Investments in
land, labour, and equipment for production
education in learning new techniques or skills
social and farming networks and market and product research
Use of stores
directly of food
financial or of value (eg jewellery) to buy food
Claims on
other households, for food, production resources or labour
patrons and village chiefs for help in need
the government
the international community
As in the DFID framework the ability of people to access food therefore depends on their assets. Assets act as a buffer between production, exchange and consumption. Assets are built up in times of surplus and can be converted into food or production inputs in times of need. Peasants, and, more generally, poor people tend to have fewer assets than other groups and may be constrained in the utilisation of those assets they do possess due to their partial integration in (imperfect) markets and society. Different assets have different roles in production, exchange and entitlements.
How would you compare the classification of assets in the DFID sustainable livelihoods framework and that in Swift's analysis of assets which people use to obtain food?
We will try to compare the two categorisations using a table.
2.1.2 Asset categorisations
Assets categorised by Swift Assets in the 'asset pentagon'
Investments Education Human capital
Land, labour, and equipment for production Natural capital, human capital, physical capital
Social and farming networks, market and product research Social capital, human capital, institutions
Stores Food stores ? Financial capital
Stores of value Financial capital
Money Financial capital
Claims On other households Social capital - horizontal
On patrons Social capital - vertical
On the government Social capital - vertical
On the international community Social capital - vertical
Source: unit author
Each approach has its relative strengths and weaknesses. The livelihoods categorisation in the asset pentagon is certainly simpler to understand and represent, and it places greater emphasis on the particular characteristics of natural capital, in particular. However, it seems to place less importance on the role of assets as stores for buffering consumption against fluctuations in production and exchange activities. Swift's
