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Naturland Fair & Social responsibility

Why social responsibility in agriculture is so important

Thomas Beutler and Ann-Kristin Schmidt, Naturland e.V.


The frame: Global supply chains and price pressure

Service & Expertise

Supply chains of the globalised food industry are often heterogeneous, fragmented, and complex. This makes it difficult to regulate them and implement uniform standards. Producers and smallholder farmers are under strong competition and high price pressure. Particularly producers must constantly reduce their costs to achieve higher profitability – at the expense of rural livelihoods, working conditions and human rights. 

The picture: Consequences on working conditions in agriculture

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), jobs in agricultural supply chains are less well paid than in others. They are also more unstable, as global agriculture is characterised by seasonal, short-term, occasional, and piecework jobs, often carried out by migrant workers.¹ The high demand for seasonal labour means that many workers are vulnerable to the hazards of informal work with its rapid emergence of exploitative working conditions, such as unpaid overtime, the withholding of wages and personal documents, or debt to the employer (e.g. through employment agencies). This notably also affects women and young workers. In addition, they are often more exposed to the physical demands of agricultural work and may face difficulties in accessing protective measures, medical care, or compensation. Consequently, there is also an increasing risk of forced and child labour in the industry. According to UNICEF and ILO statistics, around 70% of global child labour takes place in agriculture (children helping in family businesses with age-appropriate tasks are not included).² In short, being informally employed also results in the lack of basic occupational safety and health protections.

Furthermore, there are health hazards. One example is the massive and sometimes unprotected use of chemical farm inputs, which of course hardly affects organic farming. Another is that agricultural work is often carried out manually, even in the first processing steps at the beginning of the supply chain, and adequate protective equipment (PPE) is often not provided free of charge. These health risks not only contradict the ILO core labour standards, which state that every person has the right to a safe workplace. In the following, accidents at work can also have serious socio-economic impacts on those affected: a work-related accident without social security can quickly eliminate a significant portion of a household's income. These are economies of scale that can hardly be measured, but they show that labour rights are also fundamental human rights. All the before mentioned problems are global and arise in almost every country in the world.

The labour market - climate change nexus

A growing but so far largely neglected component that impacts the issue of labour in agriculture is the so-called labour market climate change nexus. The relationship between climate change and labour is very complex: many jobs depend on what are known as ecosystem services, especially in agriculture, of course. Any change to or destruction of ecosystems, such as more frequent droughts and heat waves or heavier rainfall, consequently, endangers these services as an economic basis, which has an impact on the labour markets.

At the same time, climate change also has a concrete impact on the world of work. As a recent ILO report on safety and health at work in a changing climate confirms, people in agriculture and other outdoor workers are particularly affected by climate change and resulting extreme temperatures. Again, particularly at risk are the above-mentioned group of people working in the informal sector, making them particularly vulnerable to climate-related health risks, like heat stress, as they often have no social safety nets or legal protections. In consequence, they have an increased risk of heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, dehydration, heat stroke and other cardiovascular problems. Prolonged dehydration can also cause massive kidney damage.

The reaction: Naturland sets social standards globally

To address these complex challenges, Naturland has developed its social standards and verifies compliances with these yearly since 2016. They are designed to improve working conditions in agriculture around the globe. At the heart of our social standards are the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the core standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In practice, this means, for example, ensuring freedom of assembly and access to trade unions, as well as banning exploitative child or forced labour in high-risk countries. Child labour is a reality for millions of children. Naturland cannot abolish it, but it can provide the necessary framework to exclude exploitative forms of child labour and ensure that children can go to school and that their work does not impair their physical and mental development.

To take account of different local conditions, Naturland sets different priorities depending on the region. In countries where the above-mentioned risks do not exist, the focus is more on occupational safety, for example. This is often neglected in family and smaller operations due to the heavy workload. Naturland emphasises this issue to reduce the risk of accidents in the operations and to prepare them for emergencies with regard to their obligations as employers. In addition to practical training and suitable work materials, this also includes, for example, adequately trained first responders.

Our food system can only exist through the people working within it: the producers and processors of our food. Considering us people not as separate from nature but as an inherent part, for us it is only obvious that as an association of organic farmers, we need to protect and care for people just as we do for our environment. By setting standards and raising the bar regarding occupational health and safety, we live close to our values and beliefs: that working rights are human rights.

The employer is always responsible for the maintenance of the machines. Care must be taken to ensure that workers are trained to operate the respective machines.

Pictured: Coffee processing in Burundi (Image: Naturland e.V./ Fairpicture/ Fabrice Mbonankira)

Climate change leads to more heat stress during outdoor work. Shady places and free drinking water are needed for workers to take regular breaks

Pictured: Roiboos tea harvest in South Africa (Image: Naturland e.V./ Christian Nusch)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is fundamentally important to protect the health and safety of workers. At Naturland, this must generally be provided free of charge by the employer at all times.

Pictured: Shrimp processing in Honduras (Image: Naturland e.V./ Ute Wiedenlübbert)

The workers of Naturland's partner GADC receive training from the local fire department on how to handle fire and fire extinguishers in an emergency. Employee training is important to ensure health and safety in the workplace

Pictured: Staff training in Uganda (Image: Naturland e.V./ Ann-Kristin Schmidt)

    Further reading

    More information on the promotion of decent work in agri-food sector can be found here.

    Ann-Kristin Schmidt is specialist for fair trade and social responsibility at Naturland and supports the Naturland Fair partners is Africa in implementing the fair trade standards. Moreover, she is in charge of networking activities in social and community-supported agriculture.

    Thomas Beutler is expert for social responsibility at Naturland. He supports partners around the world in implementing decent working conditions along the agricultural supply chain. He also promotes Naturland's networking with international labour rights experts such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other organisations.

    Sources

    ¹ Hurst, Peter. Agricultural Workers and Their Contribution to Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development. ILO (2007). 01_engl_agricultural_workers.indd
    ² Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams! | International Labour Organization

    Header image: Naturland e.V.