Forced Displacement and Agriculture: Implications for Host Communities

Abstract

The disruptive effects of conflict and climate-related shocks and their tendencies to cause human population displacements are well documented in the literature. Given the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide and the resulting population and service demand overload in host communities, it is important to understand the socioeconomic impacts. Because many host communities in developing countries are agriculture dependent, we investigate what happens to key agricultural sector outcomes in host communities when there is an influx of IDPs. For displacements caused by insurgency, communal clashes, and natural disasters, we estimate the impacts on agricultural outputs, employment, wages, and land use. We find that forced displacements generally result in reduced agricultural production due to lower land and labor productivity. Specifically, while the effect of insurgency-driven IDP influx is negative, it is positive for communal violence. Cassava, potatoes, and soya are particularly hard hit. Additionally, while insurgency-driven population influx reduces the agricultural wages of both males and females, it increases the reliance on male and female household labor but has no effect on hired labor. Finally, while insurgency-driven IDP influx does not affect land use and land market activities, it lowers the expected value of land and the number of farm plots harvested. We highlight the opportunity to leverage humanitarian assistance in building local agricultural capacity in host communities.

Food Security Sustainability: A Synthesis of the Current Concepts and Empirical Approaches for Meeting SDGs

“…This made it appropriate to estimate the ARDL model. Therefore, the empirical results such as coefficients, test statistics, and probabilities will be approximated to 2 decimal points following [18]. maximum of 2 lag using Schwarz-Bayes Criterion (SBC).…”

“…The physical, political, economic, and social settings, in which a family lives, however, have influenced the riskiness of specific social unrest. For example, rural economies in agrarian regions in Nigeria are more prone to shocks because of conflicts and overall insecurity and this has been imposing a fastening restraint on the long-run growth of agricultural production and domestic income ever since the emergence of unprecedented insecurity in Nigeria [18]. Agriculture is vital to rural economies, and improvement in agricultural productivity can result in economic development or poverty alleviation because livelihoods are so important to food security and sustainability.…”

“…How well these people adapt to a certain threat is largely determined by the strength and diversity of their livelihood. The survival of the citizens largely depends on agricultural sources of income but social unrest, terrorism, and economic fluctuations have challenged food security sustainability in Nigeria [18].…”

“…The survival of the citizens largely depends on agricultural sources of income, but social unrest, terrorism, and economic fluctuations have challenged food security sustainability in the country [18]. Figure 1 shows the prevalence of severe food insecurity in Nigeria between 2014 and 2019, which increased with population growth.…”

“…The effect of abandonment is intensified in the whole northern region because both the food selling and transporting population are displaced [18]. The crisis in Nigeria highlights the need for engagement because northern Nigeria is the primary source of food production in Nigeria.…”