Network actions for the social quality of agricultural work and the prevention of exploitation.

Author: Zadra, Franca; Vigano, Federica & Susanne Elsen, Susanne

Abstract: The increasing emergence of cases of gangmastering and serious exploitation of agricultural workers in vulnerable situations raises relevant questions at the boundaries of the field of social agriculture: how to improve the social quality of agricultural work tout court? How to implement systemic changes aimed at preventing worker exploitation? What network strategies allow connecting the different systems that condition fair and sustainable rural development? This contribution focuses on a concerted strategy for improving the social conditions of workers in vulnerable situations, and the processes of building collaborative networks for the prevention of exploitation, starting from the experience of the FARm project “Responsible Agriculture Supply Chain Model”, in Veneto, Lombardy and Trentino Alto-Adige, co-financed by the European Union through the FAMI fund.

Keywords: human trafficking, labor exploitation, agriculture, social quality, gangmastering, systemic changes