Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

4.5.5 Enabling factors
At the end of the community meeting enabling factors were also identified. The first enabling
factor identified, which was returned to in other forms, was the strong agricultural base,
expressed in terms such as “we have our land”, and “our land is fertile”. Crops such as Irish
potatoes, coffee, and beans, as well as livestock were highlighted as important sources of
income which allowed diversification into other IGAs. Other enabling factors cited included
ideas of strength, health, and the capacity for hard work, and a peaceful and secure
environment 95 .
Some enabling factors were identified as working for some but not others, for example, some
people were perceived to have the “confidence” necessary to attract credit, while for others
lack of this “confidence” is a barrier. Past credit schemes were generally seen to have
improved the lot of the better off only – for the majority their interest rates were too high for
the relatively low returns on their activities, and, given that many would choose to invest in
farming, they were felt to be poorly timed with respect to the agricultural calendar.
4.6 Conclusions
The economy of the village remains heavily based on agriculture, and most households’
income derives from the sale of food and cash crops and small livestock. However, the
majority of households visited were involved in at least one non-farm IGA in addition to
farming, and non-farm IGAs have increased in number, diversity, and importance in recent
years. Many of the non-farm IGAs recorded were not very low profit, very low barrier
activities undertaken by individuals or members of households in distress – perhaps as a
result of the productive agricultural system, which is relatively inclusive, and allows for most
to generate at least a little income from farming – but tended to be relatively profitable in
comparison to farming. Even so, no household was recorded to have stopped farming and to
rely entirely on non-farm IGAs.
Many of the non-farm IGAs recorded depend on adding value to primary production, or
exploiting natural resources in some way, although a number did not, relying on raw
materials or products imported to the area, or providing services.
The growth of the non-farm economy in Byakabanda is related to the reconstruction and
development of the district generally under the RDDP, particularly the rehabilitation of the
roads. It is also related to national government policies, such as UPE, through the associated
investment in infrastructure and increased numbers of pupils requiring specialist goods and
services, or liberalisation, albeit at the expense of the farm economy in the short-term. Also
important are the activities of NGOs which have brought new ideas and technologies, as well
as providing access to credit and encouraging people to work in groups. In comparison with
the recent history of the district, peace, security, and a general environment in which normal
life is possible were also cited by local people as important factors in permitting growth in
both farm and non-farm IGAs. However, distress, in the form of increased dependency and
the high numbers of widows and orphans in the area resulting from AIDS deaths, has also
95 NGO workers with a broader perspective saw lack of stability and peace in the country and even the region as
whole as a cause for concern generally, as well as a threat to the development of non-farm IGAs, as insecurity
elsewhere impacts on the district through increased in-migration of marginalised people, and generally poorer
conditions for growth.
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