Part of the EYES Project – Empowering Youth for Active Citizenship and Social Inclusion
Part of the EYES Project – Empowering Youth for Active Citizenship and Social Inclusion
What Is Migration and Rural Exodus? Let’s Break It Down
Migration simply means moving from one place to another. People migrate for many reasons—some choose to, others feel they have no choice.
Rural Exodus is a specific type of migration: it’s when large numbers of people leave rural areas (villages, farms, countryside) to move to cities or other countries.
Think of it like this: imagine a village where everyone starts leaving. The young people go first, looking for jobs or education. Then the shops close. Then the schools have fewer students—agriculture and productivity decline. Eventually, the village shrinks and struggles to survive. That’s rural exodus. That means that people left that rural area!
Why does it happen? Young people leave rural areas because they feel pushed out—by lack of jobs, poor infrastructure, insecurity, or limited opportunities . They’re pulled toward cities by promises of better wages, education, and entertainment. But the reality? Many end up in low-paying jobs, struggling with high costs and loneliness .
💡 Here’s the truth: Rural exodus isn’t just about moving. It’s about losing the potential of entire communities. When young people leave, rural areas lose their future leaders, innovators, and change-makers.
🏆 Top 10 Advantages of Migration (What People Hope For)
- Better employment opportunities – Hope for more jobs in cities and abroad
- Higher wages – Hope that urban jobs may pay more than farming or craftsmanships in the rural areas or villages
- Access to education – Hope for better schools, universities, and training
- Improved healthcare – Hospitals and clinics are more available
- Skill development – Learn new skills in different industries
- Higher standard of living – Modern amenities and conveniences
- Social mobility – Chance to improve your social status
- Empowerment – Especially for women seeking independence
- Networking – Meet people from different backgrounds
- Remittances – Send money home to support family or for personal/community projects.
💡 How to Get These Advantages WITHOUT Leaving Your Rural Area
Here’s the secret: All the advantages above are more costly. You can bring all the advantages of the city to your village at lower cost and fewer hassles. How? By creating opportunities right where you are.
| Advantage | How to Get It in Rural Areas |
|---|---|
| Better employment | Start a small business serving your community and participate in the gig economy through freelancing |
| Higher wages | Process local raw materials and scale gradually or with credit |
| Education | Approach local experts and use online learning platforms like EYES Network |
| Healthcare | Use working local medicines and partner with NGOs for mobile health clinics |
| Skill development | Partake in apprenticeship or join virtual exchange programs like EYES |
| Networking | Connect through digital platforms and teleconferencing |
| Empowerment | Start or participate in cooperatives and the social and solidarity economy (SSE), rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) and the likes |
| Remittances | Create local value that keeps or brings money into your community/country |
The EYES Project has already shown this works. Starting since September 2025, over 100 young people from 8 countries gathered online monthly to discuss exactly these solutions. They identified that capacity building, entrepreneurship, agritech, and renewable energy could keep young people in their communities .
⚠️ The Dark Side: Disadvantages That Have NO Cure
Let’s be honest. Some consequences of migration can’t be fixed—they destroy communities and people.
Disadvantages That Last Forever:
- Loss of potential in rural areas – When talented young people leave, their home communities lose their brightest minds permanently
- Reduced agricultural production – With fewer farmers and skilled labour, food security and productivity suffers and what follows? Crime rate increases in your community and country!
- Broken families – Separation tears apart family units, often permanently, and the warmth of physical interaction and kinship is deeply affected
- Loss of cultural identity – Rural traditions die when no one stays to continue them
- “Brain drain” – The most educated, talented, and problem solvers leave, leaving communities without leaders and impact makers
Mental Health Destruction:
Migration isn’t just about geography—it’s about psychological trauma.
- Anxiety and depression are common among those who feel forced to leave (not that they were literally forced, but they felt they had no option)
- Social isolation in cities where no one knows you; you are an alien, may face racism or other related challenges
- Loss of identity—feeling like you belong nowhere
- Physical deterioration from poor living conditions and stress
📊 Real Evidence: Research in northwest Nigeria shows that forced rural-to-city migrants suffer severe mental health vulnerability. They face “anxiety, physical deterioration, and isolation without access to medical or emotional support” .
The worst part? Even if you return, the damage persists. Returnees often face health disparities and social disconnects with no support systems in place .
🌱 Business & Agricultural Opportunities in All 8 EYES Countries
Here are realistic opportunities you can start without traveling:
🇪🇸 Spain
- Olive oil processing – Small-batch artisanal production
- Eco-tourism – Rural guesthouses for city tourists
- Almond and olive cooperatives – Community-owned processing
🇮🇹 Italy
- Agriturismo – Farm-stay tourism
- Organic farming – High-value specialty crops
- Cheese making – Traditional dairy products
🇬🇷 Greece
- Olive oil and honey – Premium export products
- Renewable energy – Solar farms on rural land
- Herbal products – Wild herb harvesting and processing
🇹🇷 Turkey
- Textile production – Wool and cotton crafts
- Fruit drying – Apricots, figs, grapes
- Livestock farming – Sheep and goat products
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Cocoa processing – Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire are processing cocoa locally instead of exporting raw beans. This creates jobs and keeps value in-country
- Cassava processing – Flour, starch, and animal feed
- Palm oil production – Small-scale processing for local markets
- Snail/Rabbit Farming – These have low mortality, low risk and high yield, and high demand
- Apprenticeship – Learn high-demand and high-paying skills or provide services needed
🇬🇭 Ghana
- Cocoa value addition – “Africa produces 75-77% of the world’s cocoa but receives less than 10% of the value” . This gap is your opportunity.
- Shea butter – Cosmetic and food products
- Organic farming – Export-quality vegetables
🇨🇲 Cameroon
- Cocoa processing – Join the value-addition movement
- Timber processing – Sustainable furniture production
- Fisheries – Aquaculture and processing
🇬🇦 Gabon
- Timber processing – Sustainable wood products
- Palm oil – Small-scale production
- Eco-tourism – Rainforest experiences
🛠️ How to Start Small (Almost No Money Required)
Nigeria Example:
- Solve a serious problem; this is the biggest challenge blocking your way to wealth! This requires your ability to identify a serious problem in need of solution, develop/plan or invent a solution, and automatically, people will pay to get the solution. In agriculture, for example, the problem may be mobility – transporting produce from farm to market.
- Start with leveraging truck owners → Buy from farm, process or transport to the market for profit
- Borrow equipment/vehicles from local cooperatives/businesses if need be first or use your indigenous solution but sometimes differently
- Start locally first, then expand to nearby towns
Ghana Example:
- Collect shea nuts from wild trees
- Process into butter using manual methods
- Form a women’s cooperative to share costs and sell together
Cameroon Example:
- Start a small cocoa fermentary with 50kg of beans
- Dry and package for local chocolate makers
- Connect with processors using the EYES Network
🧠 The Mindset Shift: Problem-Solving Makes You Rich
Here’s the hardest truth: If you think you can’t solve your community’s problems, you’re wrong. And that weakness will follow you wherever you go.
💡 Success doesn’t come from escaping problems—it comes from solving them.
Think about these young entrepreneurs and what they’re solving:
| Problem | Solved By | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa farmers stay poor | Cocoa processors | Processing beans locally |
| Rural youth have no jobs | Agribusiness founders | Creating farms and processing |
| Farmers can’t access finance | Fintech innovators | Mobile banking for farmers |
| Communities have no power | Solar entrepreneurs | Renewable energy installations |
| Food goes to waste | Agri-tech startups | Storage and preservation solutions |
The IFAD Agribusiness Hubs program has already created over 60,000 decent jobs for young people in Africa. They proved that young people can build successful rural businesses .
📋 Country-by-Country Action Plans (Start With Almost Nothing)
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Step 1: Identify local raw materials (cocoa, cassava, palm oil)
- Step 2: Learn simple processing skills via EYES training
- Step 3: Form a cooperative with 5-10 friends
- Step 4: Apply to BOI (Bank of Industry) for funding—they have dedicated agro-processing windows
🇬🇭 Ghana
- Step 1: Join a farmer cooperative
- Step 2: Start with shea butter or cocoa processing
- Step 3: Connect with COCOBOD for support
- Step 4: Access markets through the EYES platform
🇨🇲 Cameroon
- Step 1: Form a youth group focused on agriculture
- Step 2: Start with 1 hectare of high-value crops
- Step 3: Use online training from EYES Network
- Step 4: Connect with the cocoa value-addition alliance
🇬🇦 Gabon
- Step 1: Start small-scale timber or palm oil
- Step 2: Register with local cooperative
- Step 3: Access sustainable forestry programs
- Step 4: Connect to international markets
🇪🇸 Spain
- Step 1: Identify rural tourism potential
- Step 2: Join the EYES entrepreneurship training
- Step 3: Start an eco-tourism or craft business
- Step 4: Use digital marketing to reach customers
🇮🇹 Italy
- Step 1: Start with traditional products (cheese, olives)
- Step 2: Join agritourism networks
- Step 3: Access EU agricultural support
- Step 4: Partner with local food festivals
🇬🇷 Greece
- Step 1: Start with olive oil or honey production
- Step 2: Form a producer cooperative
- Step 3: Access EU rural development funds
- Step 4: Export through online platforms
🇹🇷 Turkey
- Step 1: Start with traditional crafts or livestock
- Step 2: Join local producer groups
- Step 3: Access government support programs
- Step 4: Market products in cities
🎯 Your Next Step: Join the EYES Community
The EYES Project is already helping young people like you:
- Over 100 participants from 8 countries joined the first session on migration
- Monthly virtual exchanges continue on eyesnetwork.org
- FREE training on entrepreneurship and agritech
The EYES Network platform offers:
- 🗣 EYES Social – Connect with youth worldwide
- 🎓 EYES Training – Online courses on entrepreneurship
- 🤝 EYES Mentorship – Guidance from professionals
📝 Tell Us How You Want to Learn More
We’re creating comprehensive training materials on migration, rural exodus, and empowerment. What options works best for you?
🚀 Your community needs you. Build your future where you are—and become the millionaire who solved problems, not the one who escaped them.
Disclaimer: This publication is solely by the INTERNATIONAL TALENT OUTREACH NIGERIA within the EYES Consortium and not the opinion of the EU.
