Who Will Farm the Land?

CIESIN leads a project that focuses on the reasons why youth are leaving agriculture in favor of urban employment in three cities: Bangalore, India; La Ceiba, Honduras; and Banjul, The Gambia. In survey research and video interviews, teams probe the challenges of agricultural livelihoods and the pros and cons of rural life vs urban life. We also explore experiences of climate extremes, and the degree to which those contribute to decisions to leave their rural villages and towns. CIESIN works in partnership with the following groups. For India: University of Geneva, National Institute for Advanced Studies (Bangalore), and University of Amsterdam. For Honduras: Gemelos Honduras, the Technological University of Honduras, Texas State University, and Oregon State University. For The Gambia: The Center for Innovations in Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building (CICARB) and the University of The Gambia.

Project Outputs

Workshop on Expert Dialogue on Climate Change, Agrarian Livelihoods, and Labor Migration in India, 23 June 2026, hosted by the National Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, India

Blog post on The Road to Neema by Benjamin Miyakawa, a student in the Masters Program in Development Practice, describing his trip to Neema in the state of Bihar in northern India as a part of the Who Will Farm the Land? and Displaced Livelihoods projects.