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enhancing the adaptive capacity of smallholders is a starting point of adaptation, it
is essential to understand how their livelihoods are composed, accessed, and sustained within the local agroecological and socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore,
it is also essential to boost psychological resilience through personal transformation
(refer to the next section).
According to Ellis (2000, p. 10), ‘A livelihood comprises the assets (natural,
physical, human, financial and social capital), the activities, and the access to these
(mediated by institutions and social relations that together determine the living
gained by the individual or household’. Assets are the basis on which livelihoods are
built. They are stocks of capital or the means of production available to a given
individual, household, or community that can be used in their livelihood activities
(Ellis 2000). Five types of livelihood assets have been described as follows (Carney
1998; DFID 1999): (i) natural capital (e.g. land, water, biological resources), (ii)
social capital (networks and connectedness, membership in groups, kinship, trust),
(iii) human capital (skills, knowledge, labour, health), (iv) (UN) physical capital
(infrastructure and technologies), and (v) financial capital (stocks of cash or equivalent derived from income or savings). Limited access to livelihood assets often
shapes poverty and consequently the lack of adaptive capacity. A focus on assets
helps to establish what resources are available and accessible to aid in adaptation.
The ability of a livelihood to be able to cope with and recover from stresses and
shocks is central to the definition of sustainable livelihoods (Scoones 1998). The
range and combination of activities and choices that individuals and households
undertake, depending on the range and the degree of utilisation and diversification
of their available asset base in order to achieve their livelihood goals, result in different livelihood strategies. Livelihood strategies are composed of activities that
generate the means of household survival (Ellis 2000). They are dynamic and
respond to changing pressures and opportunities, resulting in adoption and adaptation over time. In the context of smallholders, households with access to agricultural
means of production have the choice between both agriculture and non-agricultural
economic activities. Different adaptation strategies within agriculture may be also
considered, such as extensification versus intensification, as well as ‘exit options’
such as off- and non-farm activities, migration, and remittance strategies. It should
be mentioned, however, that if the extensification approach increases the land area
needed to feed the world, then it is not a viable option.
Most rural households depend on a diverse portfolio of activities and income
sources, where agricultural production is featured alongside a range of different
activities, which, together, contribute to survival and increased well-being (Ellis
2000). Livelihood diversification is pursued for a mixture of motivations, and these
vary according to context: a desire to accumulate or to invest, a need to spread risk
or maintain incomes, a requirement to adapt to survive in eroding circumstances, or
a combination of these (Hussein and Nelson 1998). The core aim is to achieve sustainability of livelihoods, which implies that livelihoods are stable, resilient, resistant, and robust when it comes to external and internal stresses (Scoones 2009). The
stronger, more resilient, and more varied the asset base, the greater the people’s
adaptive capacity and the level of security and sustainability of their future livelihoods (Cooper et al. 2008).
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…
enhancing the adaptive capacity of smallholders is a starting point of adaptation, it
is essential to understand how their livelihoods are composed, accessed, and sustained within the local agroecological and socioeconomic conditions. Furthermore,
it is also essential to boost psychological resilience through personal transformation
(refer to the next section).
According to Ellis (2000, p. 10), ‘A livelihood comprises the assets (natural,
physical, human, financial and social capital), the activities, and the access to these
(mediated by institutions and social relations that together determine the living
gained by the individual or household’. Assets are the basis on which livelihoods are
built. They are stocks of capital or the means of production available to a given
individual, household, or community that can be used in their livelihood activities
(Ellis 2000). Five types of livelihood assets have been described as follows (Carney
1998; DFID 1999): (i) natural capital (e.g. land, water, biological resources), (ii)
social capital (networks and connectedness, membership in groups, kinship, trust),
(iii) human capital (skills, knowledge, labour, health), (iv) (UN) physical capital
(infrastructure and technologies), and (v) financial capital (stocks of cash or equivalent derived from income or savings). Limited access to livelihood assets often
shapes poverty and consequently the lack of adaptive capacity. A focus on assets
helps to establish what resources are available and accessible to aid in adaptation.
The ability of a livelihood to be able to cope with and recover from stresses and
shocks is central to the definition of sustainable livelihoods (Scoones 1998). The
range and combination of activities and choices that individuals and households
undertake, depending on the range and the degree of utilisation and diversification
of their available asset base in order to achieve their livelihood goals, result in different livelihood strategies. Livelihood strategies are composed of activities that
generate the means of household survival (Ellis 2000). They are dynamic and
respond to changing pressures and opportunities, resulting in adoption and adaptation over time. In the context of smallholders, households with access to agricultural
means of production have the choice between both agriculture and non-agricultural
economic activities. Different adaptation strategies within agriculture may be also
considered, such as extensification versus intensification, as well as ‘exit options’
such as off- and non-farm activities, migration, and remittance strategies. It should
be mentioned, however, that if the extensification approach increases the land area
needed to feed the world, then it is not a viable option.
Most rural households depend on a diverse portfolio of activities and income
sources, where agricultural production is featured alongside a range of different
activities, which, together, contribute to survival and increased well-being (Ellis
2000). Livelihood diversification is pursued for a mixture of motivations, and these
vary according to context: a desire to accumulate or to invest, a need to spread risk
or maintain incomes, a requirement to adapt to survive in eroding circumstances, or
a combination of these (Hussein and Nelson 1998). The core aim is to achieve sustainability of livelihoods, which implies that livelihoods are stable, resilient, resistant, and robust when it comes to external and internal stresses (Scoones 2009). The
stronger, more resilient, and more varied the asset base, the greater the people’s
adaptive capacity and the level of security and sustainability of their future livelihoods (Cooper et al. 2008).
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…