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Rural
poverty in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
A country rich in resources, including vast oil deposits that were the mainstay of its economy, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has been shaken in recent decades by waves of political unrest, economic crisis and deep divisions in society. Plummeting oil prices in the late 1990s sent a shock through the country, setting off riots and attempted coups. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela faces the progressive impoverishment of its population, as long years of economic decline add crushing weight to poverty that has traditional and historical roots. Poor people are the first to suffer from rising unemployment, low wages and inflation. Their nutritional standards and education levels are sinking and their productivity is declining. Almost half (45 per cent) of Venezuelans are poor. According to the 2001 census, the country has as many as 11 million poor people and 5 million extremely poor people. Although the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is one of the most highly urbanized countries in Latin America , poverty has a prevalently rural dimension. About 12 per cent of Venezuelans live in rural areas, where more than 70 per cent of the population is poor, compared to about 40 per cent in urban areas. About 70 per cent of all rural poor people live in the Centro Occidental, Nororiental and Andes regions. Rural poverty exists even in slums located near urban areas. Almost 5 per cent of the rural poor can be found near Caracas, the capital city. Between 1990 and 2000 the number of poor rural households more than doubled, and poverty spread to an even greater number of villages. Most rural people live in homes made of adobe, many with earthen floors. Two thirds of their dwellings are without running water or electricity. For the extremely poor, including the majority of the country's indigenous people and ethnic minorities, it is common for an average of six family members to live in one room. Their access to schooling, health care and markets is severely limited or non-existent. Yet almost half of the country's poorest people are children under the age of 14. Agriculture generates about 5 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and satisfies about 40 per cent of domestic demand. Only one tenth of the country's 2.7 million ha of arable land is irrigated, and it is in the hands of large farm owners. Most crops are produced in semi-arid lands by small farmers who are vulnerable to cyclical variations in the climate. Smallholders commonly have no title to land, and they lack access to irrigation, technical assistance and markets. Because their income from agriculture is not sufficient to meet their basic needs, farming households sell their labour for wages. About one third of the active poor population, including members of small-scale farming households, work for wages in agricultural or non-farm activities. At the roots of rural poverty in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is lack of:
Among rural poor people, women and indigenous peoples are particularly vulnerable. Only 1.6 per cent of economically active women work in agriculture, yet women account for 14.2 per cent of Venezuela ’s rural labour force. They work as wage labourers in medium-size and large farms and industrial enterprises. Women are hired in large numbers to harvest traditional crops such as coffee, cocoa, fruit and vegetables. They work as graders and dryers during the tobacco harvest, and in livestock production, processing and marketing. Source: IFAD |
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