Migrant Agricultural Workers and Their Socio‐Economic, Occupational and Health Conditions – A Literature Review

Abstract

Objective This study provides the summary of current knowledge about migrant work in agriculture available from journal articles, books, reports and other relevant academic publications, focusing on political, economic, legal, social and medical aspects of migrant work in agriculture. Methods A systematic search was carried out on the LibHub and Google Scholar databases in order to compile the existing peer--reviewed publications, research reports, and policy papers concerning migrant work in agriculture. The literatures was selected through the following process: (1) reading the title and abstract in English for the period 1960 -2011; (2) reading the entire text of selected articles; (3) making a manual search of the relevant quotations in the selected articles; (4) eliminating articles without a focus on migrant populations and the themes of central interest, and then reading and analyzing the definitive set of articles. ResultsIn spite of their varying geographical focus, scope, unit of analysis and settings, most of the studies reviewed highlighted that migrant farmworkers work under very poor working conditions and face numerous health and safety hazards, including occupational chemical and ergonomic exposures, various injuries and illnesses and even death, discrimination and social exclusion, poor pay and long working hours, and language and cultural barriers. Many studies also reported poor enforcement of labour regulations and a lack of health and safety training on the farms, difficulty accessing medical care and compensation when injured or ill. ConclusionsThe studies have also pointed out the lack of research in relation to labour, health, psychosocial, and wage conditions of migrant farmworkers. The accumulated results of the study indicate that the issues and problems migrant farmworkers face are multidimensional, and there is a need for both policy development and further research in order to address migrant workers' problems.

International Labour Migration and Food Production in Rural Europe: A Review of the Evidence

“…However, to‐date there have been no pan‐European reviews of this growing literature (though for wider reviews see: Ortiz ; Svensson et al . ). It is now time, we argue, to take stock of the literature and to identify key themes and findings, gaps in knowledge, and suggestions for future research.…”

The Impact of Agricultural Practices on Environmental Sustainability in Ghana: A Review

“…In recent times, farm workers' occupational safety, health and their rights violation have received attention by researchers across the globe (Otero, 2010;Robinson et al, 2011;Barnetson, 2012;Dwomoh, et al, 2013;Svensson et al, 2013). As farm workers are highly involved in the production, harvesting, processing, storage and distribution of farm products, their health and safety are at risk characterized by poor hygiene and sanitation, infection from microbial organisms, lack of protective equipment and training programmes, increased longer hours of work, injuries and illness, lack of access to medical facilities, and poisoning from agrochemicals and as such, they must be protected against these hazards (Otero, 2010;NPASEP;Dwomoh et al, 2013;Svensson et al, 2013).…”

“…As farm workers are highly involved in the production, harvesting, processing, storage and distribution of farm products, their health and safety are at risk characterized by poor hygiene and sanitation, infection from microbial organisms, lack of protective equipment and training programmes, increased longer hours of work, injuries and illness, lack of access to medical facilities, and poisoning from agrochemicals and as such, they must be protected against these hazards (Otero, 2010;NPASEP;Dwomoh et al, 2013;Svensson et al, 2013). In another study on farm workers safety and rights, Svensson et al (2013) reported that migrant farm workers work under very poor working conditions and face numerous health and safety hazards, including occupational chemical and ergonomic exposures, various injuries and illnesses and even death, discrimination and social exclusion, poor pay and long working hours and language and cultural barriers.…”

“…Several studies have eluded that poor enforcement of labour laws, lack of training on the farms and medical care and compensation when injured or ill are the biggest threats to sustainable agricultural production (Otero, 2010;Svensson et al, 2013). Robinson et al (2011) also found rights of farm workers trampled as 67.2% of them receive wages that fail to meet the minimum wage standards in North Carolina, thus, the owners of the farms violating wage and labour laws of the country.…”

“…According to Otero (2010) the employee health and safety measures include signing employment contract to safeguard the interest and welfare of employees; providing adequate working hours and holidays to minimize exposure of risks; instituting competitive compensation system to meet workers' varied economic and environmental needs; installing occupational safety and health programme such as well-designed and sanitized housing facilities, lunchrooms and laundry facilities; the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) to reduce exposure to risk factors; and training programme for the prevention of environmental risks and workplace discrimination. The need for governments, agricultural and labour enforcement agencies to enforce international and national labour, agricultural and occupational safety, health and welfare provisions and regulations will go a long way to minimize some health and safety infractions reported across countries (Otero, 2010;Robinson et al, 2011;Barnetson 2012;Dwomoh et al, 2013;Svensson et al, 2013).…”