Abstract

Abstract:The level of investment and the ultimate contributionto wealth enhancement at the individual level vary according to the type ofinvestment. This paper analyzes the contribution of off-farm and on-farminvestment on the overall wealth status of the entrepreneurs with the aim offinding out the contribution of the two categories of enterprises on incomegeneration and employment creation. Variables such as enterprise returns,education level, household size, experience in business, age and sex of therespondent were included in the analysis. Quantitative evidences were obtainedvia the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method. The findings revealthat off-farm operators have more wealth than the on-farm operatorsatP<0.001 level of significance; the difference is attributed to the fact that off-farminvestments entail goods that have relatively inelastic demand where anincrease in price may not affect their consumption. The study concurs with themicro economic theories of demand and supply that support the fact that goodswith inelastic demand respond slowly to price elasticity compared to those withelastic demand. The study recommends allocation of resources into theconstruction of proper means of transport to create market opportunities foron-farm and off-farm enterprises and to allow investments currently dominatingin urban localities to find their way into rural areas.