Characteristics and factors influencing livelihood diversity in rural and nomadic communities in semi-arid environments

Abstract

Livelihood diversity is beneficial for reducing economic and environmental risks while enhancing livelihood sustainability and promoting sustainable development in semi-arid regions. This study employs a framework to conduct a comparative analysis of the characteristics and factors determining diversity among three types of households: farmers, nomadic herders, and sedentary herders. A random sample of 359 households in rural and nomadic areas of Mamasani County in Iran was selected using a multi-stage random sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and advanced statistical techniques. The results indicated that agricultural crop production and livestock keeping constitute the greatest share of income for all three household groups. Additionally, farming households exhibit a higher level of livelihood diversity compared to the other two household types. The ordered logit analysis results showed that variables related to labor capacity and income are positively correlated with the number of livelihood activities across all three household types. However, the number of livestock has a significant negative effect on household livelihood diversity. Furthermore, the size of agricultural land reduces the number of livelihood activities for nomadic herder households. The study recommends prioritizing the enhancement of labor capacity and creating non-agricultural job opportunities that are less dependent on natural resources.