Abstract:
This study aimed to examine the influence of migrants’ remittances on
agriculture improvement in rural areas in Mvomero District. It was guided by two
objectives. The first sought to examine the contribution of cash remittances in
agriculture. A sample size of 124 individuals was recruited to participate in this
study. Among those, 97 household heads were randomly selected as the sample
size using Nassiuma (2000) sample size formulae, while nine key informants and
18 participants for three focus group discussions were purposefully selected from
the selected villages. Descriptive and thematic data analysis techniques were
employed. The information was captured using questionnaires, interviews, and
focus group discussions and analyzed using SPSS for quantitative data using
Quantile analysis, chi-square test, and content analysis for qualitative data. The
study found that cash remittances were the dominant form of remittance
received by the Mvomero households from the rural-urban migrants, as asserted
by 61.7% of the respondents. The study also found that the remittances received
were used in various ways that improved agricultural productivity. They were
more used for post-harvesting activities (81.3%), paying casual labour and
renting tractors for cultivation (63.0), purchasing fertilizer and herbicides
(81.6%), land holding or renting (61.7%), as well as purchasing seeds (53.7%)
which in the end boosted the households' income. The study concludes that even
though rural-to-urban migration was viewed as a threat to agricultural
production in rural areas, it was replaced by the remittances sent by the
migrants.
