Researchers in Viet Nam argue that accepted notions of the impact of labour migration on rural households need to be reconsidered.

Drawing on the narratives of women and men who have domestic or international migration experience, a team of researchers in Viet Nam have explored the ‘gendered impact’ of migration on small-scale farming in rural Ha Tinh Province.

‘We investigated both men’s and women’s migration experience, their influence on agricultural production, and gendered impact on their livelihoods after migration,’ said Nozomi Kawarazuka, lead author of the research study, published in the journal Critical Asian Studies on 8 September 2020, a gender specialist and researcher with the International Potato Center. ‘The findings show that households use various strategies to sustain agricultural production in the absence of some members. Women’s increased economic independence through labour migration has not necessarily lead to their increased management roles in agriculture but they are increasingly challenging the stereotypical images of rural women.’

For men, while migration can be a catalyst that transforms their livelihoods, it can also widen gaps in social and economic statuses among their fellows.

Other research on labour migration suggest that male migration may lead to increased burdens at home for women and reduced agricultural productivity.

‘In our research, we did not observe such a general trend,’ said Tuan Minh Duong, second author and researcher with World Agroforestry (ICRAF). ‘Women who remain at home when their husbands migrate for work do not necessarily bear an additional labour burden. In Ha Tinh, families often plan farming that takes into account their labour situation. For example, they plant longer-maturing crops with low labour demands, such as acacia trees, or male relatives help out on the farm, or if money is available they may rent machinery or hire labourers. For families with limited landholdings or financial resources, the ones who stay on the farm often have to compensate for the shortage.’

The team found no clear trend of a ‘feminization’ of agriculture among the households they observed, which included both female and male labour migrants. Instead, their findings supported critics of this ‘feminization approach’, in which women are viewed in one unified category that generalizes gendered trends and overlooks diversity among both women and men.

‘For example,’ said Kawarazuka, ‘when Mr Nam was away his brothers controlled his trees; his wife did not, said Kawarazuka. And although Ms Hang managed her family’s land during her husband’s absence this was a temporary role and her main focus was on managing her grocery store.’

Some argue that migration may discourage smallholders from continuing to farm. In this study, however, the team found that the family farmland remained important for men of all economic standing, albeit, for different reasons. In the past, labour migration was supplemental to agricultural production and both men and women were usually at home during the peak farming seasons. Now, agriculture is aligned with both the migration cycle and the non-agricultural business cycle. This situation is different from that in provinces closer to Hanoi, where women migrants frequently return to their village for agricultural and domestic work.

The team’s study also highlights women migrants’ agency, negotiation over gender roles, and their use of remittances.

‘Gender roles are flexible and women adapt to new roles as breadwinners at various life stages,’ said Duong.

However, women’s migration does not necessarily bring about a transformation in patriarchal gender relations because of strategic negotiations to maintain family harmony’, as he explains in the following example.

‘Ms Oanh chose to let her husband manage their acacia trees. By doing so, her husband achieved a certain social status as a progressive male farmer and existing patriarchal gender norms that mandate women to be dutiful, sacrifice for their families, and respect their husbands were sustained. However, this can also be interpreted as an example of women’s “secret agency”, an unthreatening approach to pursue their own interests without conflict. In contrast, Ms Hang, who used to work in Saigon, ran her own business and hired agricultural labourers to work the family land in her husband’s absence. We can view this as an example of the transformation of gender relations in the sense that she created a new model as a woman and a farm manager, which challenges the traditional gender norm that men manage family land.’

The article showcases two stories that question the stereotypical perception that old women remain at home as unpaid labourers and caregivers, in which two women spent their savings on their daughters rather than their sons, although it is usually sons in Vietnamese culture who are supposed to take over the farm and care for the parents.

In modern migration settings, household members and their roles are more flexible, argue the research team. Earning both farm and non-farm incomes and investing in both daughters and sons is a new way of ensuring long-term security in rural settings.

‘Put simply, we can say that the farm plays different roles for migrant workers and their families’, said Elisabeth Simelton, third member of the study and a researcher with ICRAF. ‘Most importantly the farm is a family safety net. In our study, we found that those who did well from their non-farm job and managed to save money often invested in the house and in agricultural production. In some cases, men’s remittances were not only used for their own businesses but also used for facilitating women’s management roles in both agricultural production and non-agricultural businesses. Next, we have the migrants who urgently need to cover specific expenses. Often it was married women who took domestic jobs to pay for a sick husband’s medical expenses, a child’s education, or a wedding. The earning was generally too low to invest in agriculture. Finally, the farm became the safety net for those in debt — often men — and who depended on fast-growing annual crops that required little investment, such as sweet potato and cassava.’

The role of small farms around the world, noted Simelton, has also become even clearer during COVID-19 lockdowns, with many migrants who lost their city jobs able to return to their villages and farms.

‘This study shows that women can become economically independent through remittances if their husbands have sufficient incomes,’ said Kawarazuka. ‘While women’s empowerment is a major gender strategy in agricultural development across the world and is very important, our study reminds us that not all men benefit from patriarchy. Supporting men in disadvantaged positions is as important as supporting women. Hence, agricultural innovations with short-cycle and low-investment crops and practices are required for the poor.’

‘This means we need to specify which agroforestry systems are less labour intensive,’ said Simelton. ‘With increasing female labour migration, it is important for agricultural planners to offer spaces for women to invest in new crops and livestock so that they also can take the lead and have control.’’

The research team would like to thank the participants in the study and the local authorities for their time and cooperation. They are also grateful to Ann Tickamyer and Gordon Prain for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of the research article. This work was undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions and Markets, led by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Funding support was provided by the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas and supported by CGIAR Trust Fund contributors. The opinions expressed in the original article and interview, and this story belong to the authors.

Read the research

Kawarazuka N, Tuan Minh Duong, Simelton E. 2020. Gender, labor migration and changes in small-scale farming on Vietnam's north-central coast. Critical Asian Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14672715.2020.1815229.