International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences

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Factors Influencing the Engagement of Rural Youths in Off-Farm Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ethiopia, Wolaita Zone

Received: Aug. 18, 2019    Accepted: Aug. 30, 2019    Published: Sep. 19, 2019
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Abstract

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with high rate of unemployment of youths. This rate is higher in rural than urban areas. Income generating activities play a vital role to improve the livelihood of rural people in developing countries. Many rural youths are faced with difficulty of maintaining livelihoods and consequently, poverty remains pervasive among them. The paper examined the engagement of rural youths in off-farm or non-agricultural income generating activities as well as factors influencing their involvement in Soddo and Areka towns in wolaita zone, Ethiopia. The purposes of this research are to explicitly enquiry and consider aspects that are influencing the engagement of rural youths in off-farm income generating activities in Sodo and Areka towns in wolaita zone. The study was utilized causal research design to achieve the research objectives. The target population under study is all youth groups in the ten off-farm income generating activities in both Sodo and Areka towns. The study was conducted from July 2018 to August 2019. In this study, primary and secondary data types and sources were used. The instruments to collect primary data were questionnaires. Sample size was 306 which determined by using Yamane (1967) formula and individual informants were selected via stratified random sampling technique. The data collected was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by the aid of SPSS. V.16. The finding of the study showed that the variables (entrepreneurial, technology, institutional, cultural, financial, socio-economical, psychological and infrastructural factors affecting the engagement of rural youths off-farm income generating activities both in Sodo and Areka towns in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia which were explained the variance of 73.7% and 26.3% of the variance was explained by other factors which are not the part of this study variables. Hence, stakeholders who focus on the engagement, promotion, encouragement and expansion of off-farm income diversification are expected to enhance entrepreneurial and psychological motivation to the youths.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15
Published in International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences ( Volume 7, Issue 4, August 2019 )
Page(s) 131-141
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Engagement, Income Generating, Off-farm, Youth

References
[1] Barrett, C. B., et al. (2001). "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications." Food policy 26 (4): 315-331.
[2] Bereket, 2010. The Role of Micro and Small Enterprises in Employment Creation and Income Generation A Survey Study of Mekelle City, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, 14-15.
[3] Bezabih, M., Gebreegziabher, Z., Gebremedhin, L., & Köhlin, G. (2010). Participation in off-farm employment, rainfall patterns, and rate of time preferences: The case of Ethiopia (No. dp-10-21-efd). Retrieved from https://www. rff.org/RFF/documents/EfD-DP-10-21.pdf
[4] Carletto G., Covarrubias K., Davis B., Krausova M., Stamoulis K., Winters P. and Zezza A. (2007). Rural Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries. Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics, 4 (1): 146-193.
[5] Central statistics Agency (CSA), Ethiopia, reports on youth and unemployment, 2011
[6] Charity, N. (2011). Empowerment and women's participation in development processes: A study of Nsukka community (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Nsukka, Enugu state, Nigeria.
[7] De Janvry A., Sadoulet E. and Zhu N. (2005). The role of non-farm Incomes in Reducing Poverty and Inequality in China, CUDARE Working papers 1001. Berkely, University of California.
[8] Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Women in infrastructure works: Boosting gender equality and rural development. Gender and Rural Employment Policy Brief; 2010.
[9] Fletschner, D., & Kenney, L. (2014, March). Rural women’s access to financial services: credit, savings, and insurance. Gender in agriculture 11 (7), 187-208.
[10] Helena, M. C. C. (2000). The impact of culture on perceptions of organizational justice. Unpublished master's thesis, Institute of Psychology, Universidade Gama Filho, Rio de Janeiro, RJ.
[11] Lanjouw, J. O. and Lanjouw P. (2001). The Rural Non-Farm Sector: Issues and Evidence from Developing Countries. Agricultural Economics, 26 (1): 1-23.
[12] Ovwigho B. O. (2014). Factors Influencing Involvement in Nonfarm Income Generating Activities among Local Farmers: The Case of Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, Sustainable agriculture Research, 3 (1): 76-84.
[13] Reardon T. (1997). Using Evidence of Household Income Diversification to Inform Study of the Rural Nonfarm Labor Market in Africa. World Development, 25 (5): 735-748.
[14] Shivalingaiah Y. N. (1995). Participation of Rural Youth in Farm Activities, Ph.D thesis, University of Agirc. Science Banglore.
[15] Shortall, S. (2008). Are rural development programmes socially inclusive? Social inclusion, civic engagement, participation, and social capital: Exploring the differences. Journal of Rural Studies, 24 (4), 450-457.
[16] Umoru, D. (2013). Employment and Economic Growth in Nigeria: A Bounds Specification. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4 (5), 49-62.
[17] UNCTAD, W. (2011). Price Volatility in Food and Agricultural Markets: Joint Policy Responses. Reports contributions by FAO, IMF, UN HLTF, WFP, World Bank, the WTO and IFPRI.
[18] United Nations (2007). World Youth Report. 2007. New York: United Nations ILO (2004), Global employment trends for youth, Geneva.
[19] World Bank. (2003). Reaching the Rural Poor: A Renewed Strategy for Rural Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
[20] Yamane, Taro. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis, 2nd Edition, New York: Harper and Row.
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    Samuel Semma Waje. (2019). Factors Influencing the Engagement of Rural Youths in Off-Farm Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ethiopia, Wolaita Zone. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 7(4), 131-141. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15

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    ACS Style

    Samuel Semma Waje. Factors Influencing the Engagement of Rural Youths in Off-Farm Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ethiopia, Wolaita Zone. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2019, 7(4), 131-141. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15

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    AMA Style

    Samuel Semma Waje. Factors Influencing the Engagement of Rural Youths in Off-Farm Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ethiopia, Wolaita Zone. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2019;7(4):131-141. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15,
      author = {Samuel Semma Waje},
      title = {Factors Influencing the Engagement of Rural Youths in  Off-Farm Income Generating Activities in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ethiopia, Wolaita Zone},
      journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
      volume = {7},
      number = {4},
      pages = {131-141},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20190704.15},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20190704.15},
      abstract = {Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with high rate of unemployment of youths. This rate is higher in rural than urban areas. Income generating activities play a vital role to improve the livelihood of rural people in developing countries. Many rural youths are faced with difficulty of maintaining livelihoods and consequently, poverty remains pervasive among them. The paper examined the engagement of rural youths in off-farm or non-agricultural income generating activities as well as factors influencing their involvement in Soddo and Areka towns in wolaita zone, Ethiopia. The purposes of this research are to explicitly enquiry and consider aspects that are influencing the engagement of rural youths in off-farm income generating activities in Sodo and Areka towns in wolaita zone. The study was utilized causal research design to achieve the research objectives. The target population under study is all youth groups in the ten off-farm income generating activities in both Sodo and Areka towns. The study was conducted from July 2018 to August 2019. In this study, primary and secondary data types and sources were used. The instruments to collect primary data were questionnaires. Sample size was 306 which determined by using Yamane (1967) formula and individual informants were selected via stratified random sampling technique. The data collected was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by the aid of SPSS. V.16. The finding of the study showed that the variables (entrepreneurial, technology, institutional, cultural, financial, socio-economical, psychological and infrastructural factors affecting the engagement of rural youths off-farm income generating activities both in Sodo and Areka towns in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia which were explained the variance of 73.7% and 26.3% of the variance was explained by other factors which are not the part of this study variables. Hence, stakeholders who focus on the engagement, promotion, encouragement and expansion of off-farm income diversification are expected to enhance entrepreneurial and psychological motivation to the youths.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with high rate of unemployment of youths. This rate is higher in rural than urban areas. Income generating activities play a vital role to improve the livelihood of rural people in developing countries. Many rural youths are faced with difficulty of maintaining livelihoods and consequently, poverty remains pervasive among them. The paper examined the engagement of rural youths in off-farm or non-agricultural income generating activities as well as factors influencing their involvement in Soddo and Areka towns in wolaita zone, Ethiopia. The purposes of this research are to explicitly enquiry and consider aspects that are influencing the engagement of rural youths in off-farm income generating activities in Sodo and Areka towns in wolaita zone. The study was utilized causal research design to achieve the research objectives. The target population under study is all youth groups in the ten off-farm income generating activities in both Sodo and Areka towns. The study was conducted from July 2018 to August 2019. In this study, primary and secondary data types and sources were used. The instruments to collect primary data were questionnaires. Sample size was 306 which determined by using Yamane (1967) formula and individual informants were selected via stratified random sampling technique. The data collected was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by the aid of SPSS. V.16. The finding of the study showed that the variables (entrepreneurial, technology, institutional, cultural, financial, socio-economical, psychological and infrastructural factors affecting the engagement of rural youths off-farm income generating activities both in Sodo and Areka towns in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia which were explained the variance of 73.7% and 26.3% of the variance was explained by other factors which are not the part of this study variables. Hence, stakeholders who focus on the engagement, promotion, encouragement and expansion of off-farm income diversification are expected to enhance entrepreneurial and psychological motivation to the youths.
    VL  - 7
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Author Information
  • Department of Food Security, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

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