(PDF) The Effect of Rural Urban Migration on Agricultural Production in Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Human migration is the movement of people from one area to another with the purpose of establishing in a new location, either permanently or temporarily (geographic region). Internal migration (inside a single nation) is the most common type of human migration worldwide. [world migration report, 2020] Migratory is frequently linked with higher human capital at both the individual and household level, as well as better access to migration networks. People may migrate as individuals, in family units, or in large groups.[migration country wise, 2015] There are four major types of migration: invasion, conquest, colonization, and emigration/immigration.[caves, 2004]Persons moving from their home due to forced displacement (such as a natural disaster or civil disturbance) may migrate as individuals, in family units, or in large groups. If the cause for leaving the home country is political, religious, or another kind of persecution, a person seeking shelter in another nation may file a formal application with the country where protection is sought, and is then referred to as an asylum seeker. If this application is approved, the person’s legal status will change to refugee. [Migration governance has been intimately linked with state sovereignty in recent years. Because migration directly impacts certain of a State’s distinguishing characteristics, states maintain the right to decide on non-nationals’ entrance and stay.

The process of growing plants and animals is known as agriculture. Agriculture was a major factor in the emergence of sedentary human civilization, since it allowed humans to dwell in cities by creating food surpluses from tamed animals. Agriculture has a long history dating back thousands of years. The issue of ruralurban migration and its effect on agricultural growth, like other social change and development topics, is a complicated one. One thing is certain: the phenomenon of rural-urban migration is rooted in persistent inequity in the allocation of social and economic infrastructure in rural and urban communities, such as piped water, good roads, electricity, health facilities, and industries, among other things. This has existed since the colonial era. People are drawn to regions of success and driven away from areas of collapse, according to Braun (2004). Migrants are typically more concerned with the advantages they expect to achieve by relocating and less worried with the difficulties they will face as a consequence of the migration process. Migration is a natural part of human life that has a long history. However, its pattern has evolved dramatically through time, from the quest for space in the Middle Ages to the overcrowding in big cities (rural-to-urban migration) in the modern period, particularly in the past century. Natural resources that may be used for socioeconomic development abound in Nigeria, especially in rural regions. Nigeria, by coincidence, has a high percentage of both the rural sector and rural population, which is a hallmark of emerging nations (Akande,2002). The extensive participation of the people in agriculture is the most distinguishing feature of Nigeria’s rural regions. Agriculture, after oil, is the most significant economic sector in terms of contribution to the nation’s GDP. The industry accounts for about 41% of the country’s GDP, employs approximately 65 percent of the overall population, and employs approximately 80% of the rural population (ADF, 2005). In Nigeria, the rural and urban sectors are distinguished by the quantities of agricultural and non-agricultural economic activity that take place in each. As a result, in the rural environment, economic activity centers on the exploitation or usage of land. It is mostly concerned with agriculture, animal husbandry, poultry, fishing, forestry, food processing, and the cottag industry. Agriculture employs around four-fifths of Nigeria’s rural population, according to estimates (Olatunbosun, 1975). One of the main reasons of poor rural employment, low agricultural production, and low rural people’s quality of life is the lack of essential economic and social infrastructure like as water, roads, power, and health facilities owing to a rural-urban investment imbalance. Much of the underspending of projected expenditure happens in the rural sector, as demonstrated by the comparatively low level of private and governmental investments in rural regions. Regrettably, rural residents suffer the burden of price fluctuations in their agricultural goods on the global market. As a result, the income produced by rural residents is devaluing. Contextual variables such as ‘push forces,’ which drive migrants out of rural regions, and ‘pull factors,’ which entice migrants to metropolitan areas, may influence migration decisions. These factors usually reflect the relative strength of the local economy (such as the availability of public goods), as well as institutional factors like the introduction or enforcement of a system of land property rights, which can act as push factors and encourage displaced workers to migrate from rural areas (Katz and Stark, 1986). While it is true that most Nigerian urban centers are a mix of two different levels of urbanization: traditional, almost medieval pre-industrial urbanization and advanced, industrial urbanization, the fact remains that the trend in Nigeria’s urban centers is clearly towards a preponderance of secondary and tertiary activities. These vocational disparities between rural and urban Nigeria have serious consequences for the urban’s strong reliance on the rural sector, necessitating a larger focus on rural agricultural development. Rural-urban migration has long been acknowledged as a major issue in Nigeria’s rural development. Attempts by the government to deal with it, however, have failed (Nwosu, 1979; Makinwa, 1975 & 1988). Low productivity has been by far the most significant issue in agriculture. This issue has been exacerbated by the fact that a significant portion of the Nigerian population has moved into non-agricultural professions in the cities (Nwosu, 1979). As a consequence, food security in Nigeria and other African nations has worsened over time, and many people are now suffering from hunger and malnutrition (Ijiako, 1999). The migration process, particularly rural-urban migration, has serious implications for food production, agricultural exports, rural demand for manufactured products, and future agricultural surpluses that may be invested elsewhere in the economy. Rural areas lose personnel needed for agricultural growth as a result of rural-urban migration, as poor youngsters seek white collar employment in cities. Agriculture, which was once the backbone of Nigeria’s economy before the discovery of oil, has been pushed to the margins, resulting in the country’s mono-economy status. Rural-urban migration has resulted in a fast degradation of the rural economy, which has resulted in chronic poverty and food insecurity (Mini, 2001). Over the last three decades, the Nigerian government’s efforts in agricultural development have failed to boost the country’s economy. A look at the industry paints a bleak picture. Environmental degradation, mounting food deficits, and declines in both gross domestic product and export earnings are all indicators of poor performance, even as retail food prices and import bills have risen. Smallholder farmers have been further impoverished as a result of these consequences, trapping them in a poverty web. Concerns over this scenario have prompted the government to implement a number of programs and projects in the past targeted at reducing the influx of migrants from rural to urban regions. The majority of the federal government’s plans failed, owing in large part to a lack of sufficient definition of the issue and the target demographic of migration-influencing programs. The “farm settlement projects,” modeled after the Israeli Moshav, included the construction of rural homes with rurban facilities (electricity and pipe-borne water supply) and the provision of modern agricultural equipment targeted at primary school graduates.

Statement of research problem

Rural urban migration is a situation where the desire for better employment, business opportunities and education pushes both young and old out of the rural areas to the urban areas. Rural-urban migration represents a phenomenon of unprecedented movement of people from the rural countryside to the urban cities. However this movements have an effect on the agricultural production as able bodied youth who should help in the tilling and cultivation of farm lands are migrating to the urban areas, this in turn has led to shortage in the production of food. Another effect of rural urban movement is the abandonment of farmlands ,diminished labour force, agricultural productivity, which leads to lower farm income and food, etc. It is against this backdrop that the study will discuss the effect of rural urban migration on agricultural production in Nigeria.

Objectives of the study

The primary objective of the study is as follows

Research hypothesis

H01: there are no reasons for migration from the rural to urban areas in Nigeria

H1: there are reasons for migration from the rural to urban areas in Nigeria

H02: agricultural production cannot be increased in the face of migration in Nigeria

H1:agricultural production can be increased in the face of migration in Nigeria

Significance of the study

The significance of this study cannot be underestimated as:

l This study will examine the effect of rural urban migration on agricultural production in Nigeria

l The findings of this research work will undoubtedly provide the much needed information to government organizations, ministry of agriculture and academia.

Scope of the study

This study will examine the effect of rural urban migration on agricultural production in Nigeria. Hence rural dwellers in Katsina state will be used as case study

Limitations of the study

This study was constrained by a number of factors which are as follows:

just like any other research, ranging from unavailability of needed accurate materials on the topic under study, inability to get data

Financial constraint , was faced by the researcher ,in getting relevant materials and in printing and collation of questionnaires

Time factor: time factor pose another constraint since having to shuttle between writing of the research and also engaging in other academic work making it uneasy for the researcher

Operational definition of terms

Migration: seasonal movement of animals from one region to another

Agricultural production: the production of any growing grass or crop attached to the surface of the land, whether or not the grass or crop is to be sold commercially, and the production of any farm animals, including farmed elk, whether or not the animals are to be sold commercially.