Urban-rural linkages as an urban survival strategy among urban dwellers in Botswana: the case of Broadhurst residents

Abstract

This paper studies the role of urban-rural linkages as survival strategies and as a form of economic security in the face of increasing levels of urban unemployment. The study focuses on the residents of Broad hurst,a suburb of Gaborone, Botswana and presents the result of a survey of 360 households.The households contained 1560 people of whom 90.9% were 45 years old or less. Urban-rural linkages included the continuation of part time work and residence in the rural area and the continued management of land and livestock in the rural area. In all, 91.9% of the households interviewed owned property in rural areas while 70.3% owned residential land, 64.7% owned farmland, 63.9% owned livestock, 56.7% owned grazing lands, 14.4% owned business plots and an additional 9.4% owned other forms of rural property. Linkages with the rural area were reinforced through participation in social activities, exchange of goods and services, and the consultation with rural people primarily over family matters and the consultation by rural relatives on work or financial matters.

Key words: urban-rural linkages, survival strategy, economic security, Botswana, Gaborone, Broadhurst, rural-urban migration, migrants, land tenure, property, livestock, household, rural development, urban survey.