Out-migration, agrarian transition, and gender role in Myanmar - Dataset

Abstract

<p>Myanmar has experienced an increasing trend of rural out-migration in recent years. Evidence suggests that 26-30% of all households in Myanmar have migrant family members. As a result, labor scarcity in agricultural production has become one of the major issues to be addressed in order to achieve sustainable agricultural development. This thesis explores how the current migration patterns in rural Myanmar are impacting farm labor supply and demand, agricultural economics, and gender roles in the Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Strategies to mitigate migration’s negative impacts on sustainable agricultural production are also identified and analyzed. A mixed-methods research approach was used. Household surveys were undertaken of 302 migrant and non-migrant households from twelve villages in four townships of Mandalay and Sagaing Regions, using a stratified random sampling method in January 2019. Qualitative data were collected through 50 key informant interviews with representative migrant and non-migrant households, village leaders, public officials of organizations related to the agricultural sectors, and male and female farmer focus group discussions conducted in the study areas in February 2019. Data related to migration trends, household socioeconomic data, migrant's information and migration patterns, changes of labor demand and supply and labor, gender role in crop production, crop production detail and input utilization, positive and negative of migration on agricultural production, and coping strategies to mitigate negative impacts of migration were collected from quantitative and qualitative sources.</p>