Poverty induced characteristics and their effects on the rural development of Imo State

Abstract

This study on poverty induced characteristics and their effect on the rural development was conducted in 45 rural communities in Imo State, Nigeria. Data were collected with structured questionnaire from 90 randomly selected community leaders and analyzed with frequency distribution and percentages. The- most pronounced poverty induced characteristic was found to be landlessness, while the most serious effect of poverty on rural development is insecurity of life and property. There is urgent need to identify the real poor people in the society and ensure that they benefit fully from the programs meant for them so as to reduce the level of insecurity in our society and achieve rural development.

Keywords: Poverty, rural development, communities, Nigeria