Income Diversification Sources, Constraints, and Measurements: Evidence from Agarfa District, Southeastern Ethiopia
محورهای موضوعی : Farming SystemsMideksa Fufa Jilito 1 , Eric Ndemo Okoyo 2 , Dereje Kifle Moges 3
1 - Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
2 - Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
3 - Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
کلید واژه: Diversification, Income, Herfindal index, non-farm activities, off-farm activities,
چکیده مقاله :
Agriculture is considered a driving force to reduce poverty and food insecurity. However, the agricultural sector has been unable to meet the growing food need of the rural population and it has been influenced by various risks. Although income diversification strategies supplement farmers’ farm production, the extent of households’ income diversification sources and their associated factors are not yet empirically identified in Agarfa District. Thus, this study aimed to measure income diversification strategies and identify factors responsible for the choice of income diversification strategies among rural households in the district. The study drew a sample of 150 households using the stratified random sampling technique from three kebeles of the district. Quantitative data were collected by interviews while qualitative data were collected by focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to characterize households’ income diversification strategies. Results show that agriculture has a leading contribution to the total income of households (88.89%) followed by non-farm (10.12%) and off-farm activities (0.99%). Furthermore, the results reveal that the mean diversity indexes increase from households engaged in housemaid activities (36.67) to households engaged in crop production (38320.00). The study, therefore, concludes that the agricultural sector alone cannot improve households’ income, ensure food security, and alleviate poverty in the study area. Thus, rural development policies and strategies should focus on promoting income-generating activities besides agricultural activities in rural areas to improve the overall wellbeing of the rural communities.
کشاورزی موتور محرکة کاهش فقر و عدمامنیت غذایی به شمار میرود. بااینحال، بخش کشاورزی ناتوان از پاسخ به نیاز روزافزون جمعیت روستایی به غذا بوده و تحت تاثیر ریسکهای مختلف قرار گرفته است. با اینکه راهبردهای متنوعسازی درآمد مکمل تولید مزرعهای زراعان است، اما گسترة منابع تنوع درآمدی خانوارها و عوامل مربوطه در ناحیة آگارفا هنوز به صورت تجربی شناسایی نشدهاند. درنتیجه، در این مطالعه به دنبال ارزیابی راهبردهای تنوع درآمد و شناسایی عوامل مؤثر بر انتخاب این راهبردها در میان خانوارهای روستایی این ناحیه بودیم. برای این منظور، 150 خانوار را با استفاده از تکنیک نمونهبرداری تصادفی طبقهای از سه بخش این ناحیه انتخاب کردیم. برای جمعآوری دادههای کمّی از روش مصاحبه و برای جمعآوری دادههای کیفی از روش بحث گروه متمرکز و مصاحبه با افراد مطلع استفاده کردیم. از آمار توصیفی و استنباطی نیز برای توصیف راهبردهای تنوع درآمدی بهره گرفتهایم. نتایج نشان میدهد که کشاورزی سهم اصلی را در درآمد کل خانوادهها دارد (89/88 درصد) و فعالیتهای غیرمزرعهای (12/10 درصد) و خارج از مزرعه (99/0 درصد) نیز در ردههای بعدی قرار دارند. علاوه بر این، مشخص شد که میانگین شاخصهای تنوع در خانوارهای درگیر در فعالیتهای خانگی (67/36 ) کمتر از خانوارهای درگیر در تولید محصول (00/38320) است. بنابراین، نتیجه میگیریم که بخش کشاورزی به تنهایی قادر به افزایش درآمد خانوارها، تضمین امنیت غذایی و کاهش ففر در منطقة موردمطالعه نیست. بنابراین، در خط مشیها و راهبردهای توسعه روستایی باید به موضوع ترویج فعالیتهای درآمدزا در کنار فعالیتهای کشاورزی در مناطق روستایی توجه بشود تا بتوان رفاه کلی جوامع روستایی را ارتقاء داد.
ADARDO (Agarfa District Agriculture and Rural Development Office)(2014). Physical and Socio-economic Profile of Agarfa district, Annual Report, Ethiopia.
Alobo, S. (2012). Determinants of rural household income diversification in Senegal and Kenya. PhD dissertation, School of Economics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Babatunde, R. O., & Qaim, M. (2010). Impact of off-farm income on food security and nutrition in Nigeria. Food Policy, 35(4), 303-311.
Barrett, C. B., Reardon, T., & Webb, P. (2001). Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications. Food Policy, 26(4), 315-331.
Beyene, A. D. (2008). Determinants of off-farm participation decision of farm households in Ethiopia. Agricultural Economics Research Policy and Practice in Southern Africa, 47(1), 140-161.
Brugère, C., Holvoet, K., & Allison, E. H. (2008). Livelihood diversification in coastal and inland fishing communities: Misconceptions, evidence and implications for fisheries management. Working Paper, Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP). Rome, FAO.
Davis, B., Winters, P., Carletto, G., Covarrubias, K., Quiñones, E. J., Zezza, A., ... & DiGiuseppe, S. (2010). A cross-country comparison of rural income generating activities. World Development, 38(1), 48-63.
Deininger, K. W., Carletto, C., & Savastano, S. (2007). Land market development and agricultural production efficiency in Albania. Paper Presented at the 104th EAAE-Seminar. Agricultural Economics and Transition: What Was Expected, What We Observed, the Lessons Learned. Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary. September 6-8, 2007.
Demeke, A. B., & Zeller, M. (2012). Weather risk and household participation in off-farm activities in Rural Ethiopia. Journal of International Agriculture, 51(892-2016-65160), 1-20.
Demissie, A., & Legesse, B. (2013). Determinants of income diversification among rural households: The case of smallholder farmers in Fedis district, Eastern Hararghe zone, Ethiopia. Journal of Development and Agricultural Economics, 5(3), 120-128.
Démurger, S., Fournier, M., & Yang, W. (2010). Rural households' decisions towards income diversification: Evidence from a township in northern China. China Economic Review, 21, 32-44.
Ersado, L. (2003). Income Diversification in Zimbabwe: Welfare Implications from Urban and Rural Areas. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division (FCND) Discussion Paper No. 152, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA.
Fernandez-Cornejo, J., Mishra, A. K., Nehring, R. F., Hendricks, C., Southern, M., & Gregory, A. (2007). Off-farm income, technology adoption, and farm economic performance. Economic Research Report Number 36, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.
Free Online Dictionary.(2008): Retrieved from: http://www.answers.com/topic/income? cat=biz-fin. [Accessed on 5 April 2008].
Haggblade, S., Hazell, P. B., & Reardon, T. (Eds.). (2007). Transforming the rural nonfarm economy: Opportunities and threats in the developing world, 1st Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press and International Food Policy Research Institute, Baltimore.
Haggblade, S., Hazell, P., & Reardon, T. (2010). The rural non-farm economy: Prospects for growth and poverty reduction. World Development, 38(10), 1429-1441.
Hertz, T. (2009). The effect of nonfarm income on investment in Bulgarian family farming. Agricultural Economics, 40(2), 161-176.
Idowu, A. O., Aihonsu, J., Olubanjo, O. O., & Shittu, A. M. (2011). Determinants of income diversification amongst rural farm households in Southwest Nigeria. Economics and Finance Review, 1(5), 31-43.
Ito, T., & Kurosaki, T. (2006). Weather risk and the off-farm labor supply of agricultural households in India. COE Discussion Paper No.161. Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan.
Joshi, P. K., Gulati, A., Birthal, P. S., & Tewari, L. (2004). Agriculture diversification in South Asia: patterns, determinants and policy implications. Economic and Political Weekly, 2457-2467.
Karttunen, K. (2009). Rural income generation and diversification: A case study in Eastern Zambia. Academic Dissertation, University of Helsinki, Department of Economics and Management, Publications No 47, Agricultural Policy, Helsinki, Finland.
Kilic, T., Carletto, C., Miluka, J., & Savastano, S. (2009). Rural non-farm income and its impact on agriculture: Evidence from Albania. Agricultural Economics, 40(2), 139-160.
Lay, J., & Schüler, D. (2008). Income diversification and poverty in a growing agricultural economy: The case of Ghana, Proceedings of the German Development Economics Conference, Zürich, No. 39.
Lemi, A. (2006). The dynamics of income diversification in Ethiopia: Evidence from panel data. University of Massachusetts, Boston, Economics Faculty Publication Series, Paper 10.
Mulat, D. (2001). Off-farm income generation in Ethiopia: Opportunities and constraints in food-insecure districts of Oromia and Amhara regional states. Ethiopian Development Forum, 2(1), 20-45
Nagler, P., & Naudé, W. (2014). Non-farm entrepreneurship in rural Africa: Patterns and determinants. Discussion Paper No. 8008, Institute for the Study of Labour, Bonn, Germany.
Pfeiffer, L., López‐Feldman, A., & Taylor, J. E. (2009). Is off‐farm income reforming the farm? Evidence from Mexico. Agricultural Economics, 40(2), 125-138.
Sabates‐Wheeler, R., Mitchell, T., & Ellis, F. (2008). Avoiding repetition: Time for community-based adaptation to engage with the livelihoods literature? Institute of Development Studies Bulletin, 39(4), 53-59.
Samson Eshetu, Belayneh Belete, Degeye Goshu, Belay Kassa, Demeksa Tamiru, Estifanos Worku, Zelalem Lema, Addisu Delelegn, Josephine Tucker & Zemede Abebe( 2010). Income diversification through improved irrigation in Ethiopia: Impacts, constraints and prospects for poverty reduction, research-inspired policy and practice learning in Ethiopia and the Nile Region (RiPPLE), Working Paper 14, Evidence from East Harerghe Zone, Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
Shitarek T. (2012). Ethiopia Country Report, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197474/
Sisay, W. A. (2010). Participation into off-farm activities in rural Ethiopia: Who earns more? Unpublished thesis, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Hague, The Netherlands.