IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/eeaeje/259508.html

Non-farm Enterprises in Rural Ethiopia: improving Livelihoods by Generating Income and Smoothing Consumption?

Author

Listed:
  • Kowalski,Julia
  • Lipcan, Alina
  • McIntosh, Katie
  • Smida, Remy
  • Sørensen, Signe Jung
  • Seff, Ilana
  • Jolliffe, Dean

Abstract

In developing countries highly dependent on agriculture, non-farm enterprises (NFEs) are often lauded as income diversification opportunities, helping to smooth income in the farming off-seasons. Using data from the first wave of the Ethiopia Socioeconomic Survey (ESS), a nationally representative survey of rural and small town Ethiopia, we explore the role NFEs play in seasonal income generation, consumption smoothing, and risk mitigation. We find that NFEs are in fact pro-cyclical with agriculture, with the most productive months of NFE operation coinciding with the harvest season and crop sales. This procyclicality appears to be driven by demand-side factors, where increases in community income through crop sales generate higher demand for NFE goods and services. We also find no evidence that households operating NFEs are better able to ward off incidence or duration of food insecurity in the face of shocks, suggesting NFEs do not insure temporally vulnerable households against risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Kowalski,Julia & Lipcan, Alina & McIntosh, Katie & Smida, Remy & Sørensen, Signe Jung & Seff, Ilana & Jolliffe, Dean, . "Non-farm Enterprises in Rural Ethiopia: improving Livelihoods by Generating Income and Smoothing Consumption?," Ethiopian Journal of Economics, Ethiopian Economics Association, vol. 25(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:eeaeje:259508
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.259508
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/259508/files/Nonfarm%20Enterprises%20in%20Rural%20Ethiopia.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.259508?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haggblade, Steven & Hazell, Peter & Brown, James, 1989. "Farm-nonfarm linkages in rural sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 17(8), pages 1173-1201, August.
    2. Fox, Louise & Sohnesen , Thomas Pave, 2012. "Household enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa : why they matter for growth, jobs, and livelihoods," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6184, The World Bank.
    3. 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, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    4. Woldenhanna, T. & Oskam, A., 2001. "Income diversification and entry barriers: evidence from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 351-365, August.
    5. Merima Ali & Jack Peerlings, 2012. "Farm households and nonfarm activities in Ethiopia: does clustering influence entry and exit?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 43(3), pages 253-266, May.
    6. World Bank, 2009. "Ethiopia - Diversifying the Rural Economy : An Assessment of the Investment Climate for Small and Informal Enterprises," World Bank Publications - Reports 3125, The World Bank Group.
    7. Bezu, Sosina & Barrett, Christopher B. & Holden, Stein T., 2012. "Does the Nonfarm Economy Offer Pathways for Upward Mobility? Evidence from a Panel Data Study in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1634-1646.
    8. Lanjouw, Jean O. & Lanjouw, Peter, 2001. "The rural non-farm sector: issues and evidence from developing countries," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, October.
    9. Haggblade, Steven & Hazell, Peter & Reardon, Thomas, 2010. "The Rural Non-farm Economy: Prospects for Growth and Poverty Reduction," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1429-1441, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Astewel Takele & Assefa Abelieneh & Beneberu Assefa Wondimagegnhu & Mezgebu Ashagrie, 2025. "Determinants of farmers’ decision to engage in non-farm adaptation strategies to climate change in Lake Tana and Upper Beles River Watersheds, Northwest Ethiopia," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 1-30, April.
    2. Chuhan-Pole Punam & Francisco H.G. Ferreira, "undated". "Africa's Pulse, October 2014," World Bank Publications - Reports 20870, The World Bank Group.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zeeshan & Geetilaxmi Mohapatra & Arun Kumar Giri, 2022. "How Farm Household Spends Their Non-farm Incomes in Rural India? Evidence from Longitudinal Data," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(4), pages 1967-1996, August.
    2. Mintewab Bezabih & Andrea Mannberg & Eyerusalem Siba, 2014. "The land certification program and off-farm employment in Ethiopia," GRI Working Papers 168, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    3. Ayenew, Habtamu Yesigat & Sauer, Johannes & Abate-Kassa, Getachew, 2016. "Rural Non-Farm Sector, Agricultural Self-Employment And Wage Employment In Agricultural Households: The Implications For Income And Risk In Rural Ethiopia," 56th Annual Conference, Bonn, Germany, September 28-30, 2016 244809, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    4. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Swinnen, Johan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Global value chains, large-scale farming, and poverty: Long-term effects in Senegal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 97-107.
    5. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2014. "Are Rural Youth in Ethiopia Abandoning Agriculture?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 259-272.
    6. Adamseged, M.E. & Frija, A. & Thiel, A., 2018. "Dynamics of rural livelihoods and rainfall variability in Northern Ethiopia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277441, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Getahun, Tigabu & Fetene, Gebeyehu, "undated". "Determinants of Participation in Rural Off-Farm Activities and Its Effects on Food Shortage, Relative Deprivation and Diet Diversity," Discussion Papers 319328, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    8. Musa Hasen Ahmed & Kumilachew Alamerie Melesse, 2018. "Impact of off-farm activities on technical efficiency: evidence from maize producers of eastern Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Binswanger-Mkhize, Hans P. & Johnson, Timothy & Samboko, Paul Chimuka & You, Liangzhi, 2016. "The impact of urban growth on agricultural and rural non-farm growth in Kenya," 2016 Fifth International Conference, September 23-26, 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 249274, African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE).
    10. Dedehouanou, Sènakpon Fidèle Ange & Araar, Abdelkrim & Ousseini, Aichatou & Harouna, Abdoulaziz Laouali & Jabir, Maimounata, 2018. "Spillovers from off-farm self-employment opportunities in rural Niger," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 428-442.
    11. Jan Fałkowski & Maciej Jakubowski & Paweł Strawiński, 2014. "Returns from income strategies in rural Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 22(1), pages 139-178, January.
    12. Sam Jones & Finn Tarp, 2012. "Jobs and Welfare in Mozambique," World Bank Publications - Reports 12136, The World Bank Group.
    13. Kazi Iqbal & Md Nahid Ferdous Pabon & Md Wahid Ferdous Ibon, 2023. "Examining rural income and employment in Bangladesh: A case of structural changes in the rural nonfarm sector in a developing country," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(3), pages 364-387, July.
    14. Ayambila, Sylvester Nsobire, 2014. "The Determinants of Non-Farm Micro and Small Enterprise Employment and Financial Performance in Ghana," Miscellaneous Publications 358829, University of Ghana, Institute of Statistical Social & Economic Research (ISSER).
    15. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Kilic, Talip, 2019. "Dynamics of off-farm employment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A gender perspective," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 81-99.
    16. Poignant, Adrian, 2023. "Small-scale mining and agriculture: Evidence from northwestern Tanzania," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. G. M. Masereka & I. Mukisa & E. Bbaale, 2025. "Determinants of household participation in non-farm enterprises in Uganda," Journal of Economic Policy and Management Issues, JEPMI, vol. 4(2), pages 1-26.
    18. Laura Barasa & Bethuel K. Kinuthia & Abdelkrim Araar & Stephene Maende & Faith Mariera, 2023. "Nonfarm entrepreneurship, crop output, and household welfare in Tanzania: An exploration of transmission channels," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 762-792, July.
    19. Kiros Tsegay & Hongzhong Fan & AM Priyangani Adikari & Hailay Shifare, 2021. "Does gender matter for household livelihood diversification in Ethiopia rural areas?," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 10(6), pages 221-232, September.
    20. Peter Brummund & Joshua D. Merfeld, 2022. "Should farmers farm more? Comparing marginal products within Malawian households," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(2), pages 289-306, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:eeaeje:259508. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eeaa2ea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.