Population mobility and the survival of small farming in the Rio Grande Valley, Jamaica

Ishemo, Amani; Semple, Hugh; Thomas‐Hope, Elizabeth

doi:10.1111/j.1475-4959.2006.00218.x

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…This corroborates earlier studies in Jamaica, where there was strong evidence that savings brought back by migrants played a very important role in supporting agriculture due to the labour that the farmer was able to employ (Ishemo et al, 2006). The figures reported by men ranged from 40 to 80 per cent while 20 to 60 per cent were reported to be consumed.…”

Section: Remittances and Household Farmingsupporting

confidence: 90%

Migration, Small Farming and Food Security in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Thomas‐Hope

2017

International Migration

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Long‐term and short‐term (seasonal) migrations from Caribbean countries have been strategies for enhancing the livelihoods and assets of individuals and families for many decades. The greatest challenges to food security are felt by the populations below the poverty level, most of whom are rural dwellers. Taking two Caribbean countries – Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, this article assesses whether in rural, characteristically small‐farming areas, the financial and social remittances resulting from migration are used to improve food security, through either supporting agricultural production or providing money to purchase food. The findings show the contrast between Jamaica and St. Vincent. Whereas migration generally benefits small‐scale farming and domestic food production, increasing food accessibility in Jamaica, migration has been variously used by the rural poor in St. Vincent to replace farming. Food security in St. Vincent is heavily dependent on purchasing food and, in this regard, migrant remittances play an important role.

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Section: Remittances and Household Farmingsupporting

confidence: 90%

Migration, Small Farming and Food Security in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Thomas‐Hope

2017

International Migration

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“…This concurs with a large body of literature suggesting that the income generated from temporary migration does not necessarily lead to more profitable farming systems (e.g. Pessar, ; Jokisch, ; Ishemo et al ., ). We would argue that what may be occurring in the case study localities is that farming becomes the secondary income‐earning stream, and therefore becomes a secondary economic activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This complexity has led Ishemo et al . () to advocate for further village‐level analysis to better understand how temporary migration and agricultural systems interact within particular geographic contexts.…”

Section: Temporary Migration Remittances and Agrarian Changementioning

confidence: 99%

The Impacts of Temporary Labour Migration on Farming Systems of the Loess Plateau, Gansu Province, China

Tonts

2013

Population Space and Place

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Across much of rural China, members of farm households spend parts of the year working in cities to generate additional income. This process of temporary labour migration has gathered pace in recent years as rural households capitalise on China's economic expansion and look to improve their own levels of well-being. Yet, to date, relatively little research has examined the impacts of temporary migration on the structure and performance of farming systems. Accordingly, this paper examines the ways in which temporary migration has resulted in significant changes to the nature of farming on the Loess Plateau in Gansu Province. It draws primarily on a survey of 175 households in three different agroclimatic zones. The analysis indicates that temporary migration is associated with quite complex changes in land use, agricultural production and farm enterprise productivity. Although households involved in temporary migration tend to have higher incomes than non-migration households, this appears to be at the expense of farm productivity. Indeed, higher levels of migration are closely associated with more extensive, low labour farming practices, suggesting a tendency towards disinvestment in agricultural enterprise.

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“…Beyond Mexico, there is considerable further evidence for remittances invested in the service of local development. In the Caribbean, venture and social capital investments are notable among skilled returnees (Rodman and Conway, 2005), including small businesses and larger ventures into cash crops for export (Ishemo et al , 2006). A study of Tonga in the South Pacific revealed that returnees transferred experiences from overseas and moved into professional positions or invested in businesses in their hometown (Maron and Connell, 2008).…”

Section: Return Migration Remittances Embeddedness and Economic Pamentioning

confidence: 99%

The local economic imprint of return migrants in Bolivia

Jones

2010

Population Space and Place

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Until recently the role of international return migrants in local economic development has received little attention from researchers. Drawing upon Granovetter's notion of embeddedness and Levitt's concept of social remittances, I argue that return migrants are more locally embedded (in terms of local networks and cultural affinity) and better able to transfer social remittances (skills, social capital, and norms) from abroad, than active migrants. Therefore, I expect they will have a larger economic imprint (i.e., work, spend, and invest locally to a higher degree) than either non‐migrants or active migrants. To test this expectation, I rely on my 2007 survey of over 400 households in the Valle Alto of Bolivia – a country where remittances from foreign labor migration have taken on great importance in recent years. I compare three types of households: (1) active migrant households, in which at least one member is working overseas; (2) return migrant households, in which at least one member has returned from overseas and there are no active migrants; and (3) non‐migrant households, in which no one has ever worked abroad. The results suggest that return migrant households work and invest locally and contribute more to the economic base of their home communities than either of the other two types; and that this is made possible by the combination of their local embeddedness and their use of social remittances to further their economic success in Bolivia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Population mobility and the survival of small farming in the Rio Grande Valley, Jamaica

Cited by 13 publications

References 3 publications

Migration, Small Farming and Food Security in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Migration, Small Farming and Food Security in the Caribbean: Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The Impacts of Temporary Labour Migration on Farming Systems of the Loess Plateau, Gansu Province, China

The local economic imprint of return migrants in Bolivia

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