Rome Dialogue II June 2023

Closing the Agricultural Labor Gap: Decent Migrant Work Or Automation?

Rome, June 7th: 14:00 – 15:30

HYBRID EVENT


Many high-income countries face severe shortages of agricultural labor. In France alone, 57 percent of all vacancies in agriculture risk going unfilled this year. Raising wages and improving employment conditions has not been enough to attract sufficient domestic workers.

So far, the gaps have been mostly filled by migrant workers, with important benefits for migrants and sending communities. But there are frequent concerns about their working conditions, with low pay rates often the reason to hire them. And following substantial technological advances, agribots are becoming increasingly competitive.

Rome Dialogue II, co-hosted with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, invites you to participate in an exchange on the future of robots and migrant work in agriculture. Are they substitutes or complements? If complements, how can migrant labor be supported to improve job quality and produce better results for all? Perspectives of the different stakeholders will be featured and the latest evidence discussed in a moderated conversation.