| dc.description.abstract | Farm-households in rural areas of developing countries are perpetually trapped in poverty due to low returns, delayed payments or failed markets. Diversification into non-farm livelihood activities is seen as one of the possible solutions in generating new sources of income. In Western Kenya, there is a growing trend of many households engaging in the motorcycle (boda boda) business – directly as riders or indirectly through lease arrangements. However, there is a dearth of empirical knowledge on what drives the uptake of this kind of livelihood activity, conditions under which it is likely to succeed and its contribution to overall household welfare.
This study assessed the determinants of smallholder farmers‟ participation in this form of transport business as a diversification pathway in Bungoma County. Descriptive statistics were used in characterizing smallholder farmers‟ livelihood activities and the extent of participation in motorcycle businesses. A binomial logit model was also applied in the analysis of survey data from 196 randomly selected individual respondents.
The study found out that rich asset base, group membership, access to credit and access to land positively influenced the household‟s decision to diversify into the motorcycle business. Annual household income and age of the household head were found to negatively influence household‟s decision to diversify into the motorcycle business. The findings also revealed that rural households were engaging in other livelihood activities apart from agriculture, where off-farm activities contribute over 62% of total household income.
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The study recommends, first, the improvement of access to credit especially among the youth living in the rural areas. Programs such as Youth Enterprise Fund (YEDF) need to create awareness among the youth on the fund‟s products and how to access them. Secondly, efforts should be made on training rural households on how to accumulate wealth and also encouraging them to be members of social groups. This will positively influence diversification into motorcycle business. Finally, since the findings also revealed that two-thirds of total annual household income was from non-farm activities, efforts should be made to make remunerative non-farm opportunities accessible to rural households. This can be done through improving access to technical skills and training, and increasing funding to rural vocational training centers, for them to be better equipped to offer technical skills training which positively influence livelihood diversification. | en_US |
