Agropastoral Production Systems, Intra-household Resource Allocation and Household Member's Domains

I. INTRODUCTION

The Agropastoral Research Component of the Small Ruminant Collaborative Research Support Program (SR-CRSP), Sustainable Agropastoral Systems in Marginal Lands, is working in Bolivia to develop technological practices that are viable in social and economic terms, while bound for the environment. Researchers from several disciplines carrying out the research are working with the people of San José Llanga, a peasant community of the Bolivian altiplano. Development of technological alternatives first requires an understanding of the systems, decision making processes, and gender domains of the various economic activities carried out by the household members of a production unit.

As a means to provide more information and understanding of the production and distribution systems, and how these are affected by the introduction of a "new" economic enterprise, a research project emphasizing the effects on the agropastoral system of the recent introduction of dairy as a commercial (cash) activity was proposed. This research project intended to test several hypotheses, some with data collected through a formal questionnaire and others using a case-study approach. This report focuses on the case studies developed in San José Llanga.

The case studies were developed to understand the household production system, the resources available, and the decision making domains in the allocation of resources such as labor. Additional information is provided on the generation and use of income from the diverse economic enterprises undertaken by these families. Special emphasis is given to the control of income by the female head of household and her allocation of labor when the dairy activity is introduced.

Working hypotheses addressed by the case studies are that introduction of dairy result in an increase work by the female head of household and other adult females, and that the proportion of household cash income controlled by the female head of household decreaseds. The present report begins with a general description of agriculture in San José Llanga (SJL) and the methodology used for the case studies. A third section presents the case studies in detail, covering demographic characteristics, resources and productive activities, domain and labor allocation among all enterprises, dynamics of the herd, and future family expectations. The case studies are compared in the last section. This includes detailed information of labor use by productive activities. The activities are summarized in an agricultural calendar.

SR-CRSP University of Missouri http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/ssu/srcrsp 961008