Dynamics of Food Security and Remittances in Rural-Urban Migration: A Gendered Analysis from Matutuíne District to Maputo City

This research addresses critical gaps by 1) Mapping informal food remittance circuits that national data systems ignore, 2) Analyzing gender differences in how cash versus in-kind food transfers affect household diets, and 3) Providing policy insights for the SADC Protocol on Facilitation of Movements, which currently neglects linkages to food security. The study offers comparative value by contrasting the Matutuíne corridor with other migration systems in Southern Africa while innovatively examining migrant-run “barracks” (informal restaurants) in Maputo as sites of precarity and resilience. The objectives of the project include (1) to map the links between remittances and food security between the rural Matutuíne District and the cities of destination of migrants; (2) to characterize the gender dynamics in food security and remittances in rural-urban Migration; and (3) to assess how urban informal markets, as practical and often overlooked mediators, facilitate access to food for migrant women and their families who remain in the district. The research employs mixed methods to unravel the complex relationships between migration, gender, and food security in the Matutuíne-Maputo-South Africa-Eswatini corridor. The methodology includes a survey of 200 migrants in Maputo City and 200 non-migrants in Matutuíne District; 10 interviews with migrants and left-behind family members, and participatory Photovoice with 10 migrant food vendors (with gender-equitable representation).