Determinants of rural youth migration in Gomma district, Jimma zone, southwestern Ethiopia

Youth migration is a major challenge in developing countries, where the economy depends mainly on agriculture. Ethiopia is a developing country in the world, and the migration of youth from rural to urban areas and out of the country is considered a livelihood strategy. This study aimed to identify the determinants of youth migration in the Gomma district of the Jimma zone. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used to select 267 respondents. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using scheduled interviews, observations, focus group discussions (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). Descriptive and inferential data analysis methods were employed, and a binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the major determinants of youth migration. The results showed that the presence of relative/friends out of birthplace, family size, age of youth, and schooling of respondents positively influence youth migration. On the other hand, the sex of the respondent, employment status, marital status of the respondent, land ownership, livestock ownership of family, family income, and land size negatively influenced youth migration. Generally, from the study, it can be concluded that young people in the study area migrated in an irregular way, and economic, social network, and household characteristics were identified as the major determinants of youth migration. Therefore, government intervention is needed to reduce youth unemployment and make agriculture attractive to youth in both the private and public sectors, and improving wages is the best mechanism to make young people stay in the agriculture sector.