Analysis of how the livelihood security of rural households is affected by crop area and cultivation patterns, to reduce water and livelihood risks in Iran

In recent years, Iran has been faced with severe water-related risks. Considering Iran’s water-related hazards, policymakers formulated water policies based on changing cropping patterns. However, it seems the interconnection between rural household livelihood security and cropping patterns has been neglected in these policies. Accordingly, this study intends to determine the minimum area that can meet the rural household’s livelihood security for each cropping pattern. The other main objective of the study is to identify the number of farmers exposed to livelihood insecurity if their cropping areas were limited and they did have not any option for supplementary livelihood. The findings could be useful for water policies considering both livelihood and water security. 

Inspired by some World Bank studies in the field of poverty, and rural livelihood, a conceptual framework, and some equations were developed to answer the main objectives of the study. The minimum area that can guarantee the rural household’s livelihood security for each cropping pattern was estimated for the period 1986-2018. The other objectives such as the number of people (farmers and their households) who have been exposed to livelihood insecurity due to the size of the cropping area are estimated in 2014. All required data are gathered from the Iranian Statistics center (Agriculture Census, Population and Housing Census, Rural Households Income and Expenditure Survey, and The purchase price of agricultural products survey) and the Ministry of Agriculture-Jahad.

The results indicate that the minimum crop area required to guarantee rural livelihood security, including such crops as wheat and beans (productions that need less water), are 10 times less than production that needs more water (like potatoes and vegetables). Our results also estimated that around seven million people have been exposed to livelihood insecurity due to the low per capita crop area. Thus, it is recommended that policy makers must consider the farmers whose livelihoods are dependent on farming and agriculture and establish a multi-dimensional policy considering water, food, and economy simultaneously.