Financial Resilience and Livelihood Sustainability among Coffee Farmers in Kerala

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between financial resilience and livelihood sustainability among coffee farmers in Kerala. A descriptive and analytical research design was adopted, and primary data were collected from 300 coffee farmers using a structured questionnaire containing separate measures of financial resilience and livelihood sustainability. The data were analysed using EDUSTAT. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple linear regression, independent samples t-test, and one-way ANOVA were employed. The results indicated a moderate level of financial resilience and a relatively high level of livelihood sustainability among the respondents. Financial resilience had a significant positive relationship with livelihood sustainability (r = .662, p < .001) and significantly predicted livelihood sustainability, explaining 43.8 per cent of its variance. Significant differences in financial resilience and livelihood sustainability were observed according to annual household income, farm size, farmer-organisation membership, and access to institutional credit, whereas differences based on farming experience and whether coffee farming was the main occupation were not significant. The study highlights the importance of strengthening farmers' financial capacity, institutional credit access, collective participation, and economic resources for sustaining coffee-based livelihoods.