Effect of Land Characteristics on Poverty Levels among Tea Farming Households in Konoin Sub-County, Kenya

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of land characteristics on poverty levels among tea farming household in Konoin sub-county. The objectives of the study were to determine the effect of farm land size, diversified land use, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety on poverty levels of tea farmers. To achieve the purpose of the study, the hypothesis tested was: farm land characteristics (farm land size, diversified land use, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety) do not have significant effect on poverty levels among tea farmers. The sample that took part in the study was 380, selected from a target population of approximately 36,000 small-scale tea farming households. The sample was selected proportionately from 12 tea catchment areas. Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and censored Tobit regression models were used to analyze data. The farm land characteristics; farm size, land tenure, diversified land used, increased land size under tea and diversified tea crop variety were found to significantly influence the poverty levels among the tea farmers. These characteristics led to better incomes, more odds of the household being above the poverty line and where the household was poor, reduced likelihood of being deeply in poverty and less effort was required in lifting them out of vicious poverty. As a recommendation, interventions targeting on diversified land use, diversification of crop varieties, land consolidation and less subdivision, and adoption of fast maturing crops should inform policy formulation targeting poverty reduction in smallholder tea farming households. Keywords: Small-scale Tea farming, Land characteristics, Poverty, smallholde