Original Research Article
Sadiq, M.S, Kolo M.D. Maude A.
Abstract
The paper examined the poverty status of rural farming households in District Nagaur, Rajasthan in India, using Foster, Greer and Thorbecke poverty (FGT) indices and Probit regression model. The data used were generated from a survey involving 80 rural farming household’s randomly selected using multistage sampling technique. Results of analysis revealed that the mean per capita monthly income among the farm households was Rupees 2932.91 with the FGT poverty incidence, poverty gap and poverty severity estimated to be 20%, 3.7% and 0.87% respectively. Poverty incidence was found to be higher among farming household in village Talanpur (7.5%), illiterate farming household head (11.3%) and those having five members and above (18.8%). The probit regression further indicates that the likelihood of being poor were more with large households and one income stream. The study therefore suggests that poverty alleviation programs must focus not only on those factors which aggravate poverty but also vulnerability, in order to employ several specialized approaches to tackle these multifarious problems. It is therefore recommended that government should strengthen the adult literacy education programmes and encourage farmers to diversify their income source.