Next Article in Journal
Preface: Special Issue on Wildland Fires
Previous Article in Journal
Tracing Improving Livelihoods in Rural Africa Using Local Measures of Wealth: A Case Study from Central Tanzania, 1991–2016
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Land
Volume 7
Issue 2
10.3390/land7020045
land-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share announcement question_answer thumb_up
...
textsms
...
Article

Sustainability of Smallholder Livelihoods in the Ecuadorian Highlands: A Comparison of Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems in the Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People

by
Raúl Córdova
1,*,
Nicholas J. Hogarth
1,2 and
Markku Kanninen
1
1
Viikki Tropical Resources Institute (VITRI), Department of Forest Sciences; University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 7, P.O. Box 27, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
2
Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Land 2018, 7(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/land7020045
Received: 9 March 2018 / Revised: 4 April 2018 / Accepted: 5 April 2018 / Published: 10 April 2018
View Full-Text Download PDF
Browse Figures

Abstract

Smallholder farming constitutes an important but marginalized sector, responsible for most of the world’s agricultural production. This has a significant influence in the land use/cover change process and agrobiodiversity conservation, especially in mountainous regions of the developing world. Thus, the maintenance of sustainable smallholder farming systems represents a key condition for sustainable land management and to safeguard the livelihoods of millions of rural households. This study uses a combination of biophysical and socioeconomic data based on household interviews to compare 30 highland agroforestry systems and 30 conventional agriculture systems, to determine which system provides better conditions to support sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers. The interview data is based mainly on the perceptions of Kayambi indigenous farmers who use these farming systems to support their livelihoods. Independent-Samples t Test and descriptive statistics were applied to analyse the data from 60 farms. The results indicate that agroforestry systems contain greater agrobiodiversity; more diversified livelihoods; better land tenure security and household income; more diversified irrigation sources and less dependency on rainfall than conventional systems. These findings highlight the role of agroforestry systems in supporting sustainable livelihoods of smallholder farmers in mountainous areas. View Full-Text
Keywords: agroforestry and conventional farming systems; smallholder farmers’ perceptions; sustainable mountain livelihoods; agrobiodiversity; indigenous people; tropical highlands agroforestry and conventional farming systems; smallholder farmers’ perceptions; sustainable mountain livelihoods; agrobiodiversity; indigenous people; tropical highlands
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
SciFeed

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Córdova, R.; Hogarth, N.J.; Kanninen, M. Sustainability of Smallholder Livelihoods in the Ecuadorian Highlands: A Comparison of Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems in the Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People. Land 2018, 7, 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/land7020045

AMA Style

Córdova R, Hogarth NJ, Kanninen M. Sustainability of Smallholder Livelihoods in the Ecuadorian Highlands: A Comparison of Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems in the Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People. Land. 2018; 7(2):45. https://doi.org/10.3390/land7020045

Chicago/Turabian Style

Córdova, Raúl, Nicholas J. Hogarth, and Markku Kanninen. 2018. "Sustainability of Smallholder Livelihoods in the Ecuadorian Highlands: A Comparison of Agroforestry and Conventional Agriculture Systems in the Indigenous Territory of Kayambi People" Land 7, no. 2: 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/land7020045

Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

1
Back to TopTop