; Mortimore and Adams 2001; Ellis 1998). In the literature on OG
schemes, diversification of income sources is also associated with enhanced
bargaining positions for farmers, higher overall income levels and reduced
exposure to risks (Glover 1990: 308).
The MSE OG scheme also enhances adaptive capacity by providing
stability
to participating households' incomes. Although at the time of the fieldwork,
OG farmers and associations claimed that there was a widespread problem of
farmers converting their cane fields to other crops due to low prices and late
cane payments (see also: Assess Consulting 2011; Matango 2006), observations
over the course of the fieldwork indicated that they continued to grow cane.
Several factors explain this. Once it has been established, sugarcane, a perennial
crop, requires less labour compared to rice, which is an important cash crop in
the area. According to farmers, it is also more drought-tolerant than rice, and
provides some income security for elderly, sick and female-headed households
with a shortage of labour power to devote to labour-intensive farming activities.
However, this security function may be compromised by adverse weather
conditions that disrupt cane harvesting and delivery to the factory, as discussed
under the section on 'risk management'. The labour requirements for cane
cultivation complement those employed for growing food and cash crops, as
place between July and December, outside the main rainy season in which food
(maize, rice) crops are sown. Cane payments, which arrive as a lump sum, also
perform a savings role, enabling farmers to pay for large expenditures such as
school fees and home improvements.
In contrast to sugarcane, rice provides a degree of
flexibility
to household
incomes. Rice stores well as paddy (unmilled grain), compared to maize and
other legumes. It can be consumed or traded for maize, or saved and sold in small
quantities throughout the year, as household food and cash needs arise. The rice
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