Rural poverty and its determinants in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia

This study examines the covariates of poverty among rural farm households in Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Data for the study was collected from 168 randomly selected households using interview schedule. The FGT index was employed to analyze the extent &severity of poverty among poverty stricken households where as binary log it model was used to identify the major determinants of poverty in the study area. The finding from FGT index revealed that about 64 percent of households were found to be poor and the remaining 36 percent were non-poor. The gap and severity of poverty were found to be5percent and 81percent, respectively. The logistic regression model result revealed that family size, participation in off-farm activities, education status of the household head, sex of household head, farm income, and market distance were found to be the significant determinants of poverty in Wolaita Zone. As a result, encouraging family planning, raising household income diversification, promoting rural off-farm employment opportunities and investment in rural infrastructure are suggested so as to reduce the rural poverty in the study area.