| dc.description.abstract | Poverty reduction has been a major concern of development policy in Kenya and in the view of the social costs associated with poverty; its reduction is an important goal for development policy. Since independence the government identified poverty as a major problem and many policies, programmes and projects have been designed and implemented with the aim of poverty alleviation. In furthering this goal, the study investigates the poverty determinant factors in Mwea with the objective of coming up with strategies that can reduce poverty in Mwea. Strategies aimed at poverty reduction need to identify factors that are strongly associated with poverty and that are amenable to modification by policy.
This research paper used primary data collected in 2009 in Mwea to examine probable determinants of poverty status by employing pro bit model. The study shows that poverty status is strongly associated with the level of education, household size, gender, marital status, engagement in agricultural activity and ownership of land. Poverty level was low for those with higher levels of education, those with a small household size, among the married, the male headed households and for those with diversified sources of income.The study established that to reduce poverty levels in Mwea, the parents should encourage their children to pursue education as this will enable them to become self reliant in the long run and thus reduce the dependency levels. The study also established that majority of the residents depend on Agriculture for their living.
To enhance and support this sector, it is important that the Government gives the residents subsidized farm inputs, affordable agricultural loans and sort out the problem of water shortage through employing qualified personnel in the scheme who can manage the infrastructure and build dams which can harvest water during the rainy seasons. It is also imperative that the residents diversify their sources of income to supplement their income from farming. | en_US |
