Is migration an effective adaptation to climate-related agricultural distress in sub-Saharan Africa?
This study analyses the perceptions of migration consequences from the viewpoint of migrants as well as the sending community. Migration is often considered a form of climate change adaptation by which individuals, households, and communities seek to reduce the risks associated with climate change. Through a set of 52 qualitative interviews, this study focuses on first-time seasonal migration out of a village in North-Western Burkina Faso to neighbouring countries, triggered by more irregular rainfall patterns. There is consensus in the climate change research community that human migration behaviour is influenced by risk exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity. Migration is considered a core element of household adaptation and survival and less so a choice, especially in areas reliant on rain-fed subsistence agriculture.
The study finds that migration was not an effective adaptation tool for the population studied. A variety of factors impeded migration effectiveness, including structures of exploitation, adverse effects on health, and pressures on households who stayed behind. Had migrants been able to gain sufficient income to make up for farming losses and had negative health effects been avoided, their migration could have potentially been a successful adaptation strategy. Factors that lead to positive migration outcomes therefore deserve further attention. Women viewed migration risks and outcomes differently from men, as the potential spread of diseases played a larger role in their assessment. Gendered perspectives on climate migration are largely lacking in the existing literature and this study stresses the importance of their inclusion to better understand when migration is a successful form of adaptation.