Characteristics of foreign agricultural work in the Autonomous Province of Trento

Abstract

In Italy, more than one third of workers recruited in agriculture comes from abroad and the incidence of foreign workers is increasing. One of the areas with a consolidated presence of foreign employment in agriculture is the Autonomous Province of Trento, where 66.7% of total workers comes from other countries. The highest request of workers, expressed from June to October (corresponding with the harvest of fruits, grapevine and berries) is not satisfied by the local workforce and the recruitment of foreign workers is crucial to satisfy the farms labour needs. This situation has shaped a local regulative framework where farmers and the local institutions collaborate actively in order to guarantee the yearly satisfaction of workforce needs, minimizing the risk of labour shortage and irregular work. The paper is developed around a descriptive analysis based on the elaboration of national and provincial dataset (mainly INPS and Labour Agency) and gives a general overview of the foreign workforce components in the AP of Trento.