Economic transformation and diversification towards off-farm income in rural and urban areas

De la O Campos, A.P.; Admasu, Y.; Covarrubias, K.A.; Davis, B.; Diaz, A.M.;

Economic transformation and diversification towards off-farm income in rural and urban areas

A global update with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 76 p.

Author De la O Campos, A.P.; Admasu, Y.; Covarrubias, K.A.; Davis, B.; Diaz, A.M.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-137715-4

Series title FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper

Series number No. 23-05

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) This working paper is the update of an earlier cross-country study on household income sources using an expanded harmonized dataset. The analysis presented covers a total of 93 surveys representing 41 countries – nearly double that of the previous study – to depict rural and urban households’ livelihood strategies across different levels of economic development. The findings shed light on the relationship between household livelihood activity portfolios and per capita gross domestic product, confirming a picture of multiple livelihood activities across the rural and urban space, at different levels of development. However, we find an emerging divergence between countries from sub-Saharan Africa and those from the rest of the world regarding employment and income generation.

The findings of this working paper have been summarized in the policy brief Africa’s unique transformation from a household livelihood strategies perspective.

Cite this content as:

De La O Campos, A.P., Admasu, Y., Covarrubias, K.A., Davis, B. & Diaz, A.M. 2023. Economic transformation and diversification towards off-farm income in rural and urban areas – A global update with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper, No. 23-05. Rome, FAO.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc4796en

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Language English

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Livelihood diversification continues to be the norm rather than the exception globally. This means that, to be successful, livelihood support interventions need to consider households’ decisions in terms of the distribution of labour, time and risk management strategies. The main message of this policy brief is that, at similar levels of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and of agricultural value-added in GDP, rural households in sub-Saharan African countries show greater specialization in on-farm activities and lower participation in non-agricultural wage employment. Therefore, for African households to shift to opportunity-led pathways, there is urgent need to boost social protection and invest in education, while enhancing the agricultural productivity of small-scale producers and value addition.