Migrant households tend to have more fallow lands: Study

Households with at least one international migrant have a 2.03% point higher share of fallow land than those that don't have any migrant residents, according to a study by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

Migrant homes tend to have fallow lands which affects cropping intensity of lands in rural areas of the country, said the report published today in the Annual BIDS Conference on Development (ABCD). 

Md Nadim Uddin, BIDS research associate, presented the report titled "Impact of International Migration on the Use of Agriculture Land: Evidence from Bangladesh."

According to the study, Nadim Uddin said, "Migrant households' cropping intensity of their own land is 12.46% points lower than that of non-migrant households. Households which receive remittances are associated with fallow land, which means a 1% increase in remittance raises the chances of having fallow land by 2.17%."

He also said the impact has also been found to be more pronounced for households with farmers.

Nadim Uddin said, "International migration creates lost labour in agriculture. Since agriculture production is labour intensive, lost labour can depress crop output. Moreover, remittance as a form of non-labour income for the recipient household could make the lost labour effect more adverse by curbing the labour supply of remaining family members."

From three rounds of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS), the BIDS collected data in 2011-2012, 2015 and 2019. BIHS consists of 5503, 5447, and 5605 households in the first to third round, respectively.

Nadim also said, "Migrant households significantly cultivate less wheat and maize. Cropping intensity is significantly lower for these households."

He recommended for regions of Bangladesh where migrant households are large in number, agricultural land is needed in order to prioritise contract farming and renting out land.

Another report titled "Agricultural Productivity and Technical Efficiency in Bangladesh" presented by BIDS Research Fellow Taznoore Samina Khanam said, "The recent increase in the contribution of the non-crop sector can be attributed to the rise in fisheries, livestock, and poultry earnings.

"From 1991 to 2000, land productivity increased much faster than labor productivity. Since then, the growth rate of land productivity decreased. Labor productivity increased at faster rates until 2010. Since then, labour productivity has tapered."