Exploration of Causes of Poverty in Zamboanga del Norte

Abstract

Zamboanga Del Norte is a province of the northern portion  of Zamboanga Peninsula – Region IX. This study aimed to explore the causes of poverty in the province.  It delves into the identification of the root cause/s of poverty occurrence and evaluation of the effects of gross graduate, population density, per capita income and potential capacity to the poverty condition of Zamboanga del Norte.  The data were obtained from the statistical profile of Zamboanga del Norte in terms of demographics, income and number of graduates. The data generated were subjected to cluster analysis to determine the effects of the four variables in the poverty incidence. Results revealed, that Zambonga del Norte has high literacy rate. A greater portion of its area is widely occupied by people rather than utilized for agriculture. Per capita income is low although potential capacity is quite high yet not causal to poverty alleviation of the province. In conclusion, the poverty incidence of Zamboanga del Norte is high because: 1) majority of the people has low per capita income with the limited opportunities to augment earnings, 2) economic potential of the biggest land area is not maximized for the total factor productivity because of the convergence of the population in the city that left many agricultural lands unproductive and 3) literacy is not translated to productivity because  of the deteriorating quality of education and migration.