The effects of youth rural-urban migration on the socioeconomic aspects of migrant-sending rural households; the case of Yaya Gulale District

Abstract

Youth migration is becoming a world-wide pandemic. Specially, in developing countries like Ethiopia rural-urban migration is continuing to occur at high levels as people seek new opportunities in the city to escape from rural poverty. Young people leave their villages and even their countries because of the limited potential for development inside their community. The effects of this exodus of young people can simultaneously affects development in both urban and rural areas. To this end, this study was conducted to assess the effects of youth rural-urban migration on the socio-economic aspects of migrant sending rural households in Yayya Gullalle district, North Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State. In order to generate extensive data, the study was employed cross-sectional qualitative research design which allows the research participants to express their views freely. Four rural Kebeles of Yayya Gulale Woreda were selected purposively. Study participants were selected via purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Both primary and secondary data were employed; in-depth interview, key informant interview and focus group discussion were used to collect the first hand information from study participants. Data generated through different data collection instruments triangulated for their reliability and validity purpose and analyzed by using thematic analysis. Finding from this study reveals that youth rural-urban migration is a burden as well as opportunity for migrant sending households. Hence, the out flows of economically active people from the rural agricultural sector reduce the availability labor forces migrant households are experiencing shortage of labor which negatively affecting their productivity. Moreover, rural youth migration put the life of rural elderly parents at risky as much as it take away the care giver and expose rural elderly parents for loneliness and depression. Finding from the study also showed that youth rural outmigration is an opportunity for migrant sending households because the money sent back from migrants helped family left behind in several ways for instances; it recompense the loss of farm labour which allow migrant households to hire laborer, contributing to household improvements in basic needs and stimulating crop production through fulfilling the needs of migrant household to invest in farming.