Seasonal household income dependency on forest and environmental resources in rural Mozambique

Households in agrarian societies engage in variety of income generating activities. These activities are often seasonal and the associated income generated is volatile. Based on an income survey from 2006 in rural Mozambique, this study assesses the seasonal contribution of different income sources to total household income. The results indicate that forest and environmental income was the second largest contributor to households’ total income next to crop income, the relative share being 23.7 percent of total income. With regard to seasonal income contributions, wage income and other income sources (gold in particular) are important in filling the gap when income from crop production is low, although they do not completely offset the fall. All income sources, including forest and environmental income, were fluctuating significantly between seasons, except for livestock and business income. The volatility did vary across income sources; crop income seems the most volatile income component. Volatility in crop income is likely to have severe negative implications for rural households as poverty is widespread and other income opportunities are few. Therefore, the government and other developments practitioners shall give attention to the role of farm and non-farm income opportunities to help households cope with seasonal income short falls. Recognizing the importance of forest and environmental resources to meet subsistence needs is also important.