Rural Income Generation and Diversification - A Case Study ... - Doria

for both periods. In general, the households had to rely more on small livestock such as goats
and chickens in the 2000s because of the steep decline in the numbers of larger animals.
6.2.6 Changes in non-farm income
Business activities
The relative importance of business income for the households had increased over the 16
years. In this comparison (Table 27), the forest and business income reported in the 2003
survey were combined into one business-income figure. Non-wood forest income turned out
to be important, especially among the poorer and more vulnerable households.
Thirty of the 67 households were involved in business activities in both 1985/86 and 2003,
19 were active in 1985/86 but not in 2003, five had no business activities in either periods,
and 13 of the households, that had no such activities in 1985/86 had started them by 2003.
Beer brewing and selling were the most common types of business during both periods. The
interviewees explained that beer brewing was dependent on the maize harvest: following a
poor harvest all the maize was needed for food. This was the case especially in the Chipata
district, where brewing used to be common but was non-existent after the 2001/02 harvest.
Table 27. Businesses operated by the households in 1985/86 and 2002/03.
% of households a engaged in 1985/86 2002/03
beer brewing 51 30
mat weaving 11 5
trading, retailing 9 31
hunting/fishing 8 7
tailoring 5 2
tin/blacksmithing 5 5
a of the households operating businesses
Sources: IFPRI Dataset 1985/86 and the researcher’s own dataset 2003.
Many households had different business activities in 2003 than in 1985/86. Trade-related
activities, from petty vending to agricultural trading, had increased in popularity. One reason
for this may have been the withdrawal of government from agricultural trade and the consequent
opening of the market to large- and small-scale private operators.
Business activities measured in terms of the amount of income or the number of days dedicated
to the activity concentrated in both cases on the low agricultural season of June–
October or July–November, when the household members were less occupied in agricultural
production. Another contributing factor was that raw material for beer brewing became
available after the harvesting. The households started selling their main crop in May/June,
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