Rural-urban migration and the rural alternative on Mwase Lundazi, Eastern province, Zambia

From the 1940s onwards there were major changes in the methods of cultivation in the Mwase Lundazi area. The agricultural practices in the area changed drastically in the early seventies. The fact that the area changed in character from a labor reserve to a booming economy illustrates the possibility of differential responses to change or incorporation into the world capitalist order. It also makes it possible to raise important questions concerning rural-urban migration. A logical consequence of the development of commodity production in rural Zambia would be that rural-urban migration would decline. An analysis of the population of four villages in Mwase Lundazi in 1978 strongly suggests, however, that such migration remains important. The persistance of this migration can be explained by analysis of the local social and economic structure. This is contrary to the explanations which stress the impact of outside forces. This has important implications for policy making. Fig., notes, ref