This study assesses the role of rural to urban migration in enhancing livelihood resilience and introducing new economic opportunities in semi-arid regions of Pakistan. ‘Pakistan has a considerably high urbanisation rate, with estimates from 2010 to 2015 averaging between 2.8% to 3.3% annually’ (Qaisrani 2016 citing from CIA 2015), thereby, transforming the demography of certain areas, especially semi-arid regions which include ‘migration hotspots’. In order to understand the effectiveness of migration in improving the well-being of households, a mixed analytical approach, using both quantitative and qualitative tools, was developed. Data was collected in the beginning of 2016 at the household-level, comprising of a sample of 600 households in three semi-arid regions of Pakistan (D.G.Khan and Faisalabad in Punjab, and Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Based on focus group discussions, a case study was also developed for each of the three sites which provides snapshots of the existing scenario of income and remittances; gender issues; diversity and social capital; capability, livelihood and development; and perceptions; decisions; and networks. Using this data, a Livelihood Resilience Index, comparing the resilience levels of migrant and non-migrant household, was formulated.
Results indicate that the resilience levels of migrants are only slightly higher than non-migrant households, but migrants have more capacity to recover, cope and adapt to shocks which may include climate shocks such as floods, droughts, and heat waves. Food insecurity is one of the key drivers of rural to urban migration, which compels household members to search for economic opportunities in the cities. Other key push factors are a lack of employment, low wage rates in villages and decline in agricultural productivity due to environmental and climatic factors. Lack of financial resources, low human capital and the desire not to be separated from family are the main reasons for staying in villages for non-migrant households.
The findings throw light on the need of rural development in order to restrain unprecedented rural to urban migration. Remittances are an important contributor to improving resilience of left-back family members in out-migration areas, however, if these remittances are only spent on consumption expenditures, instead of investing them on livelihood-enhancing means, then the impact is not sustainable.
References
Central Intelligence Agency 2016, ‘South Asia-Pakistan’, The World Factbook, <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html>, accessed 1 November 2016.
Qaisrani, A. 2016, ‘Planning for Internal Migration’, Pakistan Today, 1 October, , accessed 1 November 2016.
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