Enriching Rural Communities Through Migration for Sustainable Agriculture
Channel: IOM - UN Migration
Date: 2020-03-25

What is the migration link with rural development, and how does this impact the achievement of our #GlobalGoals?

The overall development of rural communities can be enriched by migration to rural areas. In Africa, the agriculture sector attracts migrant workers throughout the region. When their skills are harnessed, they can help improve agricultural value chains.

Garry is a migrant worker who is now the packhouse manager on a farm in South Africa. Working in the agriculture sector interested Garry because it was work that he already knew. Since migrating from Zimbabwe, over time, his skills and eagerness to grow professionally led to new opportunities. Garry now oversees 200 employees in the packhouse and has gained enough resources to provide for his family back home.

Target 2.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls on governments and development actors to ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production. As we enter the “Decade of Action”, it is essential that the contribution of migrant workers to productive and sustainable agriculture is recognized, in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

With the support of universities in South Africa, farms are training migrants and non-migrants on how to practice sustainable agricultural techniques. Through this training, participants are able to increase their knowledge-base and receive mentoring to further their career goals.

Through the “Mainstreaming Migration into International Cooperation and Development” (#MMICD) project funded by the European Union, IOM produced a series of videos to show the #MigrationConnection between different sectors and capture what this means in practice for people and communities. For more information, please visit https://eea.iom.int/mmicd.