The Migration and Agricultural Resilience Initiative for Sustainability (MARIS) network gathers national and international experts to develop adaptive solutions to Asia’s multifaceted out-migration crisis.
An Asia policy dialogue will be held on December 17-20, 2016, at the South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China, to discuss the policies and interventions that can help to alleviate the hardships of those left behind as a result of migration. The policy dialogue is being organized by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and South China Agricultural University (SCAU), with financial assistance from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Government of Sweden.
The conference, organized to coincide with International Migrants Day on December 18, 2016, will be attended by scholars, practitioners and government officials from across Asia. The final day of the conference will be spent in the field, meeting with farmers and local government officials who are directly coping with the effects of out-migration. This will enable participants to learn from the Chinese experience.
From 1990-2013, the number of Asian migrants rose by 21 million (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migration Report 2013). In 2013, 58% of Asian migrants were male, and that gender imbalance is widening (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies). This leads to a ‘feminization of agriculture’, where women are left in charge of the home and the farm without having access to many of the services, institutions and markets which men have access to.
Participants in the dialogue will include representatives from international research organizations and programs (Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility [CESLAM], National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute [NAFRI], SOAS University of London, International Organization for Migration [IOM], Center for Economic and Social Development [CESD], Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund [LIFT], World Agroforestry Centre [ICRAF], Mekong Region Futures Institute [MERFI], Stockholm Environment Institute [SEI], CGIAR Research Program on Water, Lands and Ecosystems (WLE), and International Water Management Institute [IWMI]), government agencies (Chhattisgarh State Planning Commission, Guangzhou Bureau of Agriculture), and university partners (South China Agricultural University [SCAU], Wayamba University, Zhongnan University).
This conference is the most recent in a series of knowledge sharing events held, most notably those in Delhi (November 2015), Stockholm (August 2016), London (August 2016) and Biratnagar, Nepal (September 2016). More information on these events can be found in the links below.
This conference will mark the inception of the Migration and Agricultural Resilience Initiative for Sustainability (MARIS) network.
Conference Products
Conference Agenda
Network website
Past events
Delhi Conference Report
RGS-IGB Panel Discussion
Biratnagar Conference Report
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