Migration Matters

The link between water management and labor movement in South Asia

Migration is changing the face of South Asia’s families and farms. As a shifting climate and economic development make agricultural-based livelihoods increasingly less viable, men are migrating from rural areas in search of better employment and opportunity. Women are usually left behind with an increased workload but limited access to capital and resources.

IWMI’s research into out-migration looks at its impact on livelihoods, rural development, and water resources.

This week IWMI is convening a major policy dialogue on migration in New Delhi India. To mark the event, we explore the far-reaching consequences of out-migration on the families and places male migrant workers leave behind.

Prospective migrants queue to process the required paperwork outside of Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu. Some governments actively encourage and facilitate migration for the remittances it brings, but the money earnt abroad is often insufficient to lift families permanently out of poverty. Photo: Sharad Maharjan

Migrant workers pose before departure. Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu has a special working visa gate for migrants. Economic liberalization, rising costs of living in rural areas, climate stressors and globalization-induced cultural changes have increased the demand for cash, meaning that more and more young Nepalis are opting to work abroad. Photo: Sharad Maharjan

Nepali women plant rice paddy seedlings. Male out-migration is changing women’s roles in agriculture, and one quarter of all households in Nepal are female-headed. Women are left to deal with increased workload and responsibilities, but without equal or direct access to financial, social, and technological resources. Photo: Jim Holmes / IWMI

Migrants. Rameshwar Garode and 40 neighbors wait for the train home at New Delhi station. Because of water shortages during the dry periods, migrants like Rameshwar leave their farms on the agricultural off-season to work in cities and only return when conditions are more favorable. Photo: Ruhani Kaur

Workers in a night shelter in Nizammundin, Delhi. During the dry season, Mohammed Arif works as a daily wage laborer in construction and as a rag picker. Migrant work is often sporadic and unpredictable, but every year he managesto save up to Rs 40,000 (USD600) to support his family at home. Photo: Ruhani Kaur

Workers take a break at Khari Baoli in Delhi. Banwari Singh Tohmat from Morena in Madhya Pradesh has been working for 30 years in the city. He has agricultural fields at home which he goes back to 3 to 4 times a year. Relatively few migrants, however, invest their remittances in agriculture. Photo: Ruhani Kaur

Women on a chili farm in Sri Lanka. Male out-migration has been shifting responsibility on the farm as women take up jobs the men leave behind. Sporadic remittances mean that farming remains an important support for family members. Photo: Sanjiv de Silva / IWMI