The IncomeLivelihood Matrix The incomelivelihood matrix is a
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The Income-Livelihood Matrix • The income-livelihood matrix is a technique that can be used to get a rapid idea of farmer’s strategies for making a living. • The matrix exercise can be done with individual farmers • Doing the exercise with men and women and with farmers from different wealth groups is useful for learning how the strategies of these groups differ
How to do an incomelivelihood matrix • Use a large sheet of newsprint paper and provide 100 counters (stones, maize or bean seeds…. ) • Ask farmers to list all the activities on and off the farm that generate income, food, or other necessities • Then ask farmers to distribute the counters to indicate how much these activities contribut to income, and how much they contribute to consumption
Activity Ways to learn about farmers’ needs: Incomelivelihood Matrix Consumption Income Total Maize 12 0 12 Banana 2 10 12 Fruit 4 14 18 Vegetables 4 6 10 Livestock 4 6 10 Forage 4 4 8 Kapok 0 4 4 Sweetpotato 4 6 10 Weaving 6 6 12 Labouring 0 4 4 40 60 100 Total
Activity In this example the farmer is slightly more oriented towards incomegenerating activities than towards subsistence Consumption Income Total Maize 12 0 12 Banana 2 10 12 Fruit 4 14 18 Vegetables 4 6 10 Livestock 4 6 10 Forage 4 4 8 Kapok 0 4 4 Sweetpotato 4 6 10 Weaving 6 6 12 Labouring 0 4 4 40 60 100 Total
Activity This farmer is more oriented towards crops than towards livestock, but there is also significant income from a non-farm source, weaving. Consumption Income Total Maize 12 0 12 Banana 2 10 12 Fruit 4 14 18 Vegetables 4 6 10 Livestock 4 6 10 Forage 4 4 8 Kapok 0 4 4 Sweetpotato 4 6 10 Weaving 6 6 12 Labouring 0 4 4 40 60 100 Total
Advantages • High quality information about the farmer’s strategy for making a living • When doing the matrix farmers integrate information from the last few years. • Quick and easy to do; can be done with different individuals to get an idea of the range of farmer strategies in a village
Verification • Farm income calculated from partial budget analysis for maize and banana crops • Total income for maize (1 ha) and bananas (0. 25 ha): ~P 18, 000 and P 54, 000 each • Assuming two crops of maize/year from 2 ha and 0. 4 ha of bananas every 15 months, total yearly farm income for maize and bananas: ~P 70, 000 and P 69, 000 each • This is close to matrix result of 12% each (for maize and bananas) Conclusion: matrix weights can be a good indicator of household income and consumption
Source: Tim Purcell, FSP Click the back button on your browser to return to the main menu
