Remittance-Sending Behaviour Along Migration Trajectories: The Case of Senegalese, Ghanaian and Congolese Migrants

In this chapter, we examine the remittance-sending behaviour of Ghanaian, Congolese and Senegalese migrants along their migration trajectories to Europe. We aim to understand the extent to which and why sending remittances might differ when the migrants consider themselves to be either en route or settled. We hypothesise that migrants on the move experience legal and economic precariousness and have a lesser capacity and, hence, probability to remit. Moreover, we argue that migrants with close family members and assets in the origin country have higher incentives to remit but are less likely to do so if they are on the move. Overall, we do not find support for the argument that being on the move decreases the probability of sending remittances. Surprisingly, we illustrate that migrants on the move are more likely to be employed and to send remittances compared to settled migrants. We argue that the former may consider their situation to be insecure – despite being employed – and want to keep in closer contact with their country of origin. The chapter highlights the importance of including a(n) (im)mobility perspective when studying remittance-sending and the need for a fuller understanding of how frictions and experiences along more complex migration trajectories affect remittance-sending behaviour

Decoding Plant–Environment Interactions That Influence Crop Agronomic Traits

To ensure food security in the face of increasing global demand due to population growth and progressive urbanization, it will be crucial to integrate emerging technologies in multiple disciplines to accelerate overall throughput of gene discovery and crop breeding. Plant agronomic traits often appear during the plants’ later growth stages due to the cumulative effects of their lifetime interactions with the environment. Therefore, decoding plant–environment interactions by elucidating plants’ temporal physiological responses to environmental changes throughout their lifespans will facilitate the identification of genetic and environmental factors, timing and pathways that influence complex end-point agronomic traits, such as yield. Here, we discuss the expected role of the life-course approach to monitoring plant and crop health status in improving crop productivity by enhancing the understanding of plant–environment interactions. We review recent advances in analytical technologies for monitoring health status in plants based on multi-omics analyses and strategies for integrating heterogeneous datasets from multiple omics areas to identify informative factors associated with traits of interest. In addition, we showcase emerging phenomics techniques that enable the noninvasive and continuous monitoring of plant growth by various means, including three-dimensional phenotyping, plant root phenotyping, implantable/injectable sensors and affordable phenotyping devices. Finally, we present an integrated review of analytical technologies and applications for monitoring plant growth, developed across disciplines, such as plant science, data science and sensors and Internet-of-things technologies, to improve plant productivity

Transnational relationships and reunification: Ghanaian Couples between Ghana and Europe

BACKGROUND The ability of couples to migrate together or to reunify in the destination country is increasingly limited because family reunification laws are becoming more stringent, especially for those moving from the Global South to the North. However, little is known regarding migrants' reunification behavior. OBJECTIVE We examine the prevalence of couples living-apart-together-across-borders (LATAB), the duration of their separation, and under which conditions they remain transnational or reunify in the destination country. METHODS Using data from the MAFE-Ghana project, we focus on LATAB couples among Ghanaian migrants living in the Netherlands and the UK (n=291). Event history analyses are used to examine the probability of reunification. We consider characteristics of the migrant, the left-behind spouse, their relationship, and the receiving country context. RESULTS Couples remain separated for extended periods of time. Just over half of the couples in the Netherlands and the UK reunified: approximately half did not. Reunification is less likely in the Netherlands than the U.K. and is less likely since 2004, when reunification policies became stricter. Spouse's education is a significant factor in explaining reunification, but, surprisingly, legal status is not. Being able to maintain transnational ties through short return visits increases the likelihood of LATAB. CONCLUSIONS Findings reveal that LATAB relationships are a common, long-term arrangement among Ghanaian migrants

2 SENEGALESE MIGRANTS BETWEEN HERE AND THERE: AN

was conducted with the financial support of INED, the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), the Région Ile de France and the FSP programme 'International Migrations, territorial reorganizations and development of the countries of the South'. For more details

Evolution of migration trajectories and transnational social networks over time: a study among sub-Saharan African migrants in Europe

The transnational social networks of migrants are extensively studied, but little is known about the associations between transnational social networks and individual migration trajectories over the course of migrants’ lives. In this paper, we reconstruct the migration trajectories and transnational social networks of African migrants until their arrival in Europe and develop a typology that reflects the diversity of their trajectories. Based on unique retrospective life-history data of the MAFE project, our comparative perspective highlights the diversity of African migrants residing in Europe, the routes that they took before arriving in Europe and the types of transnational networks they had before, during and after migrating. Furthermore, we discuss the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics of migrants within each typology. Consequently, this paper challenges the singular African migration stereotype and draws attention to the associations between transnational social networks and migration trajectories