RISK MITIGATION AND COPING STRATEGIES | 61 €n the Œan—ania sample, the use of fertili—er was named as an essential pro- duction input by over two-thirds of sample households (¢¡ percent)­ Having sav- ings (“‘ percent) and strong networs of friends and family (“… percent) were also seen as important­ –any farmers in the village with access to irrigation also named the use of irrigation or having access to a water reservoir­ Œhe aistan sample considered three approaches essential having assets that can be sold in times of need (¡… percent), using fertili—er to drive higher yields (¢¢ percent), and maintaining close ties with friends and family who can help (”¢ percent)­ ¦n a few occasions, the ˜amuacas sipped meals by growing other vegetables­ Œhey needed the seeds during the Smallholder ‰iaries because they did not for these additional crops, but did not want to spend have caril, a vegetable or meat sauce that accompanies money on buying them­ Since they did not have access rice, and xima, creamed cassava­ †aril plays an impor- to a financial tool that could support the acuisition of tant role for flavor and nutrition as well as digestion, as these additional seeds (e­g­, layaway or savings plan, cassava alone is hard to digest­ amilies often prefer to input credit from a retailer or buyer), their plans to go hungry rather than to eat cassava without caril­ further diversify and expand their agricultural activi- Œhe ˜amuacas wanted to fill this lull in what they ties were on hold­ could harvest and consume in ‰ecember and Žanuary FIGURE 32: Crops harvested by the Namuaca family by month (KG) 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Rice Cassava Sugar cane Orange Peanuts Maize Banana Tomato Sweet potato Beans Papaya Mango