Analytical framework of the rural households’ vulnerability Gorée, Senegal - June, 2008

Why analyzing the vulnerability of the farm households?  Our goal is: to engage a discussion on the most vulnerable HH and the most vulnerable regions in the 7 RS countries based on the field surveys to identify:  the characteristics of vulnerability  the types of vulnerable households  differences between surveyed areas to follow up on the discussion on types of regional trajectories (“winners”, “losers”)

What information do we have to discuss vulnerability?  Information on the current situation of the households Characteristics: dependency ratio, education… Assets Activities and income …  Dynamic variables Capitalization (land, herd, equipment) Food security and health Quality of housing Evolution of activities

How to estimate and compare vulnerability?  Building composite and synthetic indicators based on a specific scoring referring to the characteristics of the local context using the same range of values  The same scaling allows comparisons between different situations  Each indicator should be locally scored with respect to its own context and has only a meaning in this context

What is the proposal?  An analytical framework which integrates: multi-scale dimensions: agro-ecological, socio- territorial, economic multi-risks dimensions: climate risks, socio- economic shocks etc. local knowledge: specificity, contextualization

1. A three-component approach

What are the components of vulnerability for farm households?  Agro-ecological Climate risks: rainfed agriculture vs irrigation Fertility and pests management Biodiversity: diversification of crops …  Socio-territorial: Connection to the territory: marketing channel, social capital, non-farm activities… Services provided by the territory: infrastructure, health, schooling…  Economic Assets Diversification of activities Economic earnings and dependence to credit

Example of indicators

2. The scoring process

 For every variable, the range of values or the type of qualitative answers = score 1, 2, or 3  This definition is context related Sometimes it can be done at the national level Most often it implies a regional approach Scoring vulnerability 1= low2= medium3 = high Scale of vulnerability

Example of scoring a component Agro-environmental Component Diversification of crops % of rainfed land Access to water … Household 1Score = 1,2 or 3 Household 2Score = 1,2 or 3 … Household nScore = 1,2 or 3 TOTALAverage of the scores for the component per locality/region

What kind of results can we expect?

Example

Ex. of comparison of two regions Source: IDERICA - Etude prospective sur la caractérisation et le suivi de la durabilité des exploitations agricoles françaises Wine production region Mix animal x crop production region