Abstract:
Poverty is a serious and enduring problem in many developing countries with the poor constituting
more than half of the Kenyan population. Muhoroni and Nyando sub-Counties in Kisumu County
continue to have a high poverty rate despite the declining percentage of Kenyans living below the
international poverty line. This study focused on the relations between household poverty, land use,
land management, social networks and agricultural production in Nyando and Muhoroni sub
counties. A survey research design was used in this study. Systematic random sampling was used
to select 250 respondents who participated in the study. The questionnaire was used in data
collection, entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0); and
analysed both descriptively and inferentially. The Spearman’s Rank Order correlation (ρ) was used
to establish the relationship between household poverty and land use; the relations between
household poverty and land management; the relationship between memberships to social networks
and poverty; and the relationship between poverty and agricultural production. The study
determined that: A large proportion of the (64 per cent) of the respondents in Muhoroni and Nyando
sub-counties are poor. Second, there is a statistically significant but weak positive correlation
between household poverty and land use (rho = 0.269, ρ {0.000} < 0.01). Third, there is a
statistically significant and moderate positive correlation between land management and household
poverty (rho = 0.397, ρ {0.000} < 0.01). Fourth, there is a statistically significant but weak positive
correlation between membership in social networks and house poverty (rho = 0.233, ρ {0.000} <
0.01. Finally, there is a statistically significant and moderate positive correlation between
agricultural production and house poverty (rho = 0.364, p {0.000} < 0.01). The study concluded
that: land use patterns in Nyando and Muhoroni sub Counties have significant implications on
household poverty. that the adoption of land management practices is a proxy measure pertinent to
of household poverty; those social networks are a significant strategy for reducing poverty and that
increased agricultural productivity is crucial to household poverty alleviation. Consequently, the
study makes the following recommendations. First, policies that target effective land use practices
should be formulated. Second, there is a need to encourage households to seek agricultural extension
services to keep abreast with current and appropriate and sustainable land management practices.
Third, it is pertinent to build the capacity of social networks to enable them better serve members’
needs in terms of agriculture and land management. Finally, there is need for collaboration between
national and county government of Kisumu in the formulation of technical policies that can foster
the adoption of appropriate agricultural technologies and equipment by rural households.
