As EU institutions and member states engage in negotiations over the future Common Agricultural Policy for 2021–2027, discussions abound over the extent to which the new Common Agricultural Policy will be more environmentally sustainable and will meet objectives on climate action. Attention is also being paid to the issue of how farms, large and small, can ensure quality production while remaining economically viable and guaranteeing livelihoods for farmers.
Despite the references to labor rights in the new farm to fork strategy, what is largely absent from the debate is a focus on the workers—many of whom are migrants—actually toiling in the fields, and on how their conditions could be improved.
Speakers
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Abderrahmane Amajou
Speaker
Abderrahmane Amajou is coordinator of the Migrant Network for Slow Food International.
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Giorgia Ceccarelli
Speaker
Giorgia Ceccarelli, policy adviser for Oxfam Italy, is co-researcher of the report Do We Need an EU Ethical Food Label?
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Olivier De Schutter
Speaker
Olivier De Schutter is UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and is co-chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.
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Giulia Laganà
Speaker
Giulia Laganà is a senior policy analyst with the Open Society Europe and Eurasia Program.
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Maria Noichl
Speaker
Maria Noichl is a member of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
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Letizia Palumbo
Speaker
Letizia Palumbo, visiting fellow at the European University Institute, is co-lead of the report Are Agri-Food Workers Only Exploited in Southern Europe?
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Kathrin Maria Rudolf
Speaker
Kathrin Maria Rudolf is administrator for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.
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Karin Söderberg
Speaker
Karin Söderberg is a member of the Management Board of the European Labour Authority.
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Enrico Somaglia
Speaker
Enrico Somaglia is deputy secretary general of the European Federation of Food, Agriculture, and Tourism Trade Unions.
Read more
publication
Are Agri-Food Workers Only Exploited in Southern Europe?
The exploitation of migrant workers in the agri-food sector isn’t just a Southern European problem. It’s widespread in Northern Europe, despite better working conditions and less informal employment.
publication
Is Italian Agriculture “Pull Factor” for Irregular Migration—And, If So, Why?
This study examines how the EU’s agricultural practices leave workers vulnerable to exploitation, ultimately hurting local communities and consumers, too. The report also offers suggestions for addressing this breakdown.