School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.
College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Dec;30(59):123808-123826. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-30426-7. Epub 2023 Nov 22.
Farm households around the world are increasingly exposed to both external and internal shocks and stressors. Enhancing the resilience of farm households to frequent disturbances holds paramount importance in fostering the sustainability of their livelihoods and the revitalization of rural areas. Based on 1500 household samples from 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas (CPSA) in China, this study explores the causal pathways between livelihood capitals of farm households and rural site conditions of rural communities, as well as quantifying their impacts on farm households' livelihood resilience using structural equation models. In particular, the livelihood resilience of farm households is measured based on the "Exposure-Sensitivity-Adaptability" framework. The results show that livelihood resilience is positively represented by exposure and adaptability, but is negatively correlated with sensitivity. Specifically, households with lower mean health and higher dependency ratio are more sensitive to risks, while exposure to agroforestry pests and diseases will lead farm households to diversify their livelihood activities and increase crop and livestock variety to enhance their adaptability. The livelihood capital of farm households has a significant positive effect on livelihood resilience (β = 0.874, p < 0.001). Rural site conditions have both significant direct and indirect impacts on livelihood resilience, with the direct impact (β = - 0.207, p < 0.05) being negative and a bit larger than the positive indirect impact (β = 0.163, p < 0.05), as mediated by livelihood capital. The government should, therefore, invest more in health insurance, education and training, financial support, and infrastructure, and implement village planning to enhance both the quality of household livelihood capitals and rural site conditions in CPSA.
农户在全球范围内越来越多地面临外部和内部冲击和压力。提高农户对频繁干扰的适应能力对于促进其生计的可持续性和农村地区的振兴至关重要。本研究基于中国 14 个连片特困地区（CPSA）的 1500 户家庭样本，探讨了农户生计资本与农村社区农村区位条件之间的因果关系，并使用结构方程模型量化了它们对农户生计适应力的影响。特别是，根据“暴露-敏感性-适应力”框架来衡量农户的生计适应力。结果表明，生计适应力与暴露度和适应力呈正相关，与敏感性呈负相关。具体来说，健康状况较差和抚养比较高的家庭对风险更为敏感，而遭受农林病虫害的暴露会导致农户多样化其生计活动，增加作物和牲畜的品种，以提高其适应力。农户的生计资本对生计适应力有显著的正向影响（β=0.874，p<0.001）。农村区位条件对生计适应力既有直接影响，也有间接影响，直接影响（β=-0.207，p<0.05）为负，且大于生计资本中介的间接正影响（β=0.163，p<0.05）。因此，政府应加大对健康保险、教育和培训、金融支持以及基础设施的投入，并实施村庄规划，以提高 CPSA 中农户生计资本和农村区位条件的质量。
