Livelihood opportunities?

Even the most remote villages are usually linked to towns and cities - through flows of people, goods, money and information. In the peri-urban interface, changes in livelihood patterns are more profound as a result of transformations in land use and employment opportunities. While this can lead to better prospects for some, for others this can result in increased social and economic marginalisation.

Demand from urban consumers stimulates agricultural and horticultural production, especially high-value, perishable fresh vegetables and fruit which can be rapidly transported to urban markets. To be able to respond to urban demand, producers need access to natural resources, especially land and water. In sub-Saharan Africa land tenure systems often include customary and statutory tenure. In the peri-urban interface, where these two systems often overlap, formal and informal land market transactions tend to exclude low-income groups. In parts of semi-arid South India, only farmers with access to water wells and boreholes have been able to switch from paddy cultivation to more profitable horticulture.

Availability of labour - either family or waged - is crucial for low-income peri-urban farmers, but is affected by competing opportunities in non-farm employment. Access to financial support to invest in agricultural intensification is severely restricted for many African smallholders following the decline of formal credit systems and agricultural subsidies.

Better access to urban markets is key to increasing peri-urban farming incomes. Poor physical infrastructure usually entails high transport costs which smallholders can ill afford. Social relations between producers and traders are important. In West Africa, small-scale traders, usually women, are a main source of credit for small farmers, to whom the traders are often linked by kin or ethnicity, thus preventing overly exploitative relations. However, a lack of storage and processing facilities can result in losses for producers and traders, especially of highly perishable horticultural produce, which jeopardises this small-scale credit system.

These constraints mean that farming in peri-urban areas is increasingly dominated by wealthier commercial producers, often based in nearby cities or towns. Yet, growing demand for workers in services and manufacturing enterprises based in or near the city provides non-farm income-generating opportunities for those living in the peri-urban interface. However, these opportunities depend on the characteristics of the urban centre and region, and are not homogenous in all areas of the peri-urban interface. In predominantly agricultural areas, trade in farm produce can be significant. Closer to built-up areas service activities tend to dominate, whilst peri-urban industrial estates provide employment in manufacturing.

Opportunities to acquire new skills and to access affordable transport can enable peri-urban residents to take up non-farm employment. However, access to education has declined in many parts of Africa. Limited transport facilities also confine people to informal sector jobs such as petty trade and renting out accommodation in low-income areas, resulting in little opportunity for accumulating capital or expanding businesses.

As the peri-urban interface becomes increasingly urbanised, the assets on which people construct their livelihoods change. Policy initiatives must be tailored to the specific needs and priorities of local residents, especially those with low incomes, and to the specific characteristics of the diverse and constantly transforming peri-urban interface. There are several specific policy implications:

• Efficient and affordable transport systems are crucial to ensuring access to labour and markets.
• Education and skills are essential for obtaining non-farm employment.
• Access to land and security of tenure are key for farming and residential purposes.
• Financial assets and access to credit can make a world of difference between reaping the benefits of newly emerging opportunities or of being marginalised by rapid processes of transformation.

Cecilia Tacoli
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
3 Endsleigh Gardens
London WC1H 0DD
UK

T + 44 (0) 207 388 2117

cecilia.tacoli@iied.org

See also
IIED Rural-Urban Interactions and Livelihood Strategies Working and Briefing Papers at www.iied.org/rural_urban

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