Reversing the gaze in livelihoods research: what can we learn from applying the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework to farming households in the Global North?

Abstract

Rural livelihoods analyses are common in Global South contexts, offering key insights into household perspectives and how these often clash with policies, even those aimed at supporting households. Application of this analytical perspective in the Global North is however rare, despite the same need to understand policies from the perspectives of affected households. Conceptualisations of the same processes differ - ‘livelihood diversification’ in the Global South is ‘pluriactivity’ in the Global North. This compartmentalization of analytical discussion is unhelpful since it limits both understanding and policy development. In this paper we reverse the gaze and explore how livelihoods approaches can be applied in the Global North.

Drawing on in-depth interviews with Swedish farm households across three different farming regions, we apply a livelihood analysis based on the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), which we iteratively modify to suit our data and analytical insights. Our aims are to: (1) enhance understanding of farming households' perspectives and challenges in Sweden through a new kind of analysis, (2) explore whether reversing the gaze can reveal cross-context insights of similarities and differences between the Global North and South, and (3) explore the analytical qualities of livelihoods analysis, particularly the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, in a Global North context and suggest changes needed to adapt the SLF to be applicable more broadly. Our findings reveal insights about livelihoods and decision-making on Swedish farms and suggests that understanding and respecting farmer perspectives in policy is crucial, for which the livelihoods approach is well suited. Reversing the gaze reveals that parts of the framework require expansion to better capture Swedish farmers' situations, indicative of changes needed for a Global North application. The modifications proposed can also enhance and deepen future livelihoods analysis in Global South contexts. We also reflect on broader patterns of livelihood challenges that cut across geographies.