Abstract:
Sustainable Development Goal 1 aims to end extreme poverty everywhere by the year 2030.
Smallholder irrigation development is arguably a vital strategy to reduce rural poverty. The authors
assessed the socioeconomic determinants of poverty reduction in Mberengwa district, Zimbabwe.
Data were collected from 444 randomly selected households. Data were analyzed using SPSS
version 27 and Microsoft Excel 2019 software packages. Chi-square tests, t-tests, and Foster–Greer–
Thorbecke (FGT) poverty index and binary logistic regression model tests were performed. The
chi-square test results show an association between access to irrigation and farmer’s level of education
(p < 0.01). The t-test results show significant differences between irrigators and non-irrigators for
household size (p < 0.01), household labor (p < 0.05), and rainfed plot size (p < 0.05). FGT indices
show that the poverty incidence, depth, and severity were lesser for irrigators than non-irrigators.
The binary logistic regression model results show that age, household size, access to irrigation
and household income significantly influence household poverty status. In conclusion, access to
irrigation reduces poverty in rural areas. However, access to irrigation is not a panacea for poverty
reduction in rural areas. Smallholder irrigation development policies should consider socioeconomic
determinants of poverty reduction to properly target and tailor interventions, and increase the
relevance and effectiveness of poverty reduction efforts.
