Bolsa Família Social Program Influences Migration After Extreme Climate Events

The Bolsa Familia social benefit increases resilience and affects the migration decisions of the poorest farmers when they are hit by droughts. This is the conclusion of the first study to correlate social programs and climate change in Brazils rural areas, conducted by the Institute for Mobility and Social Development. By combining multiple databases, the institute identified 14.3 million vulnerable rural producers, 76% of whom are Bolsa Familia beneficiaries. The research focused on the behavior of those living in areas affected by severe droughts between 2015 and 2019 and monitored their geographic movements. More than 4.6 million of these farmers, 76% of whom receive Bolsa Familia, lived in areas where severe droughts occurred. In these regions, the rate of beneficiaries who left their homes was 4% lower than that of non-beneficiaries. Paulo Tafner, an economist and president of the institute that conducted the research, explains that the study approached migration from two combined perspectives: climate change-induced drought and the guaranteed income provided by Bolsa Familia. "The study shows that Bolsa Familia helps beneficiaries to endure when droughts are severe but manageable. On the other hand, in cases of extreme drought, it helps them to migrate," says Tafner.