The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections

As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture’s role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system (AFS) also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, t...

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Main Authors:	Christiaensen, Luc, Rutledge, Zachariah, Taylor, J. Edward
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:	EMPLOYMENT LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT JOB CREATION IMMIGRATION MIGRANT LABOR LABOR PRODUCTIVITY VALUE CHAIN
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109201588744267820/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33704

id	okr-10986-33704
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-337042021-05-25T09:37:08Z The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward EMPLOYMENT LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT JOB CREATION IMMIGRATION MIGRANT LABOR LABOR PRODUCTIVITY VALUE CHAIN As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture’s role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system (AFS) also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, technological revolutions both have shaped and have been shaped by these dynamics. Today, a digital revolution is taking hold, affecting agricultural labor and skill demands. In this process, societies evolve from having a surplus to a shortage of domestic farm labor, typically met largely by foreign agricultural wage workers. Yet, anti-immigration sentiments are flying high in migrant-destination countries, and robots in the fields and packing plants offer an alternative. Agricultural trade may be similarly challenged. In the world’s poorest countries, particularly in Africa, labor productivity in agriculture remains at historically low levels. So, what can the role of agriculture as a source of employment be in the future? This viewpoint elaborates on these trends and reviews a number of policy options, including inclusive value chain development, better immigration policies, social insurance schemes and ramp up in agricultural education and extension. 2020-05-06T14:30:59Z 2020-05-06T14:30:59Z 2020-03-10 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109201588744267820/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33704 English Jobs Working Paper;No. 40 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	EMPLOYMENT LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT JOB CREATION IMMIGRATION MIGRANT LABOR LABOR PRODUCTIVITY VALUE CHAIN
spellingShingle	EMPLOYMENT LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT JOB CREATION IMMIGRATION MIGRANT LABOR LABOR PRODUCTIVITY VALUE CHAIN Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
relation	Jobs Working Paper;No. 40
description	As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture’s role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system (AFS) also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, technological revolutions both have shaped and have been shaped by these dynamics. Today, a digital revolution is taking hold, affecting agricultural labor and skill demands. In this process, societies evolve from having a surplus to a shortage of domestic farm labor, typically met largely by foreign agricultural wage workers. Yet, anti-immigration sentiments are flying high in migrant-destination countries, and robots in the fields and packing plants offer an alternative. Agricultural trade may be similarly challenged. In the world’s poorest countries, particularly in Africa, labor productivity in agriculture remains at historically low levels. So, what can the role of agriculture as a source of employment be in the future? This viewpoint elaborates on these trends and reviews a number of policy options, including inclusive value chain development, better immigration policies, social insurance schemes and ramp up in agricultural education and extension.
format	Working Paper
author	Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward
author_facet	Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward
author_sort	Christiaensen, Luc
title	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_short	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_full	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_fullStr	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_full_unstemmed	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_sort	future of work in agriculture : some reflections
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2020
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/109201588744267820/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33704
_version_	1764479338179198976

The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections

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