A dissemination workshop on the Migration and Translocality in West Africa (MiTraWA) project has been organised for key stakeholders in the Yilo Krobo Municipality to share the project’s findings and initiate a policy dialogue.
Led by the Centre for Migration Studies (CMS) at the University of Ghana, the project aims to generate recommendations for effectively incorporating translocality into migration policies, thereby contributing to sustainable development in Ghana.
The research, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is focused on communities in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region and other areas in the Nandom District of the Upper West Region.
The findings from the project are expected to play a crucial role in shaping migration policies that reflect the realities of these translocal communities.
During the workshop held in Klo-Agogo, Professor Edmond A. Agyeman, a member of the MiTraWA research team, explained that translocality emerged in the everyday lived practices of migrants as they moved from the rural areas to urban localities.
He said the research findings from the selected communities indicated that members migrated for work, educational, and personal reasons, as well as due to climate change’s impact on agriculture.
Furthermore, he noted that while the migrants were away from their places of origin, they reconnected and maintained translocal ties through social, family, and cultural interactions, periodic visits, communication via mobile phones, and the transfer of remittances.
Regarding the benefits stemming from the interconnections between migrants and their places of origin, Prof. Agyeman mentioned that approximately 60 percent of the households surveyed agreed that migrants supported their livelihoods.
He also explained that remittances boosted agrarian and non-farm businesses in the origin communities, while consumption-driven and productive remittances contributed to local economic development.
However, he cautioned that migration and translocal relations also posed challenges, and that it was observed that translocality did not reverse the trend of rural-to-urban migration among youth and has the potential to create dependency among rural populations on remittances.
The policy recommendations outlined to address the concerns included the necessity to improve rural communities in the districts to become economically diversified employment centres with a conscious effort to promote local start-ups through training programmes.
It was also essential to foster nearby ‘urban’ job opportunities that enable rural dwellers to commute to town as they stay in their villages.
This will stabilize and strengthen ‘agropolitan districts’ that allow combining agricultural and urban economic activities.
Also, it was recommended that improvement in infrastructural development in rural and urban spaces will bring about simultaneous economic development.
The participants at the workshop were farmers and officials from the security agencies, and Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly.
Mr. Adu Kwabena, the Yilo Krobo Municipal Planning Officer, indicated that due to climate change and the lack of modernization in agriculture, farming has become less attractive to the youth, leading many to abandon it and pursue opportunities in the cities.
He encouraged farmers to form farmer-based groups to foster greater interaction with Agriculture Extension Agents, which would help educate the youth about the lucrative potential of agriculture.
He also stated that once farmers established associations, they could negotiate better prices for their products in the markets and advocated for essential services such as extension support, farm equipment, and fertilizers at the district level
“With the farmer-based groups, prices of their products would be reached at a concession and there will be no cheating,” he said. “This will boost the interest of the youth in farming, and they would not like to travel.”
Assistant Commissioner of Immigration Justice Amevor, at the Odumase Krobo Sector, encouraged the youth to pursue legal avenues for acquiring passports and visas if they wish to travel outside the country.
GNA