Migration & Agricultural Economics · 2014–2017

Labor Out-migration, Agricultural Productivity and Food Security Survey

Overview

Labor Outmigration, Agricultural Productivity and Food Security is a three-year project launched on October 1, 2014, awarded to the University of Michigan and the Institute for Social and Environmental Research – Nepal (ISER-N). The study investigates the consequences of labor outmigration on agricultural productivity in a country that persistently faces food security challenges.

The project draws on the long-running Chitwan Valley Family Study sample, layering new household and agricultural data onto an existing panel to track how migration reshapes farming over successive seasons.

Research Questions

• To what extent does labor outmigration influence (i) agricultural productivity, (ii) women’s participation in farming, and (iii) exit from farming?
• To what extent do remittances influence (i) farm technology use, (ii) women’s participation in farming, and (iii) exit from farming?
• To what extent do farm technology use and exit from farming influence subsequent outmigration?

Data Collection

Data were gathered through a baseline household and agriculture survey followed by seasonal follow-up rounds, paired with direct crop-cutting measurements across staple crops and a household event registry tracking migration, remittances, and farm decisions over time.