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. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.
    11. 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 Economía Crítica, Asociación de Economía Crítica, vol. 10, pages 62-74.
    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. George Pavlidis & Vassilios A. Tsihrintzis, 2018. "Environmental Benefits and Control of Pollution to Surface Water and Groundwater by Agroforestry Systems: a Review," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(1), pages 1-29, January.
    3. Carlos Durán Gabela & Bernardo Trejos & Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo & Amy Boren-Alpízar, 2022. "Sustainable Agriculture: Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude among University Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-11, November.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Lan, Xiao & Zhang, Qin & Xue, Haili & Liang, Haoguang & Wang, Bojie & Wang, Weijun, 2021. "Linking sustainable livelihoods with sustainable grassland use and conservation: A case study from rural households in a semi-arid grassland area, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    7. 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.
    8. Rachel M. Shellabarger & Rachel C. Voss & Monika Egerer & Shun-Nan Chiang, 2019. "Challenging the urban–rural dichotomy in agri-food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(1), pages 91-103, March.
    9. Muhammad Mumtaz Khan & Muhammad Tahir Akram & Rhonda Janke & Rashad Waseem Khan Qadri & Abdullah Mohammed Al-Sadi & Aitazaz A. Farooque, 2020. "Urban Horticulture for Food Secure Cities through and beyond COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    10. Church, A. & Mitchell, R. & Ravenscroft, N. & Stapleton, L.M., 2015. "‘Growing your own’: A multi-level modelling approach to understanding personal food growing trends and motivations in Europe," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 71-80.
    11. Tuyen Quang Tran & Huong Van Vu, 2021. "The impact of land fragmentation on food security in the North Central Coast, Vietnam," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(2), pages 327-345, May.
    12. 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).
    13. Leslie Gray & Laureen Elgert & Antoinette WinklerPrins, 2020. "Theorizing urban agriculture: north–south convergence," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 869-883, September.
    14. Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos & Georgios Kleftodimos & George Vlontzos & Panos M. Pardalos, 2023. "A systematic literature review of data envelopment analysis implementation in agriculture under the prism of sustainability," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-38, March.
    15. Simphiwe Innocentia Hlatshwayo & Temitope Oluwaseun Ojo & Albert Thembinkosi Modi & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi & Rob Slotow & Mjabuliseni Simon Cloapas Ngidi, 2022. "The Determinants of Market Participation and Its Effect on Food Security of the Rural Smallholder Farmers in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, South Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-16, July.
    16. Bhalla, Garima & Handa, Sudhanshu & Angeles, Gustavo & Seidenfeld, David, 2018. "The effect of cash transfers and household vulnerability on food security in Zimbabwe," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 82-99.
    17. Mai Chiem Tuyen & Prapinwadee Sirisupluxana & Isriya Bunyasiri & Pham Xuan Hung, 2022. "Perceptions, Problems and Prospects of Contract Farming: Insights from Rice Production in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    18. Jayasinghe, Maneka & Chai, Andreas & Ratnasiri, Shyama & Smith, Christine, 2017. "The power of the vegetable patch: How home-grown food helps large rural households achieve economies of scale & escape poverty," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 62-74.
    19. Quispe Conde, Yésica & Locatelli, Bruno & Vallet, Améline & Sevillano, Raúl Blas, 2022. "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), June.
    20. Morakinyo O Adetutu & Kayode A Odusanya & Eleni Stathopoulou & Thomas G Weyman-Jones, 2023. "Environmental regulation, taxes, and activism," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(2), pages 460-489.

    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.