dc.description.abstract | This study is about Nile perch market liberalization and chronic poverty among fishing
community in Suba District. It identifies the socio economic characteristic of chronically
poor households among Nile perch fisher folks. It also investigates how Nile perch
markets liberalization have caused and sustained chronic poverty among Nile perch fisher
folks' households. The study has made use of the adverse incorporation and social
exclusion, institutional framework and structures of competition as conceptual
frameworks to analyze its findings. The study had two stages of data collection; The first
stage was data collection through participatory chronic assessment seminars, whereby,
the participants were selected from sampled beaches. Second stage of data collection was
by administering structured questionnaires to chronically poor households identified by
the participants from chronic poverty assessments seminars based on locally perceived
attributes of chronic poverty. Statistical Programme for Social Science was employed to
analyze the quantitative data while content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data.
The study finding reveals that chronically poor are not homogeneous groups among
fishers. They consist of female-headed. households, uneducated headed households,
windows, and people with disabilities among others. The study also reveals that Nile
perch market liberalization occasioned changes in the traditional Nile perch trade. Those
who were not able to adapt to the dynamics of external trade were marginalized and
relegated into chronic poverty.
The following were mentioned as drivers to chronic poverty: low volume of fish catch,
expensive fishing gears, over fishing, lack of loaning institutions, over dependence on
fishing, government fishing policy, direct Nile perch marketing, and mismanagement of
fishing co-operative societies, theft of fishing gears, death of breadwinners, poor road
networks and lack of external market information. The maintainers of chronic poverty
include: low volume of fish catch, lack of saving culture and institutions, poor financial
planning, lack of loaning institutions, monopoly of fishing, and modernization of fishing
methods, government policy, and high price of fishing gears, direct trade, illness and
middlemen exploitation.
In line with study findings, the study makes recommendations to address the issues of
chronic poverty among fisher folks' communities. Addressing chronic poverty is
complex and complicated hence requiring multiple responses and partnership approach.
These responses should address literacy levels, gender inequality, attitude change,
specific scheme of social protection and diversification of sources of livelihood and
incomes. | en |