Income-generating Activities Research Articles

The Effects of Violent Civil Conflicts on Household Security and Government Responses in East Wallaga Zone, Oromia Regional State

This article provides a qualitative analysis of the impacts of violent armed conflicts on households and government responses. The study identifies direct effects such as deaths and forced migration, and indirect effects such as long-term losses in social capital, social networks, and infrastructure. These conflicts also harm institutions in the social, political, and economic spheres. The study recommends two policy suggestions at national and international levels: policies to rebuild household and community cohesiveness, and policies to aid recovery, such as income-generating activities and peacebuilding. Overall, the article highlights the need for comprehensive and coordinated efforts to address the effects of violent conflicts on households and communities.

With or without him? Experimental evidence on cash grants and gender-sensitive trainings in Tunisia

Is it possible to stimulate women’s income-generating activities by relaxing their financial and human capital constraints? Does involving husbands help or hinder the effort? We examine these questions using a three-arm randomized-controlled trial with 2000 women in Tunisia. Women in the two treatment arms were offered a large cash grant (worth USD768 in PPP terms) and a gender-sensitive financial training. In one of the treatment arms, women were additionally encouraged to bring their male partner to the training. Two years after the program, we show that the treatments stimulated women’s income-generating activities, but only when partners were not involved, and with no downstream effects on women’s agency. Independently of partners’ participation, impacts on household living standards were overwhelmingly positive, suggesting that the program was highly cost-effective. Overall, our results highlight the difficulty of stimulating women’s agency in traditional societies, and suggest that involving men in women’s empowerment programs can backfire.

Maternal healthcare utilization in rural Bangladesh: A comparative analysis between high and low disaster-prone areas.

This study examined the disparity in antenatal care (ANC) visits and institutional delivery between high-disaster-prone (HDP) and low-disaster-prone (LDP) areas, defined based on multi-hazards, in Bangladesh and assessed the influencing factors using Andersen's behavioral model. In this study, cross-sectional data of 345 mothers, who had live birth the year preceding the survey, were used from the second-round multipurpose survey of a longitudinal research project conducted in May-June 2011. Hierarchical multinomial logistic and binary logistic models were respectively used to assess the determinants of ANC contacts and choice of childbirth place. We found very low utilization of 4+ ANC visits in both HDP (20%) and LDP (15%) areas. The difference is also not significant. The strong influencing factors of receiving 4+ ANC were mother's education, household size, income, and proximity to health facility. The level of institutional delivery was also low (21%), and no significant difference between HDP (15.2%) and LDP (25.7%) was found. However, in the case of institutional delivery, significant (p-value ≤ .01) difference was found in C-section between HDP (42%) and LDP (79%). A significant (p-value ≤ .05) difference was also found in the attendance of graduate doctors/gynecologists between HDP (58%) and LDP (88%). Mothers of HDP areas were 52 percent less likely to choose institutional delivery compared to those of LDP areas. Moreover, there was 30 percent less likelihood of choosing institutional delivery with an increase in distance to the nearest health facility. Specific demand-side (e.g., awareness raising, expanding maternal voucher scheme, covering more mothers under maternal allowance, and facilitating more income-generating activities especially off-farm ones) and supply-side interventions (e.g., providing training to local traditional birth attendants, and deployment of boat-based medical teams in coastal and char areas) need to be undertaken to increase institutional delivery, especially in HDP areas. However, the ultimate solution depends on adopting long-term measures to prepare facilities ready by filling the vacant posts and reducing absenteeism. Public-private partnerships modality can also be introduced especially in the HDP areas. Policy attention is needed to introduce such interventions.

Disrupted income of women educators during pandemic: Economic effects, adaptive strategies, and government recovery initiatives

The women’s sector in the academe is one of the most affected profiles during the COVID-19 pandemic which directly ravages their livelihood and other economic activities. Thus, this research project investigated the economic situations of 30 private and public-school teachers who were displaced from their occupations or were forcibly deprived of income-generating activities. In-depth interviews as research instruments were employed in the study to extract responses on how the educators creatively apply adaptive economic strategies and how government should aid them during a global crisis. The research findings showed that the pandemic has affected the economic activities of the respondents including the loss of their livelihood and other economic sidelines. They responded to these economic effects through adaptive strategies using diversifying and analyzing trends, using digital technology resources, data-driven, acquiring new alternative skills, pricing strategy, and becoming an expert. Results dictated that government could support affected women by initiating training options, homepreneurship support, encouraging independent income-earners, financial management and tax breaks, and industry compatibility endorsement. This study is important to map out the specific economic effects of the pandemic and aid them with initiatives by providing them with concrete economic tools and programs.

Multiple Income-Generating Activities: A Way to Resilience for the Waterlog Community in Bangladesh

Multiple Income-Generating Activities: A Way to Resilience for the Waterlog Community in Bangladesh

Fish-Based Aqua-Tourism Centre for Development of Economical, Environmental and Cultural Security- A Case Study at Jasingfaa Aqua-Tourism Centre, Nagaon, Assam, India

Recreational or sports fishing is one of the most popular leisure activities which can also be termed fishing for pleasure or competition. It is regarded as one of the leading adventure tourism activities across the world. The most common form of recreational fishing is angling which generates sizeable income for the people where the angling takes place. The angling may take place in both natural and man-made water bodies. Going by the recent trends, recreational fishing is being considered an intrinsic part of eco-tourism which involves exploring scenic locations and experiencing the local cuisine, culture and heritage. Besides providing an opportunity to create income-generating activities, recreational fishing also contributes to conserving natural resources. Looking into the vast and varied fishery resources, Assam has the probability to promote aqua tourism activities as an alternative to adventure and wildlife tourism. This paper, thus, tries to explore and presents a case of a pioneer aqua tourism centre, i.e., Jasingfaa Aqua Tourism Centre, located in the central Assam district of Nagaon, Assam. Angling is a regular sports activity in the centre. Besides regular angling, the centre organises a Fish Festival consisting of an angling competition and other activities once a year following the ‘catch and release’ rule. The PRA tools like interviews and direct observation methods were administered to carry out the study. Jasingfaa is found to have evolved as a successful model of aqua tourism which generates a large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities besides contributing immensely towards nature conservation.

Assistance for Internally Displaced Persons in the Periphery of Ouagadougou in a Security Crisis Situation

The situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) raises many questions due to a lack of information on the part of the government. The actors in the field do not always agree on certain points, especially with regard to the living conditions of IDPs and even the working conditions of the humanitarian organizations that provide them with assistance. The aim of this research was to know if the actions of socio-economic care of IDPs on the outskirts of Ouagadougou are effective. We used a non-probability sampling method. The observation units were selected according to their availability (reasoned choice). Thus, the survey involved a sample of 34 households, made up of 202 IDPs including 51 adults and 151 children. We also conducted interviews with three (03) representatives of the Social Action of the municipality of Ouagadougou, one (01) authority of the Town Hall of the District 09 of the municipality of Ouagadougou, three (03) members associations and organizations providing assistance to IDPs, and one (01) responsible for coordinating aid to displaced persons in the city of Ouagadougou. In view of the results, humanitarian aid is considered insufficient, it is therefore necessary to: (i) intensify and accelerate the empowerment of IDPs through income-generating activities. As a prelude, the State must assume its responsibilities and fulfill its most absolute duty, namely to take care of internally displaced persons wherever they are, without discrimination of zone.

The impact of food security and poverty status on rural household farmers in Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Issues relating to food availability, accessibility/affordability, and food utilization remain of utmost importance to various stakeholders including policymakers and academics. As food security becomes a concern, poverty deepens systematically, and the meager income earned could not cover basic needs. The objective of this work was to analyze the food security and poverty status of the household farmers in Ikwo., Ebonyi State, Nigeria. For this study, a multistage sampling technique was used to select seventy-five farming households using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study used, Radimer/ Cornell’s questionnaire to measure the food insecurity of households; the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke model was used to measure the poverty status and Logit regression for determinants of food security. The food insecurity measure showed that 74.7% of the households were food secure. This showed that the monthly expenditures of 75% of the households were above the food security index. The poverty measure of the households shows that 21.3% points of the households express the incidence of poverty while 6.63% points and 2.81% points were found to have depth and severity of incidence of poverty, respectively. One out of the nine variables used as predictors of food security was statistically significant at p<0.05 level of probability. The Logit regression model indicated that income significantly influenced food security scenarios with respect to some of the indicators such as gender of household head, age of household head, farm size, farming experience, household size and education. The households’ coping strategies were reduction in meal size by 85.3%, purchasing simple foods (78.7%), and extra income-generating activities (76.0%). The study concluded that most of the households were food secure and 21.3% fell below the poverty line. The Government should provide credible sources to enable farming households increase production and earn more income. Key words: Poverty, Food Security, Households, Sustainability, Income, Farmers, Resources, Production

"They Talk to Me Like a Person" Experiences of People in an Injectable Opioid Agonist Treatment Program: A Qualitative Interpretive Description.

The aim of this study was to explore client experiences in a community-based injectable opioid agonist therapy (iOAT) program. The study occurred across two cities in Alberta, Canada. The research team conducted secondary interpretive description analysis on qualitative interview transcripts. Twenty-three iOAT clients were interviewed as part of a prior quality improvement initiative. Using secondary analysis of the transcripts, interviews were analyzed for themes, to create an understanding of clients' experiences. Participants accessed iOAT through other health services, for treatment of opioid use disorder. Participants reported that building trusting and supportive relationships with nurses was crucial to their success in the program. Through these relationships, participants experienced stopping and starting. They stopped behaviors such as illicit drug use, having withdrawal symptoms and anxiety, and prohibited income generation activities. They started taking care of themselves, accessing housing, increasing financial stability, receiving primary care, and connecting with friends and family. The global experience of iOAT was one of positive change for participants. The findings of this study are largely consistent with other published examples-iOAT programs create benefits for both clients and their communities. Although clients may join the program to access the hydromorphone, the relationships between staff and clients are the key driver of success.

Perceived Determinants of Smallholder Households’ Resilience to Livelihood Insecurity in Goncha District, Northwest Highlands of Ethiopia

Climate change, hazards to productive assets, social-related shocks, and land productivity reduction are all likely to make poor households less resilient. In Ethiopia’s highlands, the ability to deal with household resilience against poverty in the face of uncertainty is minimal. In the Goncha district of Ethiopia’s Northwest highlands, the study attempts to identify factors of household resilience to livelihood insecurity under crop-livestock mixed agricultural systems. Face-to-face interviews with 280 households were conducted using a structured questionnaire to acquire primary data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and structural equation modeling. The results revealed that household resilience to livelihood insecurity was significantly influenced by perceptions of sustainable farming practices, the cultivation of more fertile farmland, savings performance, diversification of income-generating activities, intensification of livestock husbandry practices, access to irrigation practice, and familiarity with practical technologies. Hence, scaling up sustainable farming systems and practical technologies, improving saving habits, increasing income diversification, and intensifying agroforestry are perceived to be significant to increase smallholder household resilience to livelihood insecurity over agroecologies.

Impact of income diversification on rural household food security in Ethiopia

Using primary data collected from 462 farm households, this paper aims to examine the impact of income diversification on rural household food security in Ethiopia. A propensity score matching model was employed to analyze the impact of participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture activities on household food security. The results indicate that age, education level, household size, number of contacts with extension agents, and numbers of livestock in tropical livestock units have a significant effect on household participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture sources of income generation. The propensity score matching result suggested that participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture would increase the rural household food security status by 10.6% to 19.5%, mainly due to a positive effect of additional sources of income generation from non-agriculture activities as witnessed in present and past studies. Therefore, to make considerable improvement on the food security situation, there is need to promote and scale-up on-farm, off-farm and non-farm income-generating activities in rural areas to diversify income sources so as to improve food security status of the rural households in Ethiopia.

Role of Social Factors in Shaping Women's Involvement in Income Generating Activities in Baneshwar Area, Kathmandu

Women’s empowerment is a broad concept, and it is defined as a multidimensional social process at different levels. The government of Nepal has declared 33% women's participation in various sectors. It has also introduced a female quota for women’s participation in various organizations. The study analyzed the role of social factors in women’s involvement in income-generating activities for women's empowerment. The study used a descriptive and explanatory research design. The study was conducted among the 60 working women living in the Baneshwar area of Kathmandu by applying the judgmental sampling technique. Primary data was the main sources of information. A survey questionnaire was adopted to gather the required information from respondents. The study adopted mean, standard deviation, correlation, and regression to analyze data to address the research problem. The result shows that the mean value of social factors was 3.0 to 4.6. The average of all social factors was 3.85, close to the agreement point. Hence, it concluded that women were moderately empowered through their involvement in income-generating activities. Social factors significantly impacted women's empowerment, with R-square = .172, and p-value = 0.001. The future researcher can study strategies to empower women through entrepreneurship skills.

Perception of local communities on protected areas: lessons drawn from the Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT A study targeting the Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of local communities’ opinion on benefits and disbenefits of protected areas and existing benefit-sharing mechanisms and to suggest future research for development direction related to the management of protected areas. Household surveys, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were tools used to collect data. The results obtained through the analysis of the factors affecting the attitude of local communities on the park and its management demonstrated that efforts should be concentrated on improving communication with local communities and short-term economic benefits as well as identifying the reasons for the unhealthy relationships and addressing them. These issues can partly be addressed through creating and supporting effective and functioning multi-stakeholder platforms for dialogue and co-production of knowledge, continuous meetings and awareness-raising campaigns and integrating more income-generating activities. The results also suggested that park management and government authorities use their authority to decide how local communities should participate in Bale Mountains National Park management initiatives. Such a top-down approach affects the sustainability of the efforts to conserve protected areas because local stakeholders lack incentives to participate. This also leads to inadequate understanding of the complex relationships between people and protected areas they depend on and the inability to tailor management responses to specific needs and conditions. The study discussed the implications of the results for future planning and management of protected areas and forwarded recommendations for policy and future research for development directions.

Income Generating Activities and Its Contribution to Financial Performance of Public Secondary Schools in Nyamira County, Kenya

This study intended to document the contribution of IGAs to the financial performance of the public secondary schools in Nyamira County. The introduction of Free Secondary Education brought massive financial calamities, and most schools are operating negatively in relation to cost. The objectives were to examine the type of IGAs engaged in public secondary schools in Nyamira County and to ascertain the factors influencing the performance of income-generating Activities in public secondary schools in Nyamira County. This research used Resource Dependence Theory. The study embraced a descriptive research design. Target population was 5 County education officers, 147 principals, 1076 teachers, and 37,070 students in Nyamira County. The researcher purposefully sampled 5 County Education Officers. Simple random sampling was embraced to get 15 Principals, 108 teachers, and finally 240 students. A total of 368 respondents took part in this investigation. Interview schedules and research questionnaires were used to gather data. Piloting of the instrument was done. The data were gathered through editing, coding, tabulating, and then analyzed, and SPSS 23 was applied. Quantitative data were displayed by descriptive statistics like tables. The qualitative data were presented in narrations. The research revealed that income-generating activities contribute immensely to the financial performance of learning institutions in Nyamira County. The research revealed that participation in IGAs is done in many schools with activities like crop cultivation, livestock rearing, school bus hiring, renting school premises, and agro-forestry. Numerous factors, such as the size of the project, school liquidity, inadequate finances, politics, supervision, operating costs, management capacity, and level of development in learning institutions, influenced income-generating activities in schools. The study recommends that a policy framework on income-generating activities to engage in should be formulated, regular training to equip teachers with skills to manage income-generating activities, proper record keeping should be embraced to ensure there is accountability in learning institutions, the ministry of education should encourage schools to partner with different agencies and sponsors to finance in this county and beyond.

Efficiency of multinational banks: Impacts of geographic and product loci

This paper explores geographic diversification strategies’ impact on multinational banks’ operational performance within the context of research on globalization and regionalization. We employ a sample of the 49 largest banks from 16 European countries from 2011 to 2018 and proxy operational performance by technical efficiency. We find the impact of geographic diversification on operational performance depends on the locus of geographic diversification—home-regional vs. inter-regional—and the interplay between geographic diversification and banks’ functional focus. More specifically, home-regional diversification together with a concentration on non-interest income-generating activities, including fee and commission and trading income, worsens performance, and diversification across regions alongside a focus on non-interest income-generating activities improves performance. Distinct product characteristics’ ability to facilitate different regional dispersions has important managerial implications for enhancing the success of geographic diversification strategies, a central but unresolved issue in global banking.

Monitoring and Evaluation Practices and Performance of Non-Government Organizations in Rwanda: A Case Study of Income-Generating Activities Project by Health Relief and Development Organization

This study aimed at the assessment of monitoring and evaluation of project performance.  The specific objectives were to assess the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices and the project performance in Non-Government Organizations in Rwanda, by taking the Income Generating Activities project (IGA project) in the Health Relief and Development Organization (HRDO), as the case study.  A descriptive research design was used within this study, and the study population is comprised of 165 employees working on the project and beneficiaries. The sample size of 117 respondents was established through calculations carried out using Slovin's Formula. To achieve the above objectives, a combination of questionnaires, and interviews analyzing financial and other reports were used. The researcher used primary and secondary data in this study.  And closed-end questionnaire was used Descriptive research design using mean and standard deviation will be used to interpret the collected data, while correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between the variables, and multiple regression will be used to test the hypotheses of the study.  The findings, indicate the coefficients of the regression where planning for monitoring and evaluation (PLME) has 0.287 with a significance of 0.002, staff technical skills in M&E (STSME) 0.414 with a significance of 0.000 and reporting for M&E (RME) 0.321 with a significance of 0.001. The constant .128 is the predicted value for the dependent variables (performance of IGA project) if all independent variables, planning for M&E=0, staff technical skills in M&E =0 and reporting for M&E =0. The results show that there is a positive and significant relationship between planning for M&E and project performance because the calculated Pearson correlation and significance level between planning for M&E and schedule is positive and significant (r=0.717 and sig=0.00<0.01) level of significance. The calculated Pearson correlation and significance level between planning for M&E and cost is positive and significant (r=0.712 and sig=0.00<0.01) the level of significance. The calculated Pearson correlation and significance level between planning for M&E and stakeholder satisfaction is positive and significant (r= 0.683 and sig=0.00<0.01) level of significance. Conclusion and recommendation   were basing empowerment of Monitoring and evaluation to project performance due to hypothesis (Ho) in this study was rejected. Keywords: Monitoring, Evaluation, project, Performance.

Infant and young child feeding practices and associated socioeconomic and demographic factors among children aged 6-23 months in Ghana: Findings from Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2017-2018.

Association between poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and malnutrition in infants and young children (IYC) is well established. Furthermore, appropriate IYCF practices are important during the first 1,000 days of life to ensure optimal health and development. Understanding IYCF practices and associated socioeconomic and demographic factors will inform interventions to achieve the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target to end malnutrition in all forms. This study estimates the prevalence of Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD), Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF), and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD), and examines their association with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics among children aged 6-23 months in Ghana. We used data from the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 6 (GMICS6) conducted in 2017-18. Participants were recruited through multi-stage stratified cluster sampling. Information on caregiver's self-reported breastfeeding status and 24-hour dietary recall of foods IYC were fed with were collected through face-to-face interviews. We estimated the prevalence of MDD, MMF and MAD with a 95% confidence interval (CI). We investigated the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of MDD, MMF and MAD using univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Among 2,585 IYC aged 6-23 months, MDD, MMF and MAD were estimated as 25.46%, 32.82% and 11.72% respectively. Age of the IYC, educational status of the mothers/primary caregivers, and resident regions were found to have positive associations with MDD, MMF and MAD. In addition, the richest household wealth index and urban area of residence were found to have significant positive associations with MDD. We report a low prevalence of MDD, MMF and MAD. Efforts to improve IYCF practices among children aged 6-23 months in Ghana should focus on multi-sectorial approaches including increasing access to formal education, income-generating activities and addressing regional and rural-urban inequity.

Eradicating Homelessness and Improving the Living Standards of the Poorest of the Poor in Greater Port Harcourt City, Nigeria

Homelessness and poverty are significant challenges facing Greater Port Harcourt City in Nigeria. This paper discusses these issues and proposes a solution through the development of an inclusive and sustainable agropolitan residential housing project. The project aims to provide affordable housing for young unmarried, newly married, and married individuals with young children, falling within the income groups of 'No income,' 'Low Income,' and 'Lower Medium Income' as defined by the 2012 National Housing Policy Document (NHPD) of Nigeria. It will create sustainable, mainly agro-based livelihoods through integrated farming and other activities, such as real estate, power generation, waste management, and recycling. This will enable beneficiaries to take care of their housing and other needs while generating employment and revenue. The proposed housing project aligns with the Greater Port Harcourt City Master Plan and will complement the city's proposed beautiful townscape. The paper concludes that eradicating homelessness and improving the living standards of the poorest in Greater Port Harcourt City requires sustainable and inclusive housing solutions that provide access to employment and income-generating activities. A comprehensive and collaborative approach involving various stakeholders such as the government, private sector, and non-profit organizations is necessary to address this complex issue.

Lifestyle assessment in individuals with spinal cord injuries caused by accidents and disasters in qualitative studies published from 1990 to 2020: A meta-synthesis of qualitative study.

As a debilitating disorder, spinal cord injuries (SCIs) can bring about a range of physical, psychological, and social consequences in individuals and even have effects on their lifestyle indicators. The present study was thus to reflect on lifestyles among people with SCIs developing from accidents and disasters. Using a meta-synthesis of qualitative research, all articles recruiting qualitative methods to examine patients with SCIs, published from 1990 to 2020, were retrieved by the researchers, good at the Persian and English languages, from the databases of ScienceDirect, MD Consult, Pedro, ProQuest, PubMed, SID, MedLib, Magiran, Scopus, Google Scholar, Iranmedex, the Cochran Library, CINAHL, and Blackwell, tapping the keywords of "spinal cord injury, SCI, manmade disaster, natural disaster, content analysis, concept analysis, thematic analysis, lifestyle, quality of life, QoL, grounded theory, meta-synthesis, mixed-methods research, historical research, ethnography, and phenomenology" in both languages for their inclusion in this study and further analyses. With reference to the inclusion criteria, 18 articles were extracted, and after all 10 studies in line with the research topic were reviewed and analyzed. Ultimately, six main themes, namely, compromise, self-reliance, income-generating activities, mental status, inability, and issues of sexuality were extracted, demonstrating their importance to individuals suffering from SCIs. During the initial stages following SCIs, the abilities to engage in participatory practices and individual's power of decision-making diminish because of physical, social, psychological, and environmental constraints. It was accordingly recommended to have a holistic perspective and respect all aspects of life in individuals with SCIs.

Impact of Government Schemes on Tribal Development in Nagaland

India’s tribal population is a sizeable minority with distinctive cultural identities, traditions, and beliefs. The Indian government has introduced a number of Programmes and schemes to support their socio-economic development. This Programme aims to provide the tribal population with basic necessities like housing, healthcare, education, and sanitation facilities. The Nagaland government has put into place a number of Programmes to support the socio-economic development of tribal communities within the state. These Programmes are intended to offer financial and other forms of support to assist tribal communities in raising their standard of living and enhancing their standard of living, education, and health. These Programmemes are aimed at giving tribal communities financial support, technical support, and capacity building to enable them to engage in income-generating activities, increase the productivity of their agriculture, and gain access to better healthcare and education. The Nagaland government is dedicated to making sure that these Programmes are successfully carried out and that the state’s tribal communities can reap the rewards of these initiatives. This study shows the influence of tribal development in Nagaland and government initiatives.