Rural–Urban Migration & Rural Development
Definitions
• Rural–urban migration – movement of people from rural areas to towns/cities.
• Rural depopulation – decline in the size of a rural population.
• Urbanisation – increase in the proportion (percentage) of a national population living in towns and cities.
• Communal tenure system – land is owned by the community; individuals have user-rights to farm it.
• Rural development – growth/expansion of rural areas (economic, social and infrastructural).
• Land reform – restructuring land-tenure by breaking up large estates and redistributing land; three pillars:
– Land redistribution
– Land restitution
– Land-tenure reform
Push factors driving rural–urban migration
• Drought ⇒ land becomes arid; subsistence failure.
• Poverty ⇒ lack of jobs; weather shocks (droughts/floods) → famine.
• Farm mechanisation ⇒ fewer labourers required → job loss.
• Isolation & loneliness.
• Lack of basic services – no running water; people walk long distances to fetch it.
• Inadequate education – only basic schooling; limited skills.
Selective outward migration & demographic impacts
• Mainly young adults (especially men) leave for employment to supplement family income.
• Resultant population structure in villages: ageing population; more women, children & elderly.
• Women take on traditional male roles → added strain.
Difficulties faced by migrants in cities
• Lack of start-up capital (housing, food, transport, clothing).
• Expensive urban transport between peripheral homes and jobs.
• Distance from family; emotional stress; high travel costs.
• New urban lifestyle can be hard to adjust to.
• Misinformation about job prospects.
• Illiteracy: many migrants cannot read/write; most urban jobs require these skills.
Rural depopulation & rural service centres
• Definition reiterated: movement out of rural areas leaving few/no inhabitants.
• Rural service centre supplies farmers with: seeds, banking, post, petrol, clothing, food, machinery repairs.
• When locals leave, turnover falls ⇒ centres close; circular decline.
• "Cycle of rural decline/decay" – shrinking population → fewer services → even more out-migration.
Urban pull factors (why people say “We are off to the city!”)
Wide variety of jobs.
Emerging industrial employment.
Educational opportunities.
Higher wages.
Positive city image: entertainment, leisure, better prospects for children, higher quality of life, more reliable food supply.
Consequences of rural depopulation
• Under-used local resources ⇒ foregone rural economic development & jobs.
• Falling expenditure in service centres → closures of shops, banks, petrol stations.
• Family disruption: men leave first; women/elderly/children remain.
• Increased farm crime; isolated units vulnerable.
• Rising rural unemployment; little new investment.
• Low/negative property values; neglected houses.
• Weak tertiary services (education, health) as population too small to sustain them.
Sustainable Rural Development: aims & key actions
Aims
• Eliminate rural poverty & food insecurity.
• Maximise natural-resource use & management.
• Create vibrant, equitable, sustainable settlements.
Key actions
• Implement land-reform policies.
• Stimulate agricultural production.
• Broaden rural livelihoods (diversify income).
• Improve service delivery & infrastructure (water, energy, roads, ICT, transport).
• Establish rural-transport development programme.
• Skill development & training.
• Revitalise rural towns; support non-farm activities.
• Add value to primary products (e.g. grain → bread).
• Attract public investment; improve information services (weather, prices).
Major rural-development strategy frameworks (South Africa)
• Counter-urbanisation – keep people in rural areas by:
– Creating jobs (tourism; resource-based industry).
– Improving services (water, electricity).
– Raising agricultural productivity (e.g.
Vaal-Hartz irrigation scheme).
• Decentralisation / growth poles – locate industries in rural zones via government incentives & tax rebates (e.g. border industries around former homelands).
• Agricultural planning – resettle households on small plots; communal cropland, grazing & forestry (e.g. "Betterment" villages).
• Basic-needs philosophy – bottom-up; first address food, water, sanitation, housing, education, healthcare, employment (e.g. RDP 1994).
• Integrated Rural Development – simultaneous social/economic/environmental actions:
– Improve local food crops, introduce cash crops, upgrade irrigation, extend services & infrastructure, tenure reform, skills training
– Programmes: IRDP ; Local Agenda 21 .
• Collective Strategy – combines all above; flagship: Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP ).
• New Ruralism – preserve/enhance peri-urban rural zones while allowing controlled development (e.g. golf/equestrian estates).
Socio-economic & physical issues in rural South Africa
• Main economic activities: crop, cattle farming, fishing.
• High poverty → subsistence farming dominates; income is insufficient for bought food.
• Success needs inputs: money, seed, fertiliser, machinery, water – costly & scarce.
• Physical constraints: poor soils, unreliable climate, land degradation.
• Exclusion from some state programmes; gender inequality; low education & skill; high HIV/AIDS prevalence.
• Inadequate health services: few clinics/doctors; poorer provinces (e.g. Eastern Cape) prioritize housing/jobs over health spending.
• Professionals avoid isolated posts (work-load, facilities).
• High HIV/AIDS & TB incidence; limited drug access → incomplete treatments.
• Remoteness → expensive food & transport; weak road/rail; commercial farmers face haulage limits.
Key statistics
• KwaZulu-Natal rural population ≈ ; malnutrition .
• North-West rural population ≈ ; malnutrition .
Land tenure, redistribution & restitution
Land-tenure security – legal right to use land.
Land-reform objectives
• Accelerate redistribution, tenure reform & restitution.
• Provide secure access for farm dwellers & labour tenants.
• Create agri-villages with basic services.
• Stimulate economic growth in former homeland areas.
• Establish reliable deeds registry, mapping & spatial planning.
• Democratise land allocation across gender/race/income; maintain national food security.
Implementation tools
• Business plans for every project: training, mentorship, partnerships.
Land-reform mechanisms illustrated
Case 1 – Land-tenure reform: family works on land owned by another but gains security under legislation (communal or labour-tenant rights).
Case 2 – Land redistribution: state buys land & allocates it to previously landless households for farming/settlement.
Case 3 – Land restitution: descendants regain ancestral land lost under discriminatory laws (1913–1994) after successful claim in Land Claims Court.
Advantages of land reform
• Previously dispossessed people can own land.
• Improved household food security (own production).
• Potential for commercial farming & income upliftment.
• Acquisition of new farming & value-adding skills.
Challenges of land reform
• Slow administrative & legal processes.
• Many beneficiaries possess subsistence-level skills only; risk of land degradation or low productivity.
• Need for continuous mentoring, technical training & finance.
• Start-up capital for equipment, seed & infrastructure often lacking.