Implications of Migration for Pro-Poor Agricultural Growth

differences etc. all of which influence migration patterns and remittance utilisation. Methods musttherefore be broadened to include more qualitative techniques and case studies. 2. Integrate migration and commuting into PRSPs, CASs, National Plans At present most key policy documents related to rural development, agriculture and povertyreduction pay little or no attention to migration. These should be reviewed where possible to integrate migration and commuting concerns. There needs to be a greater recognition of thecontribution of current and future mobility to development and poverty reduction. 3. Identify the conditions which stimulate the productive use of remittances Examples of productive investment of remittances should be studied to understand where and how this has occurred by giving special attention to: • Labour availability and household labour allocation decisions, how gender roles and cultural factors influences these decisions and the impacts of labour depletion on the household and local economy• The skills base of migrants and how/if this has changed through migration and whatcontribution that has made to developing/enhancing agriculture or enterprise in the source village• Existing constraints faced by the poor in key agricultural markets such as credit and labour and how remittances are used in situations of persistent debt created byinterlocked markets – do remittances help the poor in escaping from thesearrangements?• Availability of key natural resources – water and land are probably the mostimportant. Are remittances invested in buying more land and is this used for production soon, later or never? Does the availability of water affect this pattern?The information from such studies can be used to identify appropriate complementary interventions The obvious ones are education and health – i.e. more educated and healthier farmers are morelikely to spend on better farm inputs and technologies etc. 4. Identify locations/situations where it would make more sense to facilitate the movement of people This would need to be decided on a case by case basis, say at the district level in order toaccommodate location specific historical, agro-ecological factors as well rates of urbanisation and agricultural development. The Chinese example is informative because mobility is being encouraged to reduce rural poverty and sustain the rural economy.5. Design transport services to suit poor migrants and commuters A number of research projects on transport conducted under by ITDG and through the DFID Knowledge and Research (KaR) projects have noted transport constraints, and their impact on rurallivelihoods and service provision are of a high priority for the rural poor. Incorporate previous experiences collected from social impact studies of transportinterventions, into the appraisal of new schemes. • When urban restructuring is being undertaken (the development of new towns and satellite cities, or internal restructuring directly aimed at the urban poor) an awareness of how transport has been used by the poor should be reflected in the plans. 6. Review existing laws and regulations that apply to migration and informal sector employment and enterprise to ensure that they are not anti-poor. The current set-up in several countries demands that people who wish to sell anything or set up asmall business go through several official hurdles before they can acquire a licence and becomelegitimate. A majority of poor people opt out of this because of the complex bureaucraticprocedures involved. This makes criminals out of nearly all petty businessmen, street hawkers andvendors, food sellers and several kinds of labourers. Ways have to be found of minimising and simplifying laws. 7. Where necessary identify appropriate technical and market training for potential migrants Careful needs assessment should be employed to identify the kinds of training that would benefit potential migrants in their search for jobs. The experience of China and Himachal Pradesh discussed previously provide useful examples The training could also incorporate issues related to their rights so that they can improve their bargaining position. 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