African rural livelihoods under stress

"Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. The country's economy is largely dependent on agriculture, but agricultural production has suffered periodically from unfavourable weather. This book is about the livelihood strategies adopted by the Malawian rural population to cope with its difficult conditions. Information is drawn from detailed case studies of six villages in various parts of rural Malawi. The detailed micro-level case studies are also linked to the wider macro-level factors such as increasing population pressure on the land, historical evolution of government policies, and the formal and informal institutions that mediate the rural population's access to productive resources and markets. The analytical approach adopted in this study is based on the framework of sustainable rural livelihoods." -- Back cover.