IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i5p2504-d755583.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Close Are We to Self-Provisioning? A Look at the Livelihood Strategies of Rural Households in the Southern Andean Region of Colombia

Author

Listed:
  • Héctor Eduardo Hernández

    (Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia
    Grupo de Investigación en Agroecosistemas y Conservación en Bosques Amazónicos GAIA, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180002, Colombia
    Facultad de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué 730001, Colombia)

  • Gustavo Adolfo Gutiérrez

    (Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia
    Grupo de Investigación en Agroecosistemas y Conservación en Bosques Amazónicos GAIA, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180002, Colombia
    Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia)

  • Isabel Gutiérrez-Montes

    (CATIE-Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica)

  • Juan Carlos Suárez

    (Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia
    Grupo de Investigación en Agroecosistemas y Conservación en Bosques Amazónicos GAIA, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180002, Colombia
    Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia)

  • Hernán J. Andrade

    (Grupo de Investigación PROECUT, Facultad de Ingeniería Agronómica, Universidad del Tolima, Ibagué 730001, Colombia)

  • Angie Paola Bernal

    (Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la Amazonia, Florencia 180001, Colombia)

  • Fernando Casanoves

    (CATIE-Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Turrialba 30501, Costa Rica)

  • Cornelia Butler Flora

    (Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1070, USA)

Abstract

Production for self-provisioning contributes to food security in rural territories; however, studies have indicated that this capacity is limited. We analyzed the impact of livelihood strategies on self-provisioning conditions in 162 rural households in the department of Huila, Colombia. We analyzed: a. source of foods; b. composition of home gardens; c. push and pull factors towards self-provisioning. We found that rural households are 79% dependent on grocery stores for their food. Only 51% of households have a home garden, with limited plant species diversity. Capacity for self-provisioning varies according to the livelihood strategies and capitals endowment of the household. Those households with a greater diversity of agricultural activities have higher capacity for self-provisioning. Conditions that are often the main objective of rural development programs, such as improving the economic income of families, turn out to be contradictory to the capacity to produce the food itself. For example, the larger the area to grow crops or keep livestock and the better the economic income, the greater the external dependence on food.

Suggested Citation

  • Héctor Eduardo Hernández & Gustavo Adolfo Gutiérrez & Isabel Gutiérrez-Montes & Juan Carlos Suárez & Hernán J. Andrade & Angie Paola Bernal & Fernando Casanoves & Cornelia Butler Flora, 2022. "How Close Are We to Self-Provisioning? A Look at the Livelihood Strategies of Rural Households in the Southern Andean Region of Colombia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2504-:d:755583
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2504/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2504/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ozgul Calicioglu & Alessandro Flammini & Stefania Bracco & Lorenzo Bellù & Ralph Sims, 2019. "The Future Challenges of Food and Agriculture: An Integrated Analysis of Trends and Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Frederick N. Numbisi & Dieudonne Alemagi & Ann Degrande & Frieke Van Coillie, 2021. "Farm Rejuvenation-Induced Changes in Tree Spatial Pattern and Live Biomass Species of Cocoa Agroforests in Central Cameroon: Insights for Tree Conservation Incentives in Cocoa Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Miguel A. Altieri & Clara I. Nicholls, 2010. "Agroecología: potenciando la agricultura campesina para revertir el hambre y la inseguridad alimentaria en el mundo," Revista de Economia Critica, Universidad Pablo de Olavide y Asociacion de Economia Critica, vol. 10, pages 62-74.
    4. Robin Kortright & Sarah Wakefield, 2011. "Edible backyards: a qualitative study of household food growing and its contributions to food security," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 28(1), pages 39-53, February.
    5. Nelson Mango & Byron Zamasiya & Clifton Makate & Kefasi Nyikahadzoi & Shephard Siziba, 2014. "Factors influencing household food security among smallholder farmers in the Mudzi district of Zimbabwe," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 625-640, July.
    6. Chanyalew Seyoum Aweke & Edward Lahiff & Jemal Yousuf Hassen, 2020. "The contribution of agriculture to household dietary diversity: evidence from smallholders in East Hararghe, Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(3), pages 625-636, June.
    7. Isabel Gutierrez-Montes & Mary Emery & Edith Fernandez-Baca, 2009. "The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and the Community Capitals Framework: The Importance of System-Level Approaches to Community Change Efforts," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 106-113, June.
    8. Wu, Wenbin & Yu, Qiangyi & You, Liangzhi & Chen, Kevin & Tang, Huajun & Liu, Jianguo, 2018. "Global cropping intensity gaps: Increasing food production without cropland expansion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 515-525.
    9. Pérez-Rincón, Mario & Vargas-Morales, Julieth & Martinez-Alier, Joan, 2019. "Mapping and Analyzing Ecological Distribution Conflicts in Andean Countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 80-91.
    10. Menozzi, Davide & Fioravanzi, Martina & Donati, Michele, 2015. "Farmer’s motivation to adopt sustainable agricultural practices," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 4(2), pages 1-23, August.
    11. Isabel Gutierrez-Montes & Jackeline Siles & Patricia Bartol & Alejandro C. Imbach, 2009. "Merging a Landscape Management Planning Approach With the Community Capitals Framework: Empowering Local Groups in Land Management Processes in Bocas del Toro, Panama," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 220-230, June.
    12. Cerdán, C.R. & Rebolledo, M.C. & Soto, G. & Rapidel, B. & Sinclair, F.L., 2012. "Local knowledge of impacts of tree cover on ecosystem services in smallholder coffee production systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 119-130.
    13. Lucie Sovová & Esther J. Veen, 2020. "Neither Poor nor Cool: Practising Food Self-Provisioning in Allotment Gardens in the Netherlands and Czechia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-18, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pedro Alexander, Velasquez-Vasconez & Astrid Viviana, Santacruz Benavides & Wilson Giovanny, Enríquez Rueda, 2024. "Farmer Preferences Regarding Andean Fruit Crops Across Six Municipalities in the Department of Nariño, Colombia," Journal of Agriculture and Crops, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 10(2), pages 50-58, 04-2024.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jan Vávra & Zdeňka Smutná & Vladan Hruška, 2021. "Why I Would Want to Live in the Village If I Was Not Interested in Cultivating the Plot? A Study of Home Gardening in Rural Czechia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Rizwan Ahmed, 2023. "Impact of Shortfall in Daily Wages on Food Insecurity Leading Towards Depression in Punjab's Urban Laborers During COVID-19," Magna Carta: Contemporary Social Science, 50sea, vol. 2(1), pages 44-54, March.
    3. Zhang, Shemei & Ma, Jiliang & Zhang, Liu & Sun, Zhanli & Zhao, Zhijun & Khan, Nawab, 2022. "Does adoption of honeybee pollination promote the economic value of kiwifruit farmers? Evidence from China," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14.
    4. Zhongen Niu & Huimin Yan & Fang Liu, 2020. "Decreasing Cropping Intensity Dominated the Negative Trend of Cropland Productivity in Southern China in 2000–2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Primrose Zama Ngema & Melusi Sibanda & Lovemore Musemwa, 2018. "Household Food Security Status and Its Determinants in Maphumulo Local Municipality, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Hazenbosch, Mirjam & Sui, Shen & Isua, Brus & Milner-Gulland, E.J. & Morris, Rebecca J. & Beauchamp, Emilie, 2022. "The times are changing: understanding past, current and future resource use in rural Papua New Guinea using participatory photography," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Yufei Cao & Salem Hamad Aldawsari & Maria Luiza Hrestic & Raul Adrian Lile & Cristina Baldan & Daniela Mihai & Marinela Barbulescu Tanascovici & Malik Shahzad Shabbir, 2025. "Does the Green Economy Influence Environmental Sustainability? Nexus Between Staple Food Crops Consumption and Total Factor Productivity," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 2800-2816, March.
    8. Quispe Conde, Yésica & Locatelli, Bruno & Vallet, Améline & Sevillano, Raúl Blas, . "Agroecología para la seguridad alimentaria y frente al cambio climático en Perú," Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales, Spanish Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 22(01).
    9. Salvador Rivas-Aceves & Sarah Schmidt, 2022. "Sustainable Gardening for Economic Inclusion, Poverty Reduction, and Culture Preservation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-23, November.
    10. Zainab Oyetunde-Usman & Kehinde Oluseyi Olagunju, 2019. "Determinants of Food Security and Technical Efficiency among Agricultural Households in Nigeria," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-13, October.
    11. Paola D'Antonio & Andi Mehmeti & Francesco Toscano & Costanza Fiorentino, 2023. "Operating performance of manual, semi-automatic, and automatic tractor guidance systems for precision farming," Research in Agricultural Engineering, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(4), pages 179-188.
    12. Keerthi Police & Vikas Gautam & Sagar Chandakavate & Rishi Dwesar, 2024. "Modeling determinants of farmers’ purchase behavior: A case of chemical pesticides," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(4), pages 9217-9245, April.
    13. Susan Matiku & Jethro Zuwarimwe & Ndivhuwo Tshipala, 2020. "Community-Driven Tourism Projects’ Economic Contribution to Community Livelihoods—A Case of Makuleke Contractual Park Community Tourism Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Paulo Escandón-Panchana & Gricelda Herrera-Franco & María Jaya-Montalvo & Sandra Martínez-Cuevas, 2025. "Geomatic tools used in the management of agricultural activities: a systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(7), pages 15275-15309, July.
    15. Makate, Clifton & Wang, Rongchang & Makate, Marshall & Mango, Nelson, 2017. "Impact of drought tolerant maize adoption on maize productivity, sales and consumption in rural Zimbabwe," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 56(01), March.
    16. Gräbner-Radkowitsch, Claudius & Strunk, Birte, 2023. "Degrowth and the Global South: The twin problem of global dependencies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    17. Shen, Ge & Yu, Qiangyi & Zhou, Qingbo & Wang, Cong & Wu, Wenbin, 2023. "From multiple cropping frequency to multiple cropping system: A new perspective for the characterization of cropland use intensity," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    18. Hodjo, Manzamasso & Dalton, Timothy & Nakelse, Tebila, 2021. "Cereal Land Allocation Under Weather and Price Uncertainties in West Africa," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315177, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. Alberto Diantini & Salvatore Eugenio Pappalardo & Tim Edwards Powers & Daniele Codato & Giuseppe Della Fera & Marco Heredia-R & Francesco Facchinelli & Edoardo Crescini & Massimo De Marchi, 2020. "Is this a Real Choice? Critical Exploration of the Social License to Operate in the Oil Extraction Context of the Ecuadorian Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    20. John Taylor & Sarah Lovell, 2014. "Urban home food gardens in the Global North: research traditions and future directions," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 31(2), pages 285-305, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2504-:d:755583. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.