The Interplay of Rural-Urban Migration, Climate-Smart Agriculture, and Technical Efficiency in Maize Production: Insights from Rural Malawi

Rural-Urban Migration (RUM) has increasingly become a key adaptation strategy to climate and weather-related shocks in rural communities. Through rural-urban migration (RUM, households gain access to remittances, which are often reinvested in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. However, the outcomes of such investments are not straightforward, as RUM can lead to either a loss or a gain in labor productivity depending on accompanying interventions. This study examines the impact of RUM on technical efficiency and productivity among maize smallholder farmers using panel data constructed from nationally representative Integrated Household Surveys (2010–2017). The findings show that RUM, when not accompanied by CSA practices such as soil and water conservation, agroforestry, and conservation agriculture, leads to a significant reduction in technical efficiency, averaging 9%, with sharper declines in 2010 and 2013 (18%) and a more moderate effect in 2016/2017 (7%). Conversely, when RUM is combined with CSA adoption, it has a positive effect on technical efficiency, carrying important policy implications. They thus highlight the need for policymakers to carefully monitor labor outmigration while avoiding restrictive migration policies that overlook the economic pressures driving RUM. Instead, policies should focus on balanced strategies that retain part of the rural labor force and enhance households’ ability to convert remittances into productive agricultural investments. Key interventions include strengthening rural labor markets, promoting mechanization and labor-saving technologies, as well as enabling the effective use of remittances through financial literacy, improved extension services, and targeted support for CSA adoption.