COVID-19 exposing the structural weaknesses in the agricultural sector

May 15, 2020

Research into the irregularity of foreign agricultural workers in Italy is proving even more relevant in the COVID-19 era, providing important lessons for the world.

There is nothing like a crisis to lay bare the cracks in a system, showing where weaknesses, long ignored, suddenly need urgent attention. This is proving to be the case for the agricultural sector, where temporary foreign workers, who have faced less than ideal working conditions for decades, are now being recognized as essential to sustaining society.

Recent research by Alessandra Corrado, Anna Triandafyllidou, and others, is receiving wide attention for its data outlining the cracks in Italy’s agricultural system. The report,  (PDF file) Is Italian agriculture a ‘pull factor’ for irregular migration – and, if so, why? (opens in new window) , commissioned by the Open Society European Policy Institute, sheds light on significant weaknesses in Italy’s agricultural sector that are being exacerbated during the pandemic.

Policy leaders blame the practice of hiring irregular labour in agriculture for “pulling” illegal migration to the country. But the research shows that the root problem lies in how the wider agricultural system operates and only by addressing the underlying structural problems of the sector can the problem of illegal immigration be resolved.

“The focus on migration and asylum policy to correct the problem is merely a band aid solution,” says Anna Triandafyllidou, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Ryerson University. “The migrants are filling a gap that exists because of the failure to reform agricultural policy and create sustainable situations for farmers.”

According to the report, the agricultural sector in Italy is fully dependent on the “irregularity” of this workforce. In 2015, approximately half of all workers in the agricultural sector were foreigners. Of these estimated 405,000 foreign workers, 80 per cent had no formal contract. This high reliance on foreign workers stems back to the 1970s, when large agri-conglomerates began absorbing small farm operations and a growing concentration of large corporations in the food distribution supply chain squeezed out the profits of producers on the ground. Cheap foreign workers became essential for the system to survive.

Suddenly, with COVID-19, Italy – like many countries around the world – is facing the risk of labour shortages in agriculture, and realizing that society depends far too much on poorly treated, undocumented workers who are without rights. Some suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may make conditions worse for labourers who are forced even further underground.

In Canada, which has a much less permeable border to migrants, COVID-19 reveals a different story. The initial border closure and travel ban sent a shockwave through an agricultural sector that depends heavily on an influx of temporary foreign workers during a narrow growing season. Though modest in comparison to Italy, the Canadian agricultural sector employs 55,000 to 60,000 temporary foreign workers each year, representing one-fifth of total employment in the sector. But because the majority of workers arrive through regulated programs like the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program, the government was able to quickly step in and provide support, ranging from exempting workers from travel restrictions, chartering planes to bring workers to Canada and providing financial supplements to help farmers set up 14-day isolation programs and social-distancing regimes for workers.

Although temporary foreign workers do receive provincial health care coverage from the day they arrive in Canada, experts warn that there is still precarity in the Canadian system. Their concerns include migrant access to health care when they are sick, how to maintain social isolation during the recovery period, and how migrants who don’t speak English or French obtain the information they need to remain safe. A deeper debate (external link, opens in new window)  is underway on the need for better rights for foreign agricultural workers in Canada.

Back in Europe, more research is expected imminently on the situation in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. In Italy, experts call for the removal of labour intermediaries, better rights for workers, improved housing conditions, more sustainable pricing policies and even a “fair labour” labelling system on products. They argue that improving conditions for workers will strengthen the system, overall.

The reliance on precarious workers in agriculture is chronic in countless countries around the world.  Experts hope the COVID-19 crisis will expose labour conditions in the food sector that have been ignored for too long.  Now is the time to overhaul systems.