Agricultural Development in the Fight against Poverty: The Case of South Kivu, DR Congo

Neema Ciza Angélique, Vwima Stany, Philippe Lebailly and Hossein Azadi
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Neema Ciza Angélique: Department of Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Vwima Stany: Department of Rural Economy, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Evangelical Africa, Bukavu 3323 465, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Philippe Lebailly: Department of Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium
Hossein Azadi: Department of Geography, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-24

Abstract: Agriculture plays a prominent role in the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has considerable production potential. One of the most populous and poorest provinces in DRC is South Kivu, where many people live below the poverty line. This paper aimed to understand agricultural development’s role in reducing poverty and maintaining rural households’ food security in the DRC. This study developed a questionnaire to evaluate the household identity, source of income, access to land, crops grown on the land, farming and animal husbandry practices, and constraints faced by households in relation to agriculture. The survey included meetings with farm heads, data collection from 120 households on household characteristics of their livelihoods (human capital, land capital, social capital, financial, etc.), as well as an overview of living conditions and income from agricultural activities. The data were processed and analyzed using R 3.6.2 and Excel software. The results showed that access to land is problematic with relatively small farms, especially when one considers that household size is high and therefore, the “area per farm” ratio is low. Moreover, agriculture generates very little income and it is therefore very difficult for a farmer to emerge from poverty. As a result, implementing an effective and equitable anti-poverty policy in rural areas is important to address the issue of farming household incomes and target low incomes from all sources of income.

Keywords: land tenure; land access; land capital; rural development; agricultural policy; poverty alleviation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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