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The first thing to understand is the diverse nature of the migration experience. Migration is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that ranges from voluntary migration – whereby people choose to move in search of better opportunities – to forced migration – where they move to escape life-threatening situations caused by conflicts or disasters. The two have different drivers and different impacts and call for – at least partly – different responses. In between are situations where choice and coercion contribute to different degrees to people’s decision to move. This typically applies to slow-onset processes such as the incremental impacts of climate change, where people at some point come to the conclusion that moving is the best available option.

Furthermore, I have noted that most of the attention is on international migration, but this report highlights that this is only part of a much bigger picture that also includes migration within countries, and that the latter is much larger than the former. International migration is often preceded by internal migration, for example through a move from a rural area to a city. Another fact, which may come as a surprise to many, is that migration between developing countries is just as important in terms of magnitude as migration from developing to developed countries. A lot of people may also be surprised to learn that the vast majority of international refugees – around 85 percent – are hosted by developing countries.

The key focus of this report is rural migration, which constitutes a considerable portion of both internal and international migration flows. By rural migration, we mean migration from, to, and between rural areas, whether the move occurs within a country or involves crossing a border. In many countries, especially those at less advanced levels of development and that still have large rural populations, migration between rural areas exceeds rural–urban migration. What is more, a large number of international refugees – at least 30 percent at the global level and more than 80 percent in sub-Saharan Africa – are found in rural areas of their host countries. Understanding rural migration – its magnitude, characteristics, drivers, and impacts – must therefore feature prominently when addressing development.

Rural migration is closely linked not only with agriculture and rural development but also with the overall development of societies. It is a historically important phenomenon that has contributed to the transformation of societies from essentially rural to more urbanized. It has accompanied the gradual process whereby labour is transferred from agriculture to more productive sectors in manufacturing and services that are often located in urban areas, thus contributing to rising incomes and economic, social, and human development. The process of people moving out of rural areas, either to cities or to other countries, continues in many societies today. In many high-income countries, the process has reached the point where agriculture and rural areas are economically viable only to the extent that immigrant labour is available.

Clearly, we must recognize that rural migration is a phenomenon that presents both opportunities and challenges, benefits as well as costs, for migrants themselves and for societies in general. For migrants, migration can mean higher incomes, access to better social services, and improved livelihoods. It can mean improved education and nutrition for their children. It can also have beneficial effects on the families and households of migrants who have remained behind in rural areas, for example through remittances, and can help them diversify their sources of income and improve their conditions. Migration can contribute to rising incomes and the overall economic and social development of societies through new productive resources, skills, and ideas. Unfortunately, these opportunities are often not available for the poorest sectors of the population, who may not have the means to face the high cost of migrating.

We cannot ignore the challenges and costs associated with migration. For individuals, these costs can be high at the economic, social, and personal levels. It can be disruptive for families and for communities of origin, not least when it leads to the loss of often the most dynamic part of the workforce, since it is generally the younger and better educated who migrate. The balance between the benefits and the costs is not always positive for those who move or for those who are left behind.

Finally, we must not ignore that too many people – refugees and the internally displaced – move not because they choose to, but because they have no choice. Increasing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people constitute the most dramatic dimension of migration and call for determined efforts by the international community to address the causes of this displacement, to build resilience among rural people threatened by disasters and conflicts, and to support host countries and communities in coping with the sometimes vast influx of people.

Given the complexity of migration, the appropriate policy responses are difficult to identify or put in place. The drivers, impacts, costs, and benefits of migration are very different and dependent on context. Policy challenges relating to rural migration vary greatly between countries. Some are destination countries for international migration, others are at the origin of international migration flows, some are transit countries, and many are two or three of these at the same time. Some countries still have large rural populations, constituting a potential source of large flows of rural outmigration, while others have already seen major rural outmigration and are now largely urbanized. Some countries with large or growing rural populations – particularly youth – have the development momentum necessary to generate employment opportunities; others, mired in low levels and slow progress of development, face major difficulties addressing these demographic pressures and providing opportunities for young people in rural areas. Countries in protracted crisis face enormous challenges due to the displacement of people and the undermining of livelihoods, not to mention the physical threat to lives and assets, while others have to cope with sometimes massive inflows of refugees and displaced populations. All these countries face different challenges associated with migration and will have different policy priorities when trying to address them.

Beyond the case of forced migration linked to crisis situations, it is important not to consider migration per se as a problem that requires a solution. As such, policies should not aim to either stem or promote migration. Rather the objective must be to make migration a choice, not a necessity, and to maximize the positive impacts while minimizing the negative ones. This means that in many situations it makes sense to facilitate migration and help prospective migrants overcome the constraints they might face, thus allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities that migration offers. At the same time, it also means providing attractive alternative opportunities to prospective rural migrants, not least by promoting development in rural areas or in their proximity. In this context, a key role can be played by the territorial development approach advocated in the 2017 edition of this publication, namely by improving infrastructure and services in small cities and towns and the surrounding rural areas, creating better links between them and exploiting the potential that agriculture and agroindustry offer for local and overall development.

When FAO published “The State of Food and Agriculture” for the first time in 1947, the focus was on reconstructing the global food system after years of world war. Since then, living conditions around the world have improved dramatically, not least thanks to the increased circulation of goods, people, and ideas. Looking back, I cannot help but think that we are at a critical juncture in history where we risk losing sight of how far we have come. Yet much remains to be done to eliminate poverty and hunger in the world. Migration was – and will continue to be – part and parcel of the broader development process. My hope is that this report can help to better understand how the challenges associated with rural migration can be turned into opportunities and the benefits it offers maximized, thereby contributing to eradicating poverty and hunger.

José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General

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The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2018
El Estado Mundial de la Agricultura y la Alimentación (SOFA) 2018