8. Table 3 presents a summary of cash income sources and their relative contributions to total cash incomes of households in the sample during the 1987/88 cropping year. Only 20% of total cash income was obtained from crop production, an indication that crop production was used primarily for subsistence. Livestock on the other hand, were a major source accounting for 71% of total cash income. Non-farm sources, including remittances, contributed only 9% of total household cash income.
Table 3. Sources of cash income for sample producers in the semi-arid zone of Mali, 1987/88
|
Sector |
Sub-sector |
Net cash income (CFA/ha) |
% of Total |
|
Crops |
|
|
|
|
|
Grains |
30861 |
14.9 |
|
|
Crops residues |
6877 |
3.3 |
|
|
Non-grain |
3745 |
1.8 |
|
Sub-total crops |
|
41483 |
20 |
|
Livestock |
|
|
|
|
|
Live small ruminants sales |
603070 |
30.6 |
|
|
Sheep fattening net income |
3460 |
1.5 |
|
Sub-total small ruminants |
|
66530 |
32.1 |
|
|
Live cattle sales |
56835 |
27.5 |
|
|
Cattle fattening net income |
8117 |
3.9 |
|
|
Cow milk sales |
14675 |
7.6 |
|
Sub-total cattle |
|
79627 |
39 |
|
Sub-total livestock |
|
146157 |
71.1 |
|
Non-farm |
|
|
|
|
|
Gardening |
80 |
0.0 |
|
|
Gathering (wood, shea butter etc.) |
3842 |
2.0 |
|
|
Artisanal (arts, crafts, weaving) |
2880 |
1.4 |
|
|
Remittances |
11730 |
5.5 |
|
Sub-total non-farm |
|
18532 |
8.9 |
|
Total cash income, all sources |
|
206172 |
100 |
9. Using the above figures and the data from Table 2, we can calculate that cash income from crop farming represented 14% of the net value of crop production while that generated by livestock sales represented 73% of the net value of livestock production. The corresponding figure for the overall share of marketed output (i.e. both crops and livestock) in the total value of farm production is 38%. These figures show that the market integration of livestock production by the sample households in semi-arid Mali is very high, contrary to widely held views that smallholders are subsistence-oriented.
10. Considering cash income from crop farming alone, grain sales accounted for 74% while crop residues and non-grain crop sales represented 17% and 9% respectively. For livestock, small ruminant sales represented 43% of total livestock cash income, while sales of live cattle and cow milk accounted for 39% and 10% respectively. The remaining 8% came from cattle and sheep fattening activities.
