Structural labor scarcity—Where will it lead to?
In the last column, we brought up thoughts on water and labor limitations, with scarcity being a better word for what we are facing, as suggested by some of you. When it comes to water, it is important to reiterate that any improvements, actions, or solutions need to be shared fully and openly, as individual activities, no matter how large your operation is, will likely have minimal impacts on availability, balance, and long-term stability.
Similar, but in a way different from water, labor has two dimensions: one speaks for the need for collective action, while the other is centered on competitive advantages to be obtained, if managed well. Just like water, no one can deny the need to use labor in a more responsible manner, but unlike water, labor has stronger elements of contradiction in terms of access, needs, and solutions.
With very few exceptions, including central and southern Africa and parts of Asia, almost all blueberry production regions are facing serious labor availability issues—if not on a yearly or seasonal basis, certainly at peak production periods. While this has been the norm for years in the U.S.,Canada, Western Europe, and the UK, it started to become prevalent in Chile and Eastern Europe some years ago. Now, it is also becoming a reality in places that used to be the source of much of the migrant labor into these regions and countries, with two examples standing out.
Until recently, Mexico had remained the essential source of labor for the horticultural sector in the U.S. About 15 years ago, migration patterns outside the country did not seem to impact availability in most internal agricultural regions. This started to change between 2010 and 2015 in such a manner that today many areas in central Mexico are dependent on migration flows coming from inside the country, and now even from Central America. A recent agreement with the Mexican Senate and the Guatemalan* government, and promoted by AHIFORES and Mexico’s Agricultural Council (CNA) frames this need.
The other example coming into focus within the past couple of years is Morocco, where a lack of labor during peak season in the spring (which coincides with the Islamic celebration of Ramadan) has underscored a need that has many growers concerned. Some have started to contemplate specific actions, including the use of migrants from the Atlas and neighboring countries like Senegal, Tunisia, and Algeria. This reality is ironic at best, considering Morocco is a country with a high young adult unemployment rate.
So, from a country and industry-wide perspective, and despite the current contradictions building up in the U.S., UK, and some countries in Europe, migrant labor is and will remain essential to the horticultural and agribusiness sector. Therefore, the need to develop or update migrant worker programs is becoming more urgent. Grower and agribusiness organizations need to work with the likes of ILO, OIM, and MPI, along with national and regional governments and industry bodies like SIZA in South Africa, AHIFORES in Mexico, ETF in Spain, or FNET and FPC in the UK. The objective of this collaborative work is to share insights and promote best practices, including migrant worker schemes like the programs in place in Canada, or the improvements intended for the H-2A visa program in the U.S., the UK’s Home Office policies, or migration programs in Portugal.
As to individual efforts, there are likely as many ideas as needs, but we can mention the most renowned: proper field worker management and organization to optimize activities solely dependent on human actions; use of automation equipment, like field harvesting support robots/machines; proper tools; piece labor/productivity incentives (if only Spain would modify its Article 3); genetic improvements to plant structures that allow for fruit exposure and ease of harvest, or proper generative to vegetative balance; innovations like the new naturAll from Hortifruit; proper plant densities and field production management (how about not exceeding on nitrogen inputs?); training and more training; proper working conditions (washrooms at adequate distance from fields, lunch facilities with good shade and ventilation, etc.); cultural sensitivity and awareness (some farms in Portugal work with almost 15 nationalities); and if possible, connection, interaction, and recognition of the work performed by field workers by costumers and consumers. It has been repeated for years, but above all, we need to make agriculture an attractive work alternative.
Three final thoughts:
- On the logic of developing joint efforts to address labor needs and promote job opportunities, particularly at the technical level, IBO has launched “BlueCarrers” within the IBO Portal, which we urge all to explore and use to post openings and look for opportunities.
- Weekly labor reduction schemes being implemented in several countries, including Spain and Mexico, pose a major challenge to blueberry, berry, and horticultural production in general. It is not about limiting work from 48 to 40 hours per week, but from 60+ to 38 at peak season times, with the extreme consequences it will bring. A clear example of the need for our industry to engage with governments.
- And as previously mentioned, while Mexico is looking for agricultural workers from Guatemala, it seems that as I write this, even the agricultural sector in that country is facing labor shortages….
Mario Steta
PS. As less is more, I will do my best to reduce the length of the editorials starting next month. I do hope that, even if they’re too long, you have gained some new insight and been challenged to see new perspectives.
