The Role of Non-farm Sources of Income in Rural Poverty Alleviation

In the past, many researchers and policymakers have §equated the rural economy with agriculture. §According to this view, rural households would §receive most of their income from the production of §food and export crops. In more recent years, this §view has begun to change. Presently, the awareness §is growing that rural households receive their §income from a portfolio of diverse activities, and §that one of the most important activities relates to §non-farm sector. In Mozambique, the role of the non-§farm sector in contributing to poverty reduction is §not known and seems to have been overlooked in the §present development strategies, while international §experience has shown that rural non-farm sources of §income, mainly from the small-scale rural §enterprises, are crucial in providing productive §employment and earning opportunities for the poor. §This has made some policymakers to view the §development of the rural non-farm sector as one way §to alleviate poverty. In this book, the author §discuss the role of rural non-farm sources §of income in alleviating poverty in the Boane §district, Mozambique.