Encouraging Seasonal Migration to Mitigate the Consequences of a Seasonal Famine in Rural Bangladesh (IGC Policy Brief)
Abstract
In Bangladesh, during the annual seasonal famine, incomes decrease by 50-60% and expenditures on food drop by 10-25%. The government has instituted food or cash-for-work programs, while NGOs attempt to enhance income and employment mostly through credit and to a lesser extent through job training and marketing initiatives. However, there is a need for long term solutions rather than consumption-smoothing interventions. Seasonal migration can successfully mitigate the effects of the pre-harvest period from September to November that is plagued by seasonal poverty and famine, providing a long-run solution to a lack of income diversity and employment opportunities in sending areas, and an employment surplus in destination cities.
Citation
Mubarak, M.; Bryan, G.; Chowdhury, S. Encouraging Seasonal Migration to Mitigate the Consequences of a Seasonal Famine in Rural Bangladesh (IGC Policy Brief). International Growth Centre (IGC), London, UK (2011) 3 pp.
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