A/HRC/42/44/Add.1 increasing from 2 per cent in 2007 to 4 per cent in 2016, while non-European Union migrants grew from 5 per cent to 7 per cent.1 6. Since the 1990s, demand for seasonal agricultural work in Italy has been mainly covered by migrant workers. While the growing presence of migrant workers in the agricultural sector is well known, no comprehensive official figures exist, owing to the incidence of irregular and not declared workers who are not captured by statistics. Nevertheless, it has been established that over the last 10 years, the incidence of migrant workers in the agricultural sector has tripled, increasing from 5.3 per cent in 2007 to 17 per cent in 2018 of the total numbers employed in agriculture. 2 The sharpest increase has been recorded in southern Italy (from 4 to 13 per cent), while in the north it rose from 3 to 6 per cent. The presence of migrant workers in agriculture is highly differentiated across farm size, typology and territorial level. 3 7. In 2017, migrants accounted for 16.9 per cent of the total number employed in agriculture, of whom almost one third were Indian nationals.4 In some areas, such as Calabria, migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have “replaced” migrants from European Union countries.5 8. According to the Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale, in 2017 286,940 individuals were registered with regular contracts, about 28 per cent of the total, of whom 151,706 were European Union nationals (53 per cent) and 135,234 were from other countries (47 per cent). 9. Depending on the region and the season, migrants constitute the majority of those working in the fields. The percentage of migrant workers is particularly high in the agricultural areas of southern Italy. In San Ferdinando, Calabria, for example, 88 per cent of the workers employed in agriculture are migrants. 6 10. The number of non-European Union women migrants working in agriculture reportedly doubled between 2006 and 2016 to 29,456, while the number of men rose from 85,965 in 2007 to 132,415 in 2016.7 Currently, almost 30 per cent of those working in the agricultural sector are women.8 The overall number of European Union nationals working in agriculture has also increased. In some districts of southern Italy, the number of women workers from European Union countries, such as Romania, is significant. 11. The agricultural sector is characterized by difficult working conditions, low prestige and low pay; it requires mainly seasonal workers and a supply-and-demand mechanism that is ultra-flexible.9 It is based on a mode of production that involves multiple actors throughout the supply chain, including multinationals, corporations, large-scale distribution companies, temporary agencies, transport companies and wholesalers, which aim to curtail the costs of production in order to increase profit margins. As a consequence, the rights of workers are often violated and they may be exposed to severe exploitation or slavery. 12. The frequent replacement of workers and the informality of the sector create an enabling environment for exploitation and abuse. Seasonal workers are at high risk of exploitation because their permit for legal stay is often tied to a labour contract, which puts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 See IOM Italy briefing, “Migrants’ contributions to Italy’s welfare” (October 2017). Ibid. Silvia Coderoni and others, “Farms employing foreign workers in Italy: an analysis with census micro data”, German Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol. 67, No. 3 (2018). Ministero di Lavoro, Directorate General of Immigration and Integration Policies, “Foreigners in the Italian labour market”, eighth annual report, summary (2018). Ibid. Open Society European Policy Institute, “Is Italian agriculture a ‘pull factor’ for irregular migration – and, if so, why?” p. 8 (2018). Ibid. Ibid. European Parliament, Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, “The vulnerability to exploitation of women migrant workers in agriculture in the EU: the need for a human rights and gender based approach” (May 2018). 3