Paper short abstract:

Reflecting on the results of our husk-to-energy research project in Myanmar - our aim is to encourage thinking about the role of energy in poverty alleviation, vis-à-vis urgency and justice - what is needed now and what is fair, especially to smallholders in rice production.

Paper long abstract:

We present the results of a collaborative research project between Mercy Corps Myanmar, Renewable Energy Association of Myanmar with Biomass Energy Association of Myanmar and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester. The project explored the intersection between agricultural livelihoods and energy access through an investigation of social networks in rice and rice husk value chains in rural farming communities of Labutta in Myanmar's Lower Delta.

Rice production is an important agricultural activity in Myanmar, significantly contributing to its economy by providing income and employment to half of the country's population. However, because of lack of access to electricity in many rural areas, rice farmers have limited opportunities to increase their income. For many off-grid communities, heat and electricity for household lighting and livelihood activities are provided through steam and electricity produced from combustion or gasification of rice husk - a by product of rice milling. With an estimated over 3 million tonnes of rice husk produced every year, Myanmar has potential to utilise rice husk for income-generating activities and energy generation in order to support agricultural production and rural livelihoods.

This research mapped social networks in rice production and rice husk value chains in Labutta, Ayeyarwaddy Region. This allowed us to identify actors and network structures that could play important roles in supporting energy access and increasing livelihood opportunities for smallholders. Our interviews and group discussions with farmers and millers also revealed important challenges and opportunities for rice husk bioenergy within rural farming communities.

Paper short abstract:

How to ensure inclusive market participation and livelihood security of farmer households? Through an in-depth case study following mixed methods approach, we show that institutional design that provides a set of integrated services to enhance households' agency and mitigate their risks is required.

Paper long abstract:

In this study, we focus on the puzzle of institutional designs to ensure livelihood security of farmer households engaged in commercialized agriculture. Under the agriculture-led approach for development, connecting farmers with markets is an important means to improve their livelihood conditions. However, gains for farmer households from this channel is limited for a few reasons. First, smallholders tend to be excluded from market participation owing to poor resource endowments and high transaction costs. Second, commercialization in the absence of supporting ecosystem can be vulnerability-enhancing. Third, livelihood security of farmers hinges not only on returns from agricultural markets since they are located at the intersection of multiple markets. In this context, we aim to answer two questions: a) what ought to be an ideal institutional design to ensure inclusive market participation and livelihood security of farmer households? and b) how does such a design help a farmer household to access markets and ensure its livelihood security?

We first develop theoretical framework of an ideal institutional design for inclusive market participation. Next, we undertake in-depth case study of design orchestrated by an agricultural marketing cooperative in India that has semblance to the ideal design. To generate deeper insights, we follow mixed-methods strategy combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. Both primary and secondary sources of data are used for empirical analysis to separate the grain from the chaff. We show that a set of integrated services that enhances households' agency for market participation and mitigates their risks can ensure livelihood security.

Paper long abstract:

Despite liberalisation and commercialisation policies since the 1990s, the agricultural sector in India contributed to only 9% of total poverty reduction between 1991-2012 (Datt et al, 2020), but makes up 43% of India's workforce. Contesting structural transformation theory linking agricultural commercialisation with productivity led transitions to skilled non-farm jobs (De Janvry, 2010), in this paper I argue that crop failures and rising debt repayment pressures from agricultural commercialisation under climate change caused a distress induced deagrarianisation to make ends meet. In this paper, I conducted 94 interviews and 151 household surveys in rural Telangana, a semi-arid agrarian state in south India. I found that despite the ubiquitous adoption of genetically modified Bt cotton and groundwater irrigation since 2000, up to 70% of household incomes were from non-farm sources. Bt cotton and groundwater failures accounted for 47% of household debts. Furthermore, I show that both farm and non-farm incomes were still insufficient to repay debts or household expenses, as households faced average net losses of ~$1500 in 2018. This is a function of "jobless" economic growth in India for the last decade, as non-farm labour markets have only provided low skilled and menial opportunities (Mehra, 2019). To cope with economic penury, households engaged in what I call "risk indebtedness treadmills", selling land, doubling down on Bt cotton, and stacking credit to earn short term cash for debt repayment. Yet, long term, this only eroded assets and increased indebtedness, prolonging the livelihoods crisis.

Paper short abstract:

In Nigerian cities, rising temperatures and a reduction in water resources may threaten urban horticulture. Farmers have adapt to these effects, and these strategies are intersect with their socioeconomic status. Institutional adaptation needs to be strengthened to ensure sustainability.

Paper long abstract:

Urban horticulture is important for food security in Africa's cities. In much of Africa, the staple foods of maize, millet, rice and sorghum are typically accompanied by a vegetable sauce, and in urban areas, vegetable farmers are an important source of vital micronutrients. Nigeria has one of the fastest growing urban populations in the world and temperatures are expected to rise to up to 2.5 °C by 2060, with extreme heat days projected to increase significantly. Most climate adaptation studies in Africa focus on staple grains. In this study, we examine the adaptive strategies of horticulture farmers to rising temperatures in Kaduna, a large city in northern Nigeria. The research focuses on the adaptation of these farmers to changes of climate, and especially to heat. We conducted semi structured interviews with urban vegetable farmers . Our study finds that urban vegetable farmers view higher temperatures as impacting them in two important ways - a reduction in water resources irrigation and more heat days. Adaptation strategies include starting work earlier and taking longer breaks to avoid midday heat. We find that as vegetable farmers are overwhelmingly among the urban poor, they have intersecting adaptations to heat in their homes and on fields linked to thier socioeconomic status. For water resources, individual farmer adaptations only go so far, and to sustain urban horticulture, policy makers must play a larger role.