2.3 Household livelihoods
This section illustrates the differences between the five village economies with figures on household income composition and information on time allocation. In the resource-rich villages, in particular among cotton growers, total income was considerably higher compared to the resource-poor villages (Table 2.1). Crop revenues, constituting on average 63 percent of total income, differed considerably across the villages. Households in the Dagari Dioula ward in the resource-rich accessible (RA2) village compensated the lack of crop revenues by supplementary income. The resource-poor isolated village lagged behind in supplementary income. Livestock revenues were on the average almost equally important across villages, only the resource-poor isolated village lagged behind in this respect. For the entire sample, supplementary income constituted slightly more than a quarter of total income. In both accessible villages, supplementary activities generated 46 and 37 percent of total income, respectively, in the resource-rich and resource-poor village. About two thirds of this income accrued to men. The Bwa households in the resource-rich villages (RA1 and RI) obtained almost two third of their net crop revenues from cotton cultivation. In contrast, the Dagari Dioula households in the resource-rich accessible village obtained only 11 percent of the crop revenues from cotton cultivation. In response to good cotton yields and high prices in 2000, in the second year the cotton share was higher (about 20 percent) in the latter village. Instead of cultivating cotton, the Dagari Dioula households cultivated maize and sorghum. Maize and cotton cultivation provided similar returns to labour. The resource-poor villages differed with respect to the share of millet in total net crop revenues. In the accessible village, where the land constraint is more present,
the share of millet was thrice the share in the isolated village. Revenues from other minor crops such as beans, sesame, and local vegetables were probably underreported. Interviews revealed that these crops plus crop residues such as cereal bran might add 5-10 percent to total crop income. Animal husbandry is generally characterised by low input levels and highly variable revenues. Additionally, animal losses due to death, theft or disappearance were frequently mentioned
during the survey. The conditions underlying these events are subject to a high degree of randomness and therefore not included in this survey. Because livestock revenues are subject to large variability, we use potential income from
animal husbandry in the analyses.1 Potential income is calculated as the change in herd value plus net sales plus the value of animal losses minus expenditures. The ratio actual - potential revenue provides information about livestock productivity rates. Livestock-related net cash flow provides information on short-term income strategies. Take-off rates, the ratio of net sales to herd value, vary from one year to another because of varying investment and cash requirements for other economic activities. Realised revenues were in both years noticeably lower than potential revenues. The average value of total livestock per household in the resource-rich villages was about twice the herd value of the households in the resource-poor isolated village. A small number of animals were entrusted to other households. In these cases I assume that herd take-off provides income to the owner while products (milk and manure) provide income to the herder.2 Compared to the resource-rich villages, people in the resource-poor villages worked more hours per week in farm and in supplementary activities (Table 2.2). The heavy farm workload is because the agricultural season is about three months shorter in the resource-poor zone. During the dry season people worked longer in order to compensate for the relatively low returns to labour. For example, in the resource-poor isolated village, many men, women and children worked long days, often from 7am to 7pm in the near-by gold mines. With an average of 23 hours per week, by far most of the labour time was allocated to supplementary activities during the dry season. During the wet season men allocated about 3 hours per week and women about 6 hours per week to supplementary activities. Supplementary activities were complementary to agriculture in most cases. In the resource-rich isolated village men allocated less time to upplementary activities during the dry season compared to the other villages. Better resource endowment combined with a weak infrastructure reduced the need and willingness to engage in supplementary activities. This seems to be more valid for men than for women. The relatively large involvement in supplementary activities by men in the resourcerich
accessible village (RA2) can be explained by a diversity of relatively good opportunities.