The characteristics of the poor people in rural Kenya. a case study of Kisii central district

Abstract

All countries worldwide view poverty as an enemy to development. This is why governments' efforts are directed towards the alleviation of poverty. In Kenya, poverty has been and still is one of the main problems facing the country and particularly in rural areas. To achieve any sustainable economic growth and development in Kenya, is important to alleviate poverty in rural areas , but first by understanding the major causes of poverty in rural areas even in areas with agricultural potential like Kisii Central District.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the poor people in rural Kenya. The setting of the study was Kisii Central District. The respondents consisted of 64 rural households. Data were collected through the questionnaires and interviews. Out of the total 64 households, 37 were classified as poor and 27 were classified as rich by using food consumption expenditure to total income ration method.

The study sought to find out the characteristics of the poor in rich agricultural Kisii Central District. Descriptive statistics were employed in the analysis of the collected data. The results revealed that large family sizes, lack of enough land, high illiteracy level, lack of access to rural credit facilities, theft of the farm produce, and diseases especially malaria were some of the characteristics of the poor in Kisii Central District.

The policy recommendations suggested by the researcher included: the government and NGOs to promote literacy level in rural areas, provision of rural credit facilities to the farmers, reduction of large family sizes through the spread of education on the importance of having small family sizes, spread of education on how to control malaria and punishing heavily all those caught stealing farm produce.