Understanding participation in non-farm activities in rural Sudan: across-sector study of irrigated and rainfed agricultural systems

Purpose: This paper examines the determinants of participation in non-farm activities in rural Sudan. It also investigates whether the factors that influence participation in non-farm activities vary across agriculture sub-sectors. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts the multinomial logit and probit methods on labour supply participation theory using the Sudanese National Baseline Household Survey (2009). The analysis was applied across job types and agriculture sub-sectors. Findings: The results indicated that educational level, means of transportation, lack of land and access to formal agricultural credit are the most significant factors that push rural farmers to participate in non-farm activities. Surprisingly, the effect of household income was positive and significant, implying that individuals from rich households have higher opportunity to engage in non-farm activities compared to their poor counterparts. The results also revealed some variations in the factors that influence participation in non-farm activities according to the agricultural sub-sectors. Originality/value: The originality of this article lies in investigating the factors that influence participation in non-farm activities across irrigated and rainfed systems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study identifying the determinants of participation in non-farm activities across agriculture sub-sectors. Therefore, the paper fills an important gap in the literature and helps in designing appropriate pro-poor policies to allocate infrastructures across irrigated and rainfed areas in Sudan