8. 11c. Education and migration: Does education stimulate rural-urban migration? Why?

Rural –urban migration as a means of rural transformation through its effect on the
rural‐urban balance is constrained by the fact that urban areas are also challenged by high rate
of unemployment and rampant poverty. Level of education is found to be significant in triggering
rural‐ urban migration even after accounting for its indirect effect on migration through earnings
differential. This may support the argument that education changes the preferences of
individuals in rural villages in favour of public goods that are found in urban centers over cultural
‘status goods’ in rural areas. Income differential in the migration decision model is positive and
significant lending support to the standard Harris‐Todaro model.However, it is quite difficult for a
rural individual who has never been introduced to some level of education to migrate to urban
centers in search for education that would enable him to accumulate the high skill that is
required to be able to compete in the urban labor market. This is because the gap between the
initial stock of knowledge of an individual and the level of skill required for urban jobs could be
too high to the extent that rural values are more appreciated.

9.15. What basic problems does the case study evoke on agricultural extension for women in
Kenya? What special strategies may be used to address them?

Absolute poverty is disproportionately concentrated among women, in rural areas, and in

the agricultural sector.In Kenya, women have less education than men on average in most rural
developing areas. Because women tend to be involved in different farm activities than men, they
will often have different technology requirements. Most technology development has been
focused on activities of men.On average,women farm on much smaller, more fragmented plots
than men; are less likely to have secure ownership; and often cultivate less fertile soil. This
distribution is likely to be inefficient as well as distributionally inequitable.Women have little
access, if any, to financial credit, a key input in efficient agriculture.Lastly, many women who
work as many or more hours per day as men in agricultural pursuits also have to perform
several hours of domestic work that men do not do.As a result to this, improvements in the
productivity and incomes of women farmers are therefore key to a strategy for poverty
reduction.The crucial importance of a solid agricultural extension program for successful rural
development and increased yields has been appreciated by development specialists for
decades.Economic advancement of women farmers is also important for promoting
environmentally sustainable development.The best possible to do is to empower women
through their education and invest to them in order to attain growth for Kenya.