The presentation provides an overview of the approach to migration from an FAO point of view.

1. Ion Bulgac,
Migration Officer,
Decent Rural Employment Team, ESP
FAO Approach to Migration and entry points for
Migration-Land interventions (Land-based Investments
and Facilitating Access to Land)

2. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Key Facts And Figures
 258 million international migrants (UN DESA PD,
2017).
 763 million Internal migrants (UN DESA PD,
2013).
 46% of the world population lives in rural areas
(UN DESA PD, 2015b);
 68.5 million people forcibly displaced worldwide:
25.4 million refugees, 3.1 million asylum-seekers
and over 40 million internally displaced people
(UNHCR, 2018).

3. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
 FAO works on all forms of migration and pays attention to both
internal and international movements;
 FAO Comparative Advantage on Migration;
 FAO acknowledges the role of migration: Reviewed Strategic
Framework, Strategic Objective 3 Reducing Rural Poverty and
Strategic Objective 5 Increase the Resilience of Livelihoods to
Threats and Crises;
 FAO Global Agenda on Migration: 2030 Sustainable
Development Agenda (2015), New York Declaration (2016),
Global Compact on Migration (2018).
RATIONALE FOR ENGAGEMENT ON MIGRATION

4. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
FAO Areas of Work on Migration

5. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
FAO Migration Corporate Framework: Greater coordination at different levels
GLOBAL
 Participation in
global fora
 Coordinated
technical inputs
to Global
Compact for
Migration
REGIONAL
 Stronger links
with regional
and sub-regional
offices
 Joint
programming
COUNTRY
Strengthened
capacities to
address
migration and
mobilise
resources in a
coordinated
manner
Migration Corporate
Framework to guide FAO’s
work at global, regional
and country level and
ensure coherence and
synergies within its
programme of work
Importance of strengthening the links among
technical units and with regional and sub-regional
offices
Effective coordination at all levels

6. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Land-based Investments
 International remittances – est. $613 billion. Low- and middle-
income countries estimated to receive approx. $466 billion (World
Bank, 2017).
 40% of international remittances are sent to rural areas (IFAD,
2016).
 60-80% of remittance income is used to cover food, medical
expenses and education, while the remaining 20-40% is invested
in land, livestock, housing, business ventures and savings.
 Studies from Latin America, West Africa, South Asia show that
remittances are used to improve agricultural land. There are also
instances where this may not be the case (Sahel, Thailand).

7. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Land Investments (Case Study)
 Factors determining investment of remittances
(type of migration, size of remittances, availability
of investment opportunities);
 Conditions favoring investments in rural areas
(Galetto, 2011);
 The successful example of San Juanico, Mexico –
migrants’ investments in the avocado production:
 rapid accumulation of social capital within migrants’
network;
 availability of high-quality, affordable land in the area.

8. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Land Investments (Entry Points):
Fostering an enabling environment favoring land investments;
Encourage greater financial literacy and inclusion of migrants and
their families;
Encourage and develop financial products and services incentivizing
migrants to make investments, including in agricultural land;
Encourage local governments/ investment authorities to develop
relationships and engage with diaspora for information exchange,
business partnerships, and investments prospects for ARD;

9. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Facilitating Access to Land
Access to land is an essential requirement for
starting farming and contributes to household
food security and generates employment and
income;
Access to land can automatically mitigate the
problems of homelessness, unsafe living and
plays a vital role in poverty reduction and
development;

10. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Facilitating Access to Land (Case Study)
 INDONESIA (access to land - 12 rice-producing villages in 3 regions):
 Local farmers DO NOT own their land + Big landowners are mostly
Outsiders;
 Land tenure occurs by marriage, or by inheritance => prompted many to
move to other regions where they can earn more than farmers;
 Only possible way to become a farmer for young people: find work outside
agriculture + save enough money to buy or rent some land;
 Speculative investment in land (by non-farmers) + rising land prices =>
people moving to other regions to do other paid jobs and informal work;

11. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
Migration – Land Nexus: Facilitating Access to Land (Entry Points)
 More knowledge on main barriers of access to land and how this impacts
rural communities in taking the decision to migrate.
 Policy dialogue and options identifying and making land available in use-
right form for individual use for young people (impacting reduction of
youth unemployment);
 Engagement mechanisms for governments with vulnerable groups (young
people, women) in policy dialogue on land-related matters and ensure
that developed policy options respond to their needs.
 Mechanisms for negotiation (through intermediary, private company,
NGO) with community leaders/ private owners facilitating access to land.
Achieving positive outcomes requires building mutual trust and ensuring
that the potential returns from allocating land for productive investment
are fully acknowledged.

12. DECENT RURAL EMPLOYMENT TEAM (DRET)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!