Rural Households Poverty in the Northern Amhara, Ethiopia: Evidences from Gubalafto Woreda

Abstract

Over a decade, the food poverty persistently increase in Amhara region in which Gubalafto Woreda is located, and the rural population in Gubalafto Woreda has suffered from a successive food deficit and famine. Annually, the survival of around 35 percent of the total population depends on emergency relief food aid in the last two-consecutive years. As results, large numbers of people were being under poverty. The study was set out to examine the extent and determinants of poverty, poverty gap, and poverty gap square, and to measure the income inequality in the study area. Primary data was used from the stratified random sample of 250 households drawn from three agroecological zones to achieve our objectives using cross-sectional observation. Using the Cost of Basic Needs approach, total poverty line of the study area is Birr 294.6 per month per adult. Accordingly, 30.8 & 37.42 percent of sample household were unable to deserve their basic needs at a current time, and being under poverty at a period ahead. The OLS, and Tobit analytical models used to identify the determinants of welfare, poverty gap and poverty severity. Consequently, family size, participation on wage employment, distance to the main market and kolla agroecological dummy affect welfare status negatively and significantly. But they affect poverty gap and poverty severity positively. On the other hand, oxen, land size, non-livestock asset, participation on own business, access to credit and access to extension service affects the welfare status positively and significantly, however they affect poverty gap and poverty severity negatively. In conclusion, rural household poverty closely coincided with household characteristics, asset holding, infrastructural facilities, and institutional services. In spite of many efforts to mitigate poverty in the past, 43.2 percent of the total population was dependent on emergency relief food aid in the last twelve months.

Keywords: Poverty, determinants, Rural Household, Northern Amhara, Ethiopia.