ABSTRACT
Although smallholder farmers produce more than half of the world’s food, little is known about their strategies to achieve food security and nutrition needs. Knowing more about these smallholders can enhance knowledge of what they need to become more productive and to improve their general well-being. In this chapter, we develop a household typology of smallholding farmers in the Western Highlands of Guatemala (WHG) that integrates structural, functional, and social variables for 873 farm households (FHH) belonging to the departments of Quetzaltenango, Totonicapan, Huehuetenango, and Quiche. Multivariate analysis identified five types of maize-producing households based on their livelihood strategies: a) diversified subsistence, b) specialized crop infra-subsistence; c) crop-livestock infra-subsistence; d) diversified livelihood infra-subsistence, and e) self-consumption-oriented infra-subsistence feminized households. Our findings indicate that processes related to land fragmentation, farm diversification, and agriculture feminization contribute to FHH diversity. We also highlight the importance of integrating a gender perspective into strategies to reduce food insecurity.
