DETERMINANTS OF SUBSISTENCE FARMERS PARTICIPATION TO NON-FARM ACTIVITIES IN ITANG SPECIAL DISTRICT, GAMBELLA REGION, ETHIOPIA

— The subsistence farmers are highly relying on
farming activities as the main source of survival in Gambella
region particularly in Itang Special District. Thisthreatens the
livelihood of most subsistence farmers in the district. The aim
of the study was to examine determinants ofsubsistence
farmers’ participation to non-farm activities in the study area.
Multistage sampling technique was used to choose the study
area and participants. The data werecollected from 150
randomly selected subsistence farmers in the study area.
These data were collected through households’ interview and
document analysis. Moreover, the data were analyzed by
using mean, standard deviation, percentage, frequency, chisquare test, t-test and binary logistic regression model. A
result found that trading livestock, selling wild products,
craftsman,trading of food and drinks and employed in
organizations were the main non-farm activities among the
subsistence farmers in the study area. In addition, the credit
access, access to remittance, transport access, market access,
skill training, livestock holding size and income influence the
participation of households to non-farm activities. The
concerned bodies need to strengthen the local institutions and
alternative activities in the study area.