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Local Perceptions Of Migration From North-West Ghana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Kees van der Geest
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Abstract

The Upper West Region in northern Ghana is a major source area of migrants who travel to southern Ghana seasonally or for longer periods. This has important implications for the lives and livelihoods of the migrants themselves and their relatives at home. Almost invariably the impact of out-migration on sending areas has been studied using ‘Western’ academic parameters. Little is known about how the people hemselves value the profound changes that migration causes in their societies. In this article, findings are presented from interviews with 204 rural household heads who were asked to express their opinion about the consequences of seasonal, long-term and return migration. A quantitative approach to qualitative data was adopted to differentiate between collective perceptions and individual opinions. It was found that almost all respondents were positive about the consequences of seasonal labour migration. They applauded its contribution to food security and considered it one of the few ways of gaining access to money and goods. The respondents were much more ambivalent about the consequences of long-term migration and return migration. On the positive side, they emphasized that out-migration reduced the pressure on farmland, and that some migrants attain higher living standards, both for themselves and for their relatives at home. On the negative side, many long-term migrants are not able to improve their livelihoods or lose their interest in the home community. The lack of support of some migrants is greatly lamented, especially if they later return empty-handed and become a burden on their relatives at home. The methodology used in this study yielded a holistic view of the consequences of migration on the source area as seen through the eyes of the home community

Résumé

L' Upper West Region du Nord du Ghana est une source majeure de migrants qui se rendent dans le Sud du Ghana de manière saisonnière ou plus longtemps. Les implications sont importantes pour la vie et la subsistance des migrants eux-mêmes, mais également celles des familles restées au pays. Presque invariablement, les études sur I' impact de la migration externe sur les régions d' émigration utilisent des paramètres académiques « occidentaux ». On sait peu de choses sur I' appréciation que portent les personnes elles-mêmes sur les profonds changements qu’ entraéne cette migration sur leur société. Cet article présente les résultats d'entretiens menés auprès de 204 chefs de familles rurales interrogés sur les conséquences de la migration (saisonnière, de longue durée et de retour). Une approche quantitative des données qualitatives a permis de distinguer les perceptions collectives des opinions individuelles. La quasi-totalité des personnes interrogées avaient une opinion positive des conséquences de la migration des travailleurs saisonniers. Elles saluaient sa contribution à la sécurité alimentaire et la considéraient comme I' un des rares moyens d' accéder à I' argent et aux biens. Les réponses étaient bien plus contrastées sur les conséquences de la migration de longue durée et de la migration de retour. Côté positif, les personnes interrogées soulignaient le fait que la migration externe a réduit la pression sur les terres arables et permis à certains migrants d' atteindre un niveau de vie plus élevé, tant pour eux-mêmes que pour leurs familles. Côté négatif, de nombreux migrants de longue durée ne parviennent pas à améliorer leur subsistance ou finissent par se désintéresser de leur communauté d' origine. Les personnes interrogées déplorent fortement le manque de soutien de certains migrants, notamment lorsqu' ils reviennent les mains vides et deviennent une charge pour leur famille. La méthodologie utilisée dans cette étude a fourni une perspective holistique des conséquences de la migration sur la région source, telle que la voit la communauté.

Type
Articles
Information
Africa , Volume 80 , Issue 4 , November 2010 , pp. 595 - 619
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2010

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