A Small Rural Nonfarm Activity with Greater Livelihood Benefits to Poor Boys and Young Men: Bicycle Taxi Business in Rural Malawi

Abstract

Uneducated and unskilled boys and young men in rural Malawi have to find another source of income as agricultural produce has been dwindling down over the years. The surge in bicycle taxis in rural Malawi has been triggered by the quest for self-employment opportunities; increased mobility needs; poor road infrastructure networks; insufficient motorized transport; low demand for motorized transport; and low disposable incomes among rural Malawians to own private motorized transport. With limited industrialization, 80 percent of Malawians still live and work in rural areas. Studies of nonfarm activities in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) have concentrated on urban based activities, paying little attention on the rural based nonfarm income generating activities.　This study was done to explore the role of Bicycle Taxi Business (BTB) as a nonfarm activity in rural livelihoods. Apart from augmenting on farm agricultural activities, BTB offer the operators a platform to help their dependants and also ensuring food security among rural households. Without these livelihood benefits accrued from taxi operations, life could just be a nightmare for this special group as subsistence agricultural production has dwindled down over the years; and they cannot successfully compete in the highly competitive formal labour market.

Keywords: Rural Youth; Bicycle Taxi Business; Rural Livelihoods; Malawi