1. Contrary to the widely held view that rural households are unisectoral in their production, the typical household in the semi-arid zone of Mali derives its income from cropping and livestock activities as well as from such off-farm sources as migration remittances, crafts and non-agricultural labour earnings. This paper estimates the relative shares of crop, livestock and non-farm income sources in total cash incomes of sample smallholder producers in the semi-arid zone of Mali. It also attempts to understand the mechanisms and motives of cash income transfers from one sector to the other.
2. The paper begins by describing the study area and the farming system of the sample, followed by an estimation of cash earnings from various sources in the 1987/88 farming season. It then describes the various mechanisms by which earnings generated from a sector are transferred to other sectors in the rural economy. The paper ends with conclusions and policy implications based on the findings of the study. An appendix at the end of the paper describes the methodology used to collect data for the analysis.
