Vol. 094: Sanchez, Elsa A.:From Subsistence to Market Oriented Livestock Smallholder Development in Nicaragua and Honduras

Many families in large dry areas in lowland and mountain zones in Nicaragua and Honduras are at a subsistence level and live under unstable conditions. Traditional farming practices and poor efficiency in the use of livestock capital impede the opportunities to improve their living standards. Families with small landholdings or landless farm workers with limited assets and livelihoods that cannot make their living from farming only, they also face great limitations in off-farm sectors. This book seeks to explain the development and determinants from subsistence to market orientation in livestock farming systems and the potential for future development and higher living standards. Farming system approach was applied to analyze family resources use and capacity, and measurements of living standards. Results indicated that the bigger farm size, cattle herds and resources availability, the better living standards of the families. Econometric modeling was applied to explain market participation, market orientation, off-farm sector impacts on farming development, and the development from low income to higher income levels. Linear programming techniques with and without risks modeling was applied for the impact analysis of future development strategies on living standards of families. Strategies identified and tested included diversification of farm income, livestock intensification, and improvement of outputs prices. The study was carried out in a lowland area in Choluteca, Honduras, in a lowland area in Somotillo, Nicaragua, and a mountainous area in Estelí, Nicaragua. Book provides methodological concepts relevant for dealing with farming development in similar and different biophysical and administrative environments as well as income and market relation levels.

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