Determinants of Rural Youth Participation in Non-Farm Income Generating Activities: the Case of East Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia

Rural youths are forced to look for non-farm income generating activities to sustain and secure their livelihoods as well as to supplement their agricultural activities. However, their participation in nonfarm activities is influenced by various and yet empirically unidentified factors in East Gojjam Zone. Thus, the aim of the study was to identify factors that determine the participation of rural youths in non-farm income generating activities in the study area. The study drew a sample of 360 rural youths through systematic random sampling technique from three woredas of East Gojjam Zone. Data were collected using interview schedule, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics were applied to characterize the sample households’ demographic, economic and institutional factors. The finding of the survey indicated that participation in non-farm income generating activities is significantly influenced by eight variables. These variables are family size of the household, marital status, education level, land ownership, credit usage, market distance, mass media exposure and frequency of the household received extension service in a year. Among these variables market distance, land ownership and extension contact have negatively affected participation of youth in non-farm income generating activities. Agricultural extension service was skewed towards rural youth who engaged in agricultural activities at the expense of those who engaged in non-farm income generating activities. Market distance was also found to have a negative nexus with participation in non-farm income generating activities. Among several challenges which hinder rural youths from participating in non-farm income generating activities, lack of working capital and lack of working place were the major ones. This study concludes that rural youths in the study area faced different challenges to engage in non-farm income generating activities. Among those major challenges lack of working capital was the first bottleneck to start non-farm business in the study area. Thus, rural development strategy should give emphasis on promoting non-farm activities in rural areas to improve overall wellbeing of the rural youths. Key words: rural youth, non-farm income generating activities, employment