Multiple Pressures on Rural Livelihoods:Economic Liberalisation and Climate

Vulnerability in Mozambique

Siri Eriksen1, Julie Silva2, Gilead Mlay3, Roland Brouwer3,

Albertina Alage41 CICERO, Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo (

siri.eriksen@cicero.uio.no)2 Departement of Geography, Rutgers University, US

3 Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering, University of Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo

4 Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Maputo

Background

• Rural vulnerability, coping and complexity• Southern Africa project• Multiple pressures and rural livelihoods• Economic liberalisation in Mozambique• How is economic liberalisation shaping

climate vulnerability?• Are local networks changing in response

to climatic, liberalisation, and policy pressures?

Case studies

• Data collection in Matidze village, Mabalane District and Massavasse village, Chókwè District.

• Alage study conducted in Chongoena

Limpopo River Valley

Type of strategy Matidze Massavasse

Savings • storing food • saving money • storing food

Production diversification and adjustments

• grow sweet potato leaves in the river bed

• fishing • reacting quickly when the rains come

and plant (labour, draught animals, plough, seeds)

• plant maize rather than rice as drought preparation, not plant in segueira

• increase land cultivated with good rains, if not constrained by seeds or labour

• eat sweet potato leaves• eat domestic fruit

Consumption of forest based products

• eat wild fruit/tubers • eat wild fruit

Market based strategies • informal trade• business/baking bread• selling brew• sell wild fruit/tubers• sell charcoal, building material and

firewood• sell livestock and poultry casual

labour• artisanal work

• business selling brew and clothes• casual labour• mechanic• employment for commercial

farmers• domestic fruit• artisanal work

Social networks • borrow money from kin/neighbours• borrow and buy food from

kin/neighbours• credit from the shop• remittances

• borrow food from neighbours/kin• remittances• borrow money and seeds from

neighbours• borrow land• credit at shop

Food aid • food aid

Household Vulnerability

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Fewer

Mea

ls

Miss

ing S

choo

l

Receive

fore

casts

5>co

ping

strateg

ies

Negativ

e Effe

cts

Less

Res

pect

% o

f h

ou

seh

old

s

Matidze

Massavasse

Effects of environmental change and liberalisation – A comparison of two villages

Crop Composition

010

2030

4050

6070

8090

100

Maiz

e

Loca

l Bean

Pumpk

in

Cassav

a

Sweet P

otato

Sugar

Onion

Tomat

o

Peanu

t

Water

melo

nRice

% o

f h

ou

seh

old

s

Matidze

Massavasse

Household Economies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Non-Far

m A

ctivit

ies

Socia

l Netw

orks

Remittan

ces

Land

Owne

r

Cash C

rops

Sell S

urplu

s Cro

ps

Use fe

rtilize

r

Priorit

ize A

gricu

lture

Casual L

abor

% o

f h

ou

seh

old

s

Matidze

Massavasse

There were several factors that were constraining people from responding to climatic variability.

• Lack of access to information and technology as well as lack of money to invest in agriculture are key constraints to successful preparing, coping and recovering from climatic events in a regime of economic liberalisation.

• Improved seed varieties or irrigation techniques are far beyond the reach of the large majority of farmers.

• Market integration refers to the extent to which people participation in trade, either by buying consumption goods from traders or a market, or by selling or bartering agricultural and other local goods to traders or in a market.

• The extent to which goods are traded away from the local community to markets or buyers in distant towns or even abroad is an important aspect of market integration.

• Levels of market integration and investment can vary greatly between two areas of relatively close proximity (ca 160 km).

• Physical infrastructure and market infrastructure are key factors affecting spatial differences in levels of market integration.

• Farmer responses to climatic extremes (floods and droughts) differ between areas of low market integration and an area of higher market integration.

• With market integration, local employment opportunities change, with opportunities arising, for example, in commercial agriculture and trade.

• Market integration changes the social profile of vulnerability in terms of who has access to the new opportunities.

• Traditional coping strategies, including social networks of mutual help, are in some cases weakened with the emergence of market-based coping strategies.

• The market in Chókwè: Trading is an important activity for women, especially during drought. Vegetables are also increasing in importance both for local sales and for export out of the district.

• traditional storage of maize

• Local inequalities: A traditional house next to a house of conventional material and satellite dish, built using remittances from South Africa.