10 August 2018

New Report: "The Linkages Between Migration, Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development"

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural development (IFAD), the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have jointly released a technical report titled "The linkages Between Migration, Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development".

It analyses the complex drivers of migration and the central role that agriculture, food and development plays in this phenomenon directly and indirectly. Although migration has always been a highly complex issue, this report factors in conflict, poverty, hunger, economic considerations and climate change impacts. Drawing out the impacts on the point of origin and destination, it iterates poverty and hunger to be one of the reasons of migration, while also stating that migration can also negatively impact agriculture productivity.

The report also highlights climate change as something that has exacerbated the issue of migration and continues to alter it. It points out the myriad of forms migration may assume and throws light on the inextricable effects of environmental stressors on agriculture and food security. The crucial need to address this nexus is explicitly underlined, especially in economically weaker regions which are primarily agrarian,. Without sufficient resilience measures to tackle sudden natural disasters, these regions are at high risk.

Competition over scarce resources and the resultant conflict is a driving element when it comes to forced migration. An acutely protracted violent crisis seeing an outpour of refugees and other forcibly displaced people, compounds the effects on agriculture and food systems; it can result a in cycle of mutually reinforcing dynamics. 

The rundown of the report states the need for extensive humanitarian assistance, resilience building and support adaptation strategies, especially in areas close to the home countries of the people affected.

Click here to read the official technical report.