The%20Income-Livelihood%20Matrix

1
The Income-Livelihood Matrix

• The income-livelihood matrix is a technique that
  can be used to get a rapid idea of farmers
  strategies for making a living.
• The matrix exercise can be done with individual
  farmers
• Doing the exercise with men and women and with
  farmers from different wealth groups is useful
  for learning how the strategies of these groups
  differ

2
How to do an income-livelihood matrix

• Use a large sheet of newsprint paper and provide
  100 counters (stones, maize or bean seeds.)
• Ask farmers to list all the activities on and off
  the farm that generate income, food, or other
  necessities
• Then ask farmers to distribute the counters to
  indicate how much these activities contribut to
  income, and how much they contribute to
  consumption

3
Activity Consumption Income Total
Maize 12 0 12
Banana 2 10 12
Fruit 4 14 18
Vegetables 4 6 10
Livestock 4 6 10
Forage 4 4 8
Kapok 0 4 4
Sweetpotato 4 6 10
Weaving 6 6 12
Labouring 0 4 4
Total 40 60 100
Ways to learn about farmers needs
Income-livelihoodMatrix
4
Activity Consumption Income Total
Maize 12 0 12
Banana 2 10 12
Fruit 4 14 18
Vegetables 4 6 10
Livestock 4 6 10
Forage 4 4 8
Kapok 0 4 4
Sweetpotato 4 6 10
Weaving 6 6 12
Labouring 0 4 4
Total 40 60 100
In this example the farmer is slightly more
oriented towards income-generating activities
than towards subsistence
5
Activity Consumption Income Total
Maize 12 0 12
Banana 2 10 12
Fruit 4 14 18
Vegetables 4 6 10
Livestock 4 6 10
Forage 4 4 8
Kapok 0 4 4
Sweetpotato 4 6 10
Weaving 6 6 12
Labouring 0 4 4
Total 40 60 100
This farmer is more oriented towards crops than
towards livestock, but there is also significant
income from a non-farm source, weaving.
6
Advantages

• High quality information about the farmers
  strategy for making a living
• When doing the matrix farmers integrate
  information from the last few years.
• Quick and easy to do can be done with different
  individuals to get an idea of the range of farmer
  strategies in a village

7
Verification

• Farm income calculated from partial budget
  analysis for maize and banana crops
• Total income for maize (1 ha) and bananas (0.25
  ha) P18,000 and P54,000 each
• Assuming two crops of maize/year from 2 ha and
  0.4 ha of bananas every 15 months, total yearly
  farm income for maize and bananas P70,000 and
  P69,000 each
• This is close to matrix result of 12 each (for
  maize and bananas)
• Conclusion matrix weights can be a good
  indicator of household income and consumption

8
Source Tim Purcell, FSP
Click the back button on your browser to return
to the main menu