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Rural poverty in the Kingdom of Swaziland

Swaziland is ranked as a lower middle-income country. Yet income distribution within the country is extremely unequal. The wealthiest 10 per cent of the population account for nearly half of total total consumption and there is an ever-widening gap between urban and rural development. There are clear signs that poverty and unemployment are on the rise. About 84 per cent of the country's poor people live in rural areas, where per capita income is about four times lower than in urban areas, and food consumption is two times lower. A large proporation of rural households practice subsitence agriculture. About 66 per cent of the population is unable to meet basic food needs, while 43 per cent live in chronic poverty. When drought hit Swaziland in 2004 and 2005 more than one quarter of the country's popualtion required emergency food aid. In 2007 Swaziland experienced one of its worst droughts which led to major fooed insecurity.

Who are Swaziland's rural poor people?

Women are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Constitutionally, women can owne and control land and their finances. However, traditional social systems discriminate severely against them and foten bar them from owning and controlling land. In rural areas women have less access to education, and as many as 70 per cent of adult females are illiterate, compared to the national average of 21 per cent. Households headed solely by women are growing in number, as men seek employment away from home and HIV/AIDS takes its toll. Women struggle to feed their families and meet household needs single-handedly. At present 20 per cent of households are headed by women, and a further 20 per cent are managed by women while adult males are employed away from home.

Young people are increasingly vulnerable to poverty. About 47 per cent of the population is under the age of 15 and in the next decade or so young people without work will cause the number of unemployed to rise considerably. There is an urgent need to create employment opportunities for this large and growing number of young people, most of whom are children of poor households. Swaziland is experiencing a major increase in child-headed households as a result of HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Where are Swaziland's rural poor people?

Poverty is concentrated mainly in areas where the climate is most unfavourable and agricultural productivity is lowest. The Lowveld is the hottest and driest zone and the most vulnerable to drought.

Most of the rural population, including the poorest communities in the country, live on Swazi Nation Land. This land is held in trust for the nation by the king and it is administered by the chiefs. It makes up about 75 per cent of the country's total land area. Most of the people who live on Swazi Nation Land farm small plots, cultivating maize and keeping cattle, and occasionally producing a cash crop.

Why are they poor?

Poor economic growth, a rapidly expanding population and an increasingly uneven distribution of resources are factors that contribute to the growing number of Swaziland's rural poor people. Other factors aggravating poverty are the rise in unemployment, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the fact that large parts of the country are vulnerable to drought and climate change. Environmental fragility is beginning to affect food security. Overgrazing has caused soil depletion, while drought and periodic floods have become persistent problems.

Smallholder farmers living on Swazi Nation Land face a number of obstacles that prevent them from breaking out of poverty. The low agricultural productivity of the land can be attributed to a number of factors including difficult road access, poor linkages to markets, limited availability of irrigation water and vulnerability to climatic changes.

Source: IFAD