Journal of Geoscience and Eco Agricultural Studies

Abstract

This research focuses on the profile and determinants of poverty among rural populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It focuses specifically on the case of agricultural households in Madimba in the province of Kongo Central. To achieve this, a survey on a sample of 755 agricultural households was carried out. Poverty was measured on the basis of daily food expenditures. Socio-demographic characteristics (gender of the head of household, level of education, size of the household, etc.), environmental characteristics (climatic shocks: floods, drought, erosion; pests (insects, diseases, animals), economic factors (activities carried out, traditional agricultural practice, income, access to credit, savings, access to a subsidy, membership of a tontine, housing status) as well as institutional factors (access to water, access to health care) have been selected as potential explanators of poverty. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke poverty indices (FGT) were calculated. The logistic regression model (Logit) was used to estimate the factors associated with poverty.

The results revealed that at the poverty line of $1, 83% of households are poor (incidence or P0). Thirty-five percent of the poor are far from the poverty line (depth or P1) and 17.4% of households are further away (severity or P2). Family composition, the number of children under 15 years of age, non-agricultural activity, money transfer, housing status, health care and children's schooling expenses have been significantly associated with household poverty.