Participatory Analysis of the Sustainability of Livelihoods in the Agro-ecosystem of Abesard, Iran

This paper reports some of the results of a study to explore vulnerabilitycontexts i.e. trends, shocks and local cultural practices that affect livelihood assetsi.e. natural capital (land, water, biodiversity), physical capital (infrastructure,machinery), human capital (labour, skills), financial capital (savings, disposableassets), and social capital (rights, support systems) in Abesard, Iran. It alsodescribes structures, including organizations (government, private), and processes,including policies, laws and incentives, that determine the livelihood strategies ofhouseholds (agricultural intensification or expansion, livelihood diversification, andmigration) which, in turn, impact the assets. Participatory vulnerability analysis(PVA) was used within a sustainable rural livelihoods (SRL) framework to assessthe differences of the livelihoods of poor, average, and better-off households.Findings revealed that land use change, climate change, market fluctuations andhigher mechanization were the main contexts of vulnerability that led to noticeabledifferences between households, particularly in human resources, landholdings,equipments, linkages, credits and markets, affecting the livelihood strategiespursued. In order to overcome these problems, poor households have trackedagricultural intensification, average households have followed livelihooddiversification, and better-off households have practiced agricultural biodiversityand intensification as livelihood strategies. Government has also provided someservices such as extension programs, macro- and micro-fertilizers, subsidies forequipment, and energy to compensate for limitations regarding assets and capital.Results showed that rural cooperatives as community based organizations havecontributed to finding new markets and also to enhancing farmers’ participation indecision making.