Changes in rural household livelihood strategies and outcomes in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Changes in rural livelihood assets, activities, and incomes in the Sahelian, Guinean and Sudanian zones of Burkina Faso during the last 20 years are described and examined. A rapid resurvey in 2002 of rural households (n=115) from an ICRISAT sample in 1985 showed that: ownership of household assets (e.g., draught animal and agricultural equipment) has increased significantly; farmers are using more inorganic fertilizers with high intensity in more favourable rainfed areas; households have diversified in and out of the agricultural sector (many farmers in the Sudanian zone have diversified into cash crops such as cotton); and non-farm sources represented about 27, 20, and 11% of the average household income in 2001 in the Sahelian, Sudanian, and Guinean zones, respectively.