meeting_labour_demand_in_agriculture_in_times_of_cov

5. Conclusions In this report we have considered the possible repercussions in terms of labour migration for the agricultural sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Differently from other sectors that have been forced to shut down, agriculture is an essential sector that needs to keep producing at normal or even increased pace even during shelter-in-place orders. As this sector needs to be kept functioning, both media and policy circles have raised concerns regarding the availability of foreign seasonal workers in the context of the current mobility restrictions. Foreign seasonal workers are reported to be a central component of the agricultural workforce, thus putting these concerns at the top of political debates. While Eurostat data indicate that the seasonal foreign workers in the agricultural sector numbered in the tens of thousands in 2018, it is difficult to extrapolate from that figure the current need for the agricultural sector. The analysis has nonetheless shown that both the inflows of foreign labour in general, and of seasonal foreign workers in particular, in the agricultural sector, has steadily increased for a subset of Member States such as Italy and Spain. It is unlikely that the agricultural sectors in those countries will be able to work at normal capacity without that essential part of the workforce. In that regard, for those countries, it becomes essential to take swift policy action to secure exceptions for seasonal workers in the agriculture from current mobility barriers, or to redeploy already resident unemployed workers or inactives towards agricultural needs. Despite the urgency of the situation, it should be ensured that the rights and social protection of seasonal workers are not overlooked. More than ever, Member States must ensure the strict application of national provisions transposing EU rules on the occupational safety and health of workers, which require that occupational risks are assessed and adequate preventive and protective measures are in place. Whether the local, displaced, labour force will be enough to meet the labour demand left vacant by the missing seasonal workers is hard to assess. Even if our incomplete estimates offer some indications that the pool of interested local workers might grow if shelter-in-place orders will be prolonged and repeated, it is hard to believe that the agriculture sector will be able to fill all its vacancies relying only on them.

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