Rural poverty remains a structural challenge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), especially in the Kasaï Oriental province, where over 70% of agricultural households live below the monetary poverty line. This study investigates how inefficient marketing channels contribute to persistent poverty in Nkuadi, Tshilenge territory. Based on a survey of 400 rural households, combining quantitative (structured questionnaires) and qualitative approaches (interviews, focus groups), findings reveal that 71.8% of households live on less than $1 (2400 FC) per day per capita, while the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) reaches 63.2%, indicating severe deprivations in energy, housing, health, education, and access to clean water.Statistical analysis (χ² tests, linear regression, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke methodology) confirms a strong and significant correlation (p < 0.05) between reliance on closed local marketing channels (village-level, with no access to urban markets like Mbujimayi) and poverty status. Farmers sell maize—the main cash crop—at an average price of 3585 FC/meka, considered “low” by over half of them (50.25%), often imposed or poorly negotiated due to the absence of collective organization, lack of accounting practices, and ignorance of key management tools such as break-even analysis or safety margin. Selling price and marketing channel emerge as critical economic determinants of poverty, alongside household size, which negatively impacts living standards (β = –362.03; p < 0.001).The study demonstrates that agricultural production alone cannot lift households out of poverty without structured markets, targeted policy support, and agricultural management capacity-building. It calls for formalizing farmer organizations into cooperatives, implementing price alert systems, strengthening financial literacy, and renewed state commitment to pro-poor agricultural policies. Without these interventions, agricultural growth will remain ineffective against entrenched rural poverty.