?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Foar.icrisat.org%2F7203%2F&rft.title=Diversification+and+Livelihood+Options%3A+A+Study+of+Two+Villages+in+Andhra+Pradesh%2C+India+1975%E2%80%932001&rft.creator=Deb%2C+U+K&rft.creator=Nageswara+Rao%2C+G+D&rft.creator=Rao%2C+Y+M&rft.creator=Slater%2C+R&rft.subject=Agriculture-Farming%2C+Production%2C+Technology%2C+Economics&rft.description=The+diversification+of+rural+livelihoods+is+the+subject+of+a+growing+amount+of+conceptual+and+policybased%0D%0Aresearch.+This+paper+reports+on+the+findings+from+a+re-survey+and+longitudinal+panel+survey%0D%0Acarried+out+in+the+villages+of+Aurepalle+and+Dokur+in+Mahbubnagar+District+in+Andhra+Pradesh%2C%0D%0AIndia.+This+is+a+particularly+valuable+data+source+since+these+villages+have+been+surveyed+at+intervals%0D%0Aby+ICRISAT+since+1975+and+have+enabled+an+analysis+of+changing+rural+livelihoods+over+time.%0D%0AAgriculture+remains+the+most+important+source+of+livelihood+in+both+villages%2C+though+the+relative%0D%0Aimportance+of+crop+cultivation+has+decreased%2C+as+has+real+income+from+crops.+Agriculture+has%0D%0Abecome+an+increasingly+risky+pursuit+and+households+have+sought+other+sources+of+income%2C+most%0D%0Anotably+through+migration+for+agricultural+labour+in+other+villages+or+for+wage+labour+in+urban+areas%0D%0Asuch+as+Hyderabad.%0D%0AWhilst+there+are+a+small+number+of+cases+where+diversification+has+enabled+households+to+lift%0D%0Athemselves+significantly+above+the+poverty+line%2C+the+overwhelming+experience+of+diversification+is%0D%0Aas+a+coping+strategy.+Mahbubnagar+District+experienced+drought+in+1997%E2%80%938+and+between+1999+and%0D%0A2001.+The+intervening+years+were+characterised+by+only+average+rainfall.+It+remains+to+be+seen%2C%0D%0Atherefore%2C+whether+the+diversification+into+non-farm+activities+is+a+short-term+response+to+adverse%0D%0Aagricultural+terms+of+trade+and+ecological+uncertainty+brought+about+as+a+result+of+extended+drought%0D%0Aor+whether+diversification+represents+a+long-term+move+away+from+agricultural+livelihoods+in+rural%0D%0Aareas+that+will+be+sustained.+The+prospects+for+a+return+to+agriculture+in+the+future+will+be+diminished%0D%0Aif+population+density+continues+to+rise+and+limited+by+the+gradual+erosion+of+agricultural+assets%2C+such%0D%0Aas+land+and+large+livestock+like+cattle+and+buffalo.%0D%0AThe+findings+from+this+re-survey+of+two+villages+raise+important+policy+challenges+for+government%0D%0Aand+other+stakeholders+in+Mahbubnagar+District%2C+in+Andhra+Pradesh+and+in+the+semi-arid+tropics+of%0D%0AIndia+more+generally.+Whilst+government+policy+and+state+interventions+are+made+along+sectoral%0D%0Alines%2C+household+livelihoods+are+highly+diverse.+Policy-makers+need+to+reflect+on+the+most+suitable%0D%0Aways+of+supporting+this+diversity%2C+for+example+by+facilitating+access+to+the+assets+that+people+draw%0D%0Aon+to+diversify+or+by+ensuring+that+agriculture+is+less+risky+and+agricultural+assets+are+not+eroded%0D%0Aduring+periods+of+uncertainty.+Only+with+more+appropriate+policies+that+recognise+the+importance+of%0D%0Adiversity+will+it+be+possible+for+more+people+to+make+positive+exits+from+poverty+through%0D%0Adiversification.&rft.publisher=Overseas+Development+Institute&rft.date=2002&rft.type=Monograph&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.language=en&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Foar.icrisat.org%2F7203%2F1%2FDiversification_WP-178_2002.pdf&rft.identifier=++Deb%2C+U+K+and+Nageswara+Rao%2C+G+D+and+Rao%2C+Y+M+and+Slater%2C+R++(2002)+Diversification+and+Livelihood+Options%3A+A+Study+of+Two+Villages+in+Andhra+Pradesh%2C+India+1975%E2%80%932001.++Working+Paper.+Overseas+Development+Institute%2C+London%2C+Uk.+++++