Rural to Urban Migration in Bhutan: Causes, Effects, and Mitigation

Research project

TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION................................................................................................3
1.1. General..................................................................................................................................3
1.2 Objectives..............................................................................................................................3
1.3. Significance..........................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................4
CHAPTER 3- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................................9
3.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................9
3.2 Research design...................................................................................................................10
3.3 Data collection and the instruments.....................................................................................11
3.4 Data analysis........................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 4- DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION...............................................13
CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................21
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................24
APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................26
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................26

CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION
1.1. General
Rural to urban migration is found as the process in which the villagers or people in rural
areas shifts or moves to urban cities for their development. In the Himalayan kingdom of the
Bhutan, thousands of the people are seen as leaning their own villages for the purpose of seeking
out better life in the towns. With the young person who seems as less interested in the agriculture
and are eager for embracing an education and the employment opportunities, rural areas are seen
as slowly empting out. Furthermore, it has been seen that migration results to positive as well as
the negative for both rural & developed cities. The present report is based on the migration in
Chomsaling gewog village of Bhutan which includes assessment of the reasons behind the
migration and its effects. Moreover, the study highlights impact of the migration on the villagers
and the people living in urban cities. The report also identifies challenges faced by because of the
migration and the appropriate measures adopted in order to mitigate or control migration of the
rural areas people to the urban cities. The research includes the detailed review of the initiates
and the programmes developed for controlling the migration so that village could be developed
effectively.
1.2 Objectives
1. To find various causes behind rural-urban migration in Chomsaling gewog (suburb)
under Dagana dzongkhag between 2008 to 2018.
2.Identify and provide necessary recommendations to further control migration in Bhutan.
3.To assess problems and opportunities and socio-economic effect due to migration.
1.3. Significance
The findings of the study would help several stakeholders like private institutions,
government in assessing and understanding the report. This will assist the stakeholders in
readdressing existing policies & in framing new regulations, planning and developing their
activities for the proposed projects and allows in making better or suitable decisions. The
research also facilitates a strong check and balances on this un-interrupted flow of migration so
that appropriate solution could be derived for the future execution.

CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Rural to urban migration in Bhutan
In the view point of Wangdi and et.al., (2018), it can be stated that the main reason
behind rural to urban migration amongst the youth of Chomsaling gewog village is to attain jobs
and business opportunities in the developed cities of the country. It has been observed that the
majority of people migrate to the capital city of Thimphu so that they can get relaxation of the
hard labour and small incomes earned from irrigation and other agricultural works. According to
Chand, ( 2020), approximately 28% of the migrants from Chomsaling gewog village settled in
Thimphu and other 6% relocated in the populous cities of Phuntsholing and Paro. Another
objective that motivates the migrants to move into the urban areas are education, health care,
transportation and better quality of life. The rural people wish to provide an adequate standard of
living and education facilities to their children therefore they choose to migrate from villages to
cities to give better future to the next generation.
Pelzom and Katel, (2018), has stated that approximately 43% migrants had a university
degree and out of that more than 31% were employed civil service jobs after relocating into
towns and cities whereas only 7% people living in villages had a university degree and more than
90% of the villagers were involved in agriculture work which clearly indicates the lack of
options and growth opportunities in the rural areas. Moreover, every individual especially the
youth need freedom, higher level of education and secure jobs to feel a sense of accomplishment
among themselves. However, the incessant migration of people from rural to urban areas has
caused a lot of problems amongst the individuals living in these cities because these areas are
more crowded than ever and also it has reduced the level of opportunities for people residing
there which has become a major issue and it can be solved only through an increase in
employment opportunities, infrastructure and industrialization. Therefore, the ministry of
agriculture has decided to make agricultural occupations more beneficial both socially and
economically so that the youth of the rural areas do not migrate from their villages. The
agricultural development can be done by implying the use of technologies, infrastructure and an
increase in export levels that can help in increasing employment opportunities and control the
migration from villages to developed cities. Thus, it can be stated that an increase in rural to

urban migration can cause several challenges for villagers and city people which means that it is
important to keep a balance through continuous development in both towns and villages.
2.2 Effects of the rural- urban migration on agriculture in Chomsaling gewog village
In the view point of Chand, (2017), agriculture contributes around 17% in Bhutan’s GDP
and is practiced by villagers as a source of income and livelihood. It has been stated that 9 out of
10 Bhutan nationals were engaged in agricultural work in the year 1987 which clearly means that
agriculture plays a very strong role in shaping up the country’s economy and strengthening their
GDP. More than 90% of villagers still practice agriculture as a means of self- employment as
every villager hold roughly 2-3 acres of land on which they grow crops and vegetables.
However, according to Lethro and Akita, (2019), with the increase in migration from
Chomsaling gewog village there has been a slight decrease in the production and export of
vegetable crops which has ultimately reduced the income of the villagers in the country.
Moreover, Bhutan now heavily relies on import of food products to meet its consumption
like rice, oil, alcoholic beverages that are supplied by its neighbour countries like India and
Nepal. It has become very difficult for the self-employed farmers and villagers to increase their
production due to lack of manpower and technology as majority of the youth migrate towards the
urban cities to work in different kinds of industries like construction, textile, IT and
manufacturing. Nonetheless, the ministry of agriculture has made decision in regards to surge the
production of rice and oil so that the country could become self-sufficient and also reduce the
imports that have been increasing incessantly with 10% growth in the past decade. As per the
data provided by ministry of agriculture, there has been 30% labour shortage and 20% crop
damage caused by wildlife caused due to the movement of people from villages to towns.
In April 2008, India cut off the export of rice to Bhutan to stabilize and balance the food
availability in their country which created huge problem for Bhutan as the prices of rice rose in
the country which became a wake up call for the country and it realized its reliance upon India
for the availability of food products. Thus, the country decided to prioritize the production of
food products in the rural areas and implemented various technology to promote better farming
techniques. The decrease in land holdings was another problem for the people of

Chomsalinggewogvillageas with the increasing population in the village the average size of land
holdings reduced which made it difficult for the farmers to grow their farm products. Also, the
movement of people towards urban areas led towards fermentation of land holdings and reduced
the average farm size.
2.3 Analysing problems or challenges faced by villagers because of migration
According to Lakey and Chophel, (2019), the people of Chomsalinggewogvillage faced
several problems because of incessant migration of villagers to developed cities in search of job
and opportunities. The villagers faced problems like small scale production because the children
of farmers migrate to the cities to study or work and as a result of that there is a shortage of
labour which means that the size of production reduces and so does the revenue. Also, majority
of the villagers in Chomsalinggewogvillage do not have access to basic technology and have
adopted the labour-intensive approach therefore with reduced workforce the cultivation of fields
also reduces.
The movement of migrants from villages to cities also makes their land barren as there is
no activity once the people leave which further leads to the land loosing its fertility and it acts as
a loss to the other village because now no one can purchase the following land and it acts as a
huge challenge for the farmers. The effects of rural to urban migration to agriculture surpass
fallow land and labour shortages. The migration compromises Bhutan’s food security and its
celebrated values of Gross National Happiness. The villagers faced several difficulties relating to
the use of technology because the government failed to pay attention towards the Chomsaling
gewog village as the youth travelled to cities therefore in need to increase employment
opportunities among the people living in developed cities, the government focused on building
industries and infrastructure to promote sustainability in the job sector but unfortunately no
attention was paid towards the villagers and the agriculture sector which led to reduction in the
scale of production of crops.
According to Dendup, (2018), the reduced scale production created problems for the
country as the price of food items surged and created an imbalance in the country’s economy
since then the government started promoting the use of technology and infrastructure in the field
of agriculture. However, in the view point of Vilà-Vilardell and et.al., (2020), the life of migrants
is not easy when they relocate themselves into the busy cities as there are many challenges faced