Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research

Determinants of The Intention of Rural Households in Urmia Lake Basin to Migrate

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Halimeh Razmi 1
Ali Shams 2
, Morteza Molaei 3
1 Ph.D. Graduate of Agricultural Extension and Education, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Extension, Communication and Rural Development, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran
3 Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
10.22059/ijaedr.2021.322764.669036
Abstract
Drought as a natural shock can potentially reduce the livelihood and well-being of rural households and encourage them to migrate from the Villages. The possible drought of Lake Urmia along with the drought will intensify the phenomenon of migration of villagers. Having a correct understanding and insight of this issue will play an important role in policy making. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted to design a model of effective factors in the migration intention of farmers in the Urmia Lake Basin. The statistical population was all rural households in East and West Azerbaijan provinces, 495 of which were selected and studied by multi-stage random sampling. The research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by experts of Zanjan University and Urmia Lake Studies Research Institute and its reliability was obtained by conducting a pretest and calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient greater than 0.7 for composite indices. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the tendency of men to work migration is the most important factor in the tendency of households to migrate. Having a house in the city, understanding the risk of the lake drying up on family life, share of income from the agricultural sector were other factors affecting household migration. Understanding the risk of lake drying on rural life, the percentage of income from agriculture, the amount of social capital, attitudes toward drought and its management were also factors influencing men's willingness to migrate. Given the important role of earning income and employment of men in the family, proper government policy in creating employment for villagers and starting non-agricultural businesses have an important role in preventing the migration of villagers in the region.
Keywords
Intention to Migrate
Drought
Rural Households
Urmia Lake
  1. Abadi, B. (2019). How agriculture contributes to reviving the endangered ecosystem of Lake Urmia? The case of agricultural systems in northwestern Iran. Journal of environmental management, 236: 54-67.
  2. Aldunce, P., Araya, D., Sapiain, R., Ramos, I., Lillo, G., Urquiza, A., & Garreaud, R. (2017). Local perception of drought impacts in a changing climate: The mega-drought in central Chile. Sustainability, 9(11):2-15.
  3. Alibeigi, A., Papzan, A., & Darezereshki, M. (2009). Reasons for and Methods to Reduce Rural Youth's Tendency Towards Migration in Kermanshah Township. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 40(1): 39-49. (In Farsi).
  4. Amintojjar, H., Shekari, G. A., & Zabihi, M. R. (2015). The effect of social capital on organizational citizenship behavior: A case study of employees in Mashhad Municipality. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 4(1): 144-153.‏
  5. Arser, Zh. And Mohammadi, Y. 2014. The role of information technology in knowledge management in organizations. National Electronic Conference on New Achievements in Management and Accounting. Payame Noor University, West of Tehran. (In Farsi).
  6. Asna Ashari, F. A. (2018). Welfare Effects of Alternative Irrigation Water Prices on Farm Households: A Case Study of Lake Urmia Basin, Iran. Doctoral dissertation, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
  7. Ashtab, A., Sharifzadeh, M. (2017). Vulnerability of farmers' livelihood due to drought: a case study of Helmand city. Agricultural Extension and Education Sciences, 13 (1): 88-75. (In Farsi).
  8. Beals, R. E. (1987). The migration in rural sector and peripheral capitalism. Development Studies Bulletin, 6 (3): 56 – 65.
  9. Bjarnason, T., & Thorlindsson, T. (2006). Should I stay or should I go? Migration expectations among youth in Icelandic fishing and farming communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 22(3): 290-300.
  10. Boazar, M., Yazdanpanah, M., & Abdeshahi, A. (2019). Response to water crisis: How do Iranian farmers think about and intent in relation to switching from rice to less water-dependent crops? Journal of Hydrology, 570: 523-530. (In Farsi).
  11. Fotouhabadi, L., & Zamani, Gh. (2018). Factors affecting farmers' willingness to migrate in drought conditions. Iranian Agricultural Extension and Education Sciences, 14 (2): 247-235. (In Farsi).
  12. Gray, C., & Mueller, V. (2011). Drought and Human Migration in Rural Ethiopia. World dvelopment, 40(1): 134-145.‏
  13. Habibpoor Gatabi, K., & Safari Shali, R. (2012). Comprehensive manual for using SPSS in survey researches (qualitative data analysis). Thinkers Publications. (In Farsi).
  14. Hermans, K., & Garbe, L. (2019). Droughts, livelihoods, and human migration in northern Ethiopia. Regional Environmental Change, 19(4): 1101-1111.‏
  15. Hoseinpour, M., Fakheri Fard, A., & Naghili, R. (2010). Death of Urmia Lake, a silent disaster investigating causes, results and solutions of Urmia Lake drying. Paper presented at the 1st International Applied Geological Congress, Department of Geology, Islamic Azad University, Islamic Azad University-Mashad Branch, Iran.
  16. Khatir, A., Rezaei Moghadam, K., & Zamani, Gh. (2016). Factors affecting the migration intention of rural youth members and non-members of agricultural cooperatives in Marvdasht. Agricultural Extension and Education Sciences, 12 (2): 35-19. (In Farsi).
  17. Kiem, A. S., & Austin, E. K. (2013). Drought and the future of rural communities: opportunities and challenges for climate change adaptation in regional Victoria, Australia. Global Environmental Change, 23(5): 1307-1316.
  18. Koubi, V., Stoll, S., & Spilker, G. (2016). Perceptions of environmental change and migration decisions. Climatic change, 138(3-4): 439-451.
  19. Kustepeli, Y., Gulcan, Y., Yercan, M., & Yıldırım, B. (2020). The role of agricultural development cooperatives in establishing social capital. The Annals of Regional Science, 9(1):1-24.
  20. Lingam, L. (2016). Household Livelihood Strategies. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118663219.wbegss141, ‏ 1-4.
  21. Mallick, B. (2019). The nexus between socio-ecological system, livelihood resilience & migration decisions: Empirical evidence from Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(12): 3332.‏
  22. Mohammadzade, Sh., Sedighi, H., Pezeshki Rad, Gh., Makhdom, M., & Sharifi Kia, M. (2015). Analyzing the impacts of changing agronomic land use to orchard from the viewpoint of orchardist in the west of Urmia lake basin. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 45(4): 775-785. (In Farsi).
  23. Mousavi, M. (2002). Rural migrations and influencing factors. Tehran: Ministry of Jehade Sazandegi. (In Farsi).
  24. Neumann, K., & Hilderink, H. (2015). Opportunities and challenges for investigating the environment-migration nexus. Human Ecology, 43(2):309–322.
  25. Ramazanian, M. (2007). Depopulation in agricultural sector of Iran, Journal of Agricultural Economic and Development, 36: 207-235. (In Farsi).
  26. Salimi, J., Maknoon, R., & Meijerink, S. (2019). Designing Institutions for Watershed Management: A Case Study of the Urmia Lake Restoration National Committee. Water Alternatives, 12(2): 609-635.
  27. Shams, A., Vedadi, A., & Ahmadi, Z. (1394). Assessing the attitude of Asadabad farmers towards sustainable agriculture and its relationship with the consumption of chemical inputs by them. Agricultural Extension and Education Sciences, 11 (1): 197-210. (In Farsi).
  28. Sina, D., Chang-Richards, A. Y., Wilkinson, S., & Potangaroa, R. (2019). What does the future hold for relocated communities post-disaster? Factors affecting livelihood resilience. International journal of disaster risk reduction, 34: 173-183.
  29. Sozbilir, F. (2018). The interaction between social capital, creativity and efficiency in organizations. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 27(1): 92-100.‏
  30. Statistics Center of Iran. (2016). Population and Housing Census Results, Population and Household of the Country by Province and Sub-province (Shahrestan). https://www.amar.org.ir/english/Population-and-Housing-Censuses. (In Farsi).
  31. Sulemana, I., & James Jr, H. S. (2014). Farmer identity, ethical attitudes and environmental practices. Ecological Economics, 98(1): 49-61.
  32. Urquijo, J., & De Stefano, L. (2016). Perception of drought and local responses by farmers: a perspective from the Jucar River Basin, Spain. Water resources management, 30(2): 577-591.
  33. Wiederkehr, C., Beckmann M., & Hermans, K. (2018) Environmental change, adaptation strategies and the relevance of migration in Sub-Saharan drylands. Environmental Research Letters, 13(11):2-18. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae6de.
  34. Yadollahi Farsi, J., Torkashvand, Z., & Rashidi, N. (2012). An Evaluation of the Portfolio Entrepreneurship's Role in Reducing Rural Migration. Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research, 43(3): 353-362. (In Farsi).
  35. Yaghoubi, J., Hamidi, K., & Masoumi, L. (2015). Assessing the attitude of farmers in Zanjanrood bassin towards drought and its management. Agricultural Extension and Education Research, 32 (4): 113-27. (In Farsi).
  36. Zampaligré, N., Dossa, L. H., & Schlecht, E. (2014). Climate change and variability: perception and adaptation strategies of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists across different zones of Burkina Faso. Regional Environmental Change, 14(2): 769-783.
Iranian Journal of Agricultural Economics and Development Research
Volume 53, Issue 2
Spring 2022
Pages 367-383