Unit 2 - Practice Quiz

According to Chambers and Conway (1992), a livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (stores, resources, claims, and access), and activities required for a means of living.

The Sustainable Livelihoods Framework identifies five types of capital (assets) upon which people build their livelihoods: Human, Social, Natural, Physical, and Financial capital.

Natural capital refers to the natural resource stocks (soil, water, air, genetic resources, etc.) and environmental services from which resource flows and services useful for livelihoods are derived.

The Vulnerability Context refers to shocks (e.g., floods, conflicts), trends (e.g., population growth), and seasonality (e.g., price fluctuations) that are external to the household but impact their livelihood.

A Farming System is a decision-making unit comprising the farm household, cropping, and livestock systems, which transforms land, capital, and labor into products. A cropping system is a sub-system dealing only with crop sequences and management.

Social capital refers to the social resources upon which people draw in pursuit of their livelihood objectives, such as networks, membership in groups (like Self Help Groups), and relationships of trust.

The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) was developed and popularized by the UK's DFID in the late 1990s as a way to understand and address poverty.

According to the standard definition, a livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks, maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets, and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for the next generation.

Physical capital comprises the basic infrastructure and producer goods needed to support livelihoods, such as transport, shelter, water management structures, energy, and tools.

Shocks are sudden, unpredictable events such as natural disasters, epidemics, or civil conflict. Trends are gradual, and seasonality is predictable.

Mixed farming involves the integration of crops and livestock, where the by-products of one enterprise (e.g., crop residues) serve as inputs for the other (e.g., fodder), and vice versa (manure).

Diversification involves constructing a diverse portfolio of activities and social support capabilities to survive and improve standards of living, primarily to reduce the risk associated with relying on a single source of income.

Synergy in farming systems (e.g., Integrated Farming Systems) refers to the positive interaction where the output of the combined system is higher than the sum of individual components (e.g., Fish + Rice).

The Rice-Wheat cropping system is the most prevalent and intensive farming system in the Indo-Gangetic plains (Punjab, Haryana, UP), contributing significantly to India's food security.

Transforming Structures (government, private sector) and Processes (laws, policies, culture) determine access to assets and the terms of exchange between different types of capital.

Human capital represents the quality of labor resources available to households, including education, skills, health, and nutrition levels.

Jhum or Shifting Cultivation involves clearing a piece of forest land by slashing and burning, cultivating it for a few years, and then abandoning it for regeneration while moving to a new plot. It is prevalent in Northeast India.

Agroforestry is a land-use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland, offering diverse products and ecosystem services.

Subsistence farming is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families.

Financial capital denotes the financial resources that people use to achieve their livelihood objectives, including available stocks (savings) and regular inflows of money (pensions, remittances).

IFS aims to minimize dependence on external inputs by recycling waste and by-products within the system (e.g., using manure for crops, crop residue for feed). Complete dependence on chemicals contradicts the IFS philosophy.

For smallholders, livestock acts as a 'living bank' or insurance against crop failure, provides draught power, manure, and daily income (e.g., milk), reducing vulnerability.

Rice-Fish farming requires standing water, making it suitable for high-rainfall and coastal areas or river deltas found in states like Kerala, West Bengal, and parts of the Northeast.

Specialized farming is defined when 50% or more of the total income is derived from a single source or enterprise (e.g., a tea estate or a specialized dairy farm).

The 'Asset Pentagon' is the visual representation of the five types of capital (Human, Social, Natural, Physical, Financial) in the DFID framework.

Linear Programming (LP) is a widely used mathematical technique in farm management to determine the optimal combination of farm enterprises to maximize profit or minimize cost subject to resource constraints.

Seasonality refers to predictable shifts across the year, such as the 'lean season' before harvest when food stocks are low and prices are high, or seasonal demand for agricultural labor.

Silvopastoral systems involve the integration of trees (woody perennials) with pasture and livestock.

Outcomes are the achievements of livelihood strategies. They include higher income, improved well-being (health, self-esteem), reduced vulnerability, improved food security, and sustainable use of natural resources.

Dryland farming is practiced in regions with low rainfall (typically less than 750mm) and no assured irrigation, relying heavily on moisture conservation techniques.

Processes include the 'rules of the game', such as laws, regulations, culture, and power relations that determine how structures (organizations) operate and interact with people.

The Farming Systems Approach views the farm as a holistic unit, analyzing the interdependencies between farm household, crops, livestock, and off-farm activities to solve problems.

Diversified farming involves multiple enterprises (crops, livestock, dairy, etc.) where no single enterprise dominates the income stream (contributing less than 50%), thereby reducing risk.

Ecologically, carrying capacity is the maximum population size of a species (including humans/livestock) that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water, and other necessities available.

Peri-urban agriculture takes place on the fringes of urban areas, capitalizing on the proximity to markets to produce high-value, perishable items like vegetables, poultry, and dairy.

Agrosilvopastoral systems combine all three major components: Agricultural crops, Forest trees (Silvi), and Pasture/Animals.

The Farming Systems Approach is participatory and demand-driven because it starts by understanding the farmers' priorities, constraints, and needs rather than imposing top-down technologies.

The scope represents the extent of activities, covering the integration of multiple enterprises (crop, livestock, poultry, fishery, sericulture, etc.) and the entire value chain from production to marketing.

Trends are long-term patterns that affect livelihoods, such as demographic changes, technological trends, or the gradual depletion of natural resources.

The Green Revolution was characterized by the introduction of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs), irrigation, and chemical fertilizers, promoting intensive systems like Rice-Wheat, particularly in North India.

While frameworks vary, information flows through social networks (Social Capital) or enhances knowledge (Human Capital). In some extended frameworks, it's a distinct capital, but standard DFID models link it to Social/Human capital.

Biological determinants include crops, livestock, weeds, pests, and diseases. Topography is physical, while markets and labor are socio-economic.

The intensive Rice-Wheat system has led to severe ecological consequences, primarily the over-extraction of groundwater and decline in soil organic carbon, threatening the long-term sustainability of livelihoods.

In coastal areas prone to salinity or waterlogging, digging farm ponds to harvest rainwater allows for freshwater aquaculture and provides irrigation for vegetables on the bunds (dikes).

FSR is diagnostic and problem-solving research conducted on farmers' fields with their active participation to develop appropriate technologies.

Roads, electricity, and water supply infrastructure are classified as Physical Capital. Their absence limits market access and production efficiency.

Value addition involves changing the form of the raw product (e.g., wheat to flour, milk to cheese) or packaging it to fetch a higher price in the market, thereby enhancing income.

Crop rotation involves growing different crops in succession on the same land. Legumes (pulses) fix atmospheric nitrogen, benefiting the subsequent cereal crop.

The shape of the pentagon shows the access profile of a household to different assets. A distorted pentagon indicates inequality in asset access (e.g., high social capital but low financial capital).

Sustainable systems must balance economic profitability (efficiency) with social benefits (equity) and environmental preservation (ecological integrity).