Knowledge, Networks and Livelihood Strategies

KNOWLEDGE, NETWORKS AND LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES

Sponsoring Institution

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Project Status

COMPLETE

Funding Source

HATCH

Reporting Frequency

Annual

Accession No.

0213990

Grant No.

(N/A)

Cumulative Award Amt.

(N/A)

Proposal No.

(N/A)

Multistate No.

(N/A)

Project Start Date

Apr 1, 2008

Project End Date

Mar 31, 2013

Grant Year

(N/A)

Program Code

[(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(N/A)
COLUMBIA,MO 65211

Performing Department
Social Sciences

Non Technical Summary
Low income producers are able to adopt new technology only if they can fit these technologies inter their existing production systems and if they have access to the resources needed to adopt them. Studying local knowledge systems and social networks can identify barriers to the adoption of new technology, the adoption of alternative crops and the access to new markets. Purpose is to identify vulnerable livelihood strategies and identify ways that information about markets and new technologies can reduce risk and enhance food security.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
131	6099	3080	10%
132	0430	3080	15%
601	6030	3010	15%
606	6299	3010	15%
611	6099	3010	10%
803	6099	3080	35%

Knowledge Area
601 - Economics of Agricultural Production and Farm Management; 803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 611 - Foreign Policy and Programs; 132 - Weather and Climate; 606 - International Trade and Development; 131 - Alternative Uses of Land;

Subject Of Investigation
0430 - Climate; 6099 - People and communities, general/other; 6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
3010 - Economics; 3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

limited resource farmers

Goals / Objectives
Farmer strategies for reducing risk are a function of their knowledge base and their access to information and resources. Looking at the relationship between strategies used and access to information can reveal ways for optimizing production systems to reduce risks and may point the way to bottlenecks that prevent the development of sustainable resource management systems. This research will examine how the location of low income farm families in networks and their knowledge base either enables them or prevents them from developing sustainable livelihood strategies. Specific objectives are 1) to identify livelihood strategies of low income farmers; 2) identify knowledge base of farmers using these strategies; 3) to identify the social networks that farmers with a given strategy access, and 4) to describe how changes in knowledge base or network membership might improve farmer livelihoods.

Project Methods
Communities in three Bolivian municipios (counties) which have food insecurity and large populations of vulnerable poor farm families will be identified and the risks that the confront will be evaluated using participatory research approaches. Once they have been identified, about 600 households will be surveyed to identify the livelihood strategies used be different segments of the population. These surveys will be followed by case studies of farm decision making and trials of technology packages that have potential for reducing risk and improving food security.

Progress 04/01/08 to 03/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences reached by this project include local governments and community leaders and the national weather service. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In the case of agro-forestry results presented at annual agroforestry conference and with meetings with stakeholders and by publishing in refereed journals . In the case of immigrants results were presented to interested stakeholders at the annual Cambio de Colores conference held each year for persons interested in immigrant issues in Missouri and by publishing in refereed journals. Results of climate adaptation studies in the Andes published in refereed journals. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The research team was able to publish research results under all areas of the project to further understanding of livelihood strategies in rural Missouri for Latino immigrants, for producers interested in agroforestry and small farmers in the Andes.

Publications

Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Valdivia, C., C. Barbieri, and M. Gold. In the Middle of the Road between Forestry and Farming: Policy and Environmental Implications of the Barriers Hindering Agroforestry Adoption. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics 60(2):155-175
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2011 Citation: Garrett, K. A., G. A. Forbes, S. Savary, P. Skelsey, A. H. Sparks, C. Valdivia, A. H. C. van Bruggen, L. Willocquet, A. Djurle, E. Duveiller, H. Eckersten, S. Pande, C. Vera Cruz, and J. Yuen. 2011. Complexity in Climate Change Impacts: An Analytical Framework for Effects Mediated by Plant Disease. Plant Pathology. 60: 15-30.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Barbieri, C., and C. Valdivia. 2010. Recreation and Agroforestry: Examining New Dimensions of Multifunctionality in Family Farms. Journal of Rural Studies. 26(4): 465-473.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2010 Citation: Barbieri, C., and C. Valdivia. 2010. Recreational Multifunctionals and Its Implications for Agroforestry Diffusion. Agroforestry Systems. 79: 518
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Valdivia, C., and A. Dannerbeck. 2009. Moving Around to Get By and Try to Get Ahead: Immigration experiences in new settlement communities of the Midwest. Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education 12 (3): 29-41.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Valdivia, C., and C. Poulos. 2009. Factors Affecting Farm Operators Interest in Incorporating Riparian Buffers and Forest Farming Practices in Northeast and Southeast Missouri. Agroforestry Systems. 75 (1): 61-71.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2009 Citation: Arbuckle, J. G. Jr., C. Valdivia, A. Raedeke, J. Green, and J. S. Rikoon. 2009. Non-Operator Landowner Interest in Agroforestry Practices in Two Missouri Watersheds. Agroforestry Systems. 75 (1): 73-82.
Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2008 Citation: Dozi, P., and C. Valdivia. 2008. Vulnerabilities and Economics Wellbeing of Hispanics in Non-Metro Missouri. Latino(a) Research Review. 6 (3): 65-92.

Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Organized the Cambio de Colores conference on rural Latiinos in June 2012 and edited the proceedings. Worked with the McKnight Foundation to identify social science research needs for agronomists and rural development workers in the Andean Region. Project leverage $80,000 from the Mcknight Foundation to continue work. PARTICIPANTS: Project provided training for Bolivian collaborators in Social Science research methods and for South African collaborators in participatory research. Collaborating institutions include the McKnight Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, the International Potato Center, the Kwanalu Farmers Association (South Africa), the Universidad Mayor de San Andres, World Neighbors, the Agro-forestry research Center (U of Mo). TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Results of Andean research have led the Mcknight Foundation to fund and organize and international conference on climate variability and local knowledge to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia in September 2012. Received funding from Templeton Foundation to replicate the Andean work in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Publications

Aguilera, J., P. P. Motavalli, M. A. Gonzales, and C. Valdivia. 2012. Initial and Residual Effects of Organic and Inorganic Amendments on Soil Properties in a Potato-Based Cropping System in the Bolivian Andean Highlands. American Journal of Experimental Agriculture 2(4):641-666.
Holderieath, J., C. Valdivia, L. Godsey, and C. Barbieri. 2012. The potential for carbon offset trading to provide added incentive to adopt silvopasture and alley cropping in Missouri. Agroforestry Systems. 86: 345-353. On-line first. DOI 10.1007/s10457-012-9543-3
Garcia, M., E. Yucra and J. Gilles. 2012 "Cambio climatico y cambio de sistema productivo de quinua en el Altiplano Boliviano, percepciones y realidades" Revista Agricultura Ecologica 7(14);10-13.
Garrett, K.A., A. Dobson, J. Kroschel, B. Natarajan, S. Orlandini, S. Randolph, H. E. Z. Tonnang, and C. Valdivia. 2012. The effects of climate variability and the color of weather tie series on agricultural diseases and pests, and on decisions for their management. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Published on-line: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.04.018.
Valdivia, C., C. Barbieri, and M. Gold. 2012. Between Forestry and Farming: Policy and Environmental Implications of the Barriers to Agroforestry Adoption. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics. 60 (2012): 155-175.
Valdivia, C., S. Jeanetta, L. Y. Flores, A. Morales and D. Martinez. 2012. Latino/a Wealth and Livelihood Strategies in Rural Midwestern Communities. Choices 1st Quarter, 27(1). www.choicesmagazine.org/choice-magazine/theme-articles/rural-wealth-c reation/
Valdivia, C., and L. Y. Flores. 2012. Factors Affecting the Job Satisfaction of Latino/a Immigrants in the Midwest. Journal of Career Development. 39(1 February):31-49 DOI: 10.1177/0894845310386478.

Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Participated in the IARU International Scientific Conference on Climate Change, Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions in Cpenhagen, Denmark March 12-14, 2009. Organized a conference on impacts of Climate Change in La Paz, Bolivia in July 2009. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences for the climate change work are USAID, the UNDP, the climate change communities in Bolivia and Peru and non-profit organizations that work with small farmers in the Peru and Bolivian highlands. Target audiences for the agroforestry work are researchers and extensionists in the area of natural resource management. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Although changes in temperature and precipitation patterns have been demonstrated in the Andes, there has been little emphasis on adaptation. We worked with the Bolivian National Program on Climate Change, the Bolivian and Peruvian national weather services (SEHNAMI Bolivia and SEHNAMI Peru) to develop strategies for downscaling weather forecasts and incorporating adaptation strategies. Worked with the McKnight foundation to add a climate change component to their Andea Crops Initiative. This program began in September 2009.

Publications

Maria A Figueroa-Armijos (2009) Strategies to develop market access in the Bolivian Highlands. M.Sc. Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri.
K.A. Garrett, , G. Forbes, S. Pande, S. Savary, A. Sparks, C. Valdivia, C. Vera Cruz and L. Willocquet. (2009) Anticipating and responding to biological complexity in the effects of climate change on agriculture. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 6: 372007.
Jere Gilles and Corinne Valdivia (2009) Local forecast communication in the Altiplano, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 90(1):85-91.
Corinne Valdivia and Christine Poulos (2009) Factors affecting farm operator's interest in incoroporating riparian buffers and forest farming practices in Northeast and Southeast MIssouri. Agroforestry Systems 75(1):61-71)
Lisa Marie Rees, (2009) What is the impact of livelihood strategis on farmers'climate risk perceptions in the Bolivian highlands M.Sc. thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri.