Work in the agricultural industry is going through rapid technological disruptions. Read this article to learn more.
Many travellers seek farm work in Tasmania. But what do you know about the global agricultural industry?
Most people in low-income countries do farm work In high-income countries, the percentage is about 10%, with more than half of the population off the farm and in the related food industry, including a lot of migrant workers. A lot of hope is pinned on the agri-industry to tackle various global challenges of job creation and reduction of poverty.
Meanwhile, automation in agriculture is advancing rapidly – localisation of food production has reduced access to external markets for some countries and anti-migrant sentiments are getting high. These trends of de-globalisation and digitisation have been majorly reinforced with Covid-19. Employment in the agri-food industry continues to decline as countries develop. The challenge is to transition to better-paying jobs in agriculture on-farm and off-farm along the food chains in the industry.
All this should happen without causing social havoc and utilising a lot of employment opportunities the industry will continue to offer especially for the youth.
More diverse food with fewer employees
As countries continue to develop, people continue to spend a smaller share of their income on food. More of it is spent on nutrient-rich, convenient processed foods. This transformation is very possible as farmers become productive.
Jobs in agriculture globally decline whilst new jobs are created off the farm to cater to the changing customer demands. The expansion of agro-jobs and off-farm jobs compensates for the loss of farm work. These off-farm jobs are an important factor in reducing poverty and are generated in towns that are close to poor populations.
This process takes a lot of time and as a result, the food system will remain a big employer for decades to come, especially for low-skilled workers in low-middle and low-income countries, even though the trend in the industry is downward. The productivity in agriculture is a key driver of this change.
De-globalisation and digitalisation
Societies continue to evolve from having domestic farm labour surplus to a shortage as the transformation unfolds. With inelastic demand for food, an increase in productivity will lead to a decline in food prices. Markets for land are inefficient and the chain of food value is developing slowly. This is slowing the diversification and consolidation of high-value crops which are very necessary for farm incomes to keep up with faster-growing and secure incomes off the farm. Farming is continuing to become unattractive for some people and agricultural employees become more difficult to find.
In high-income countries, this emerging farm labour shortage is filled by foreign wage workers, especially in tasks that are difficult to automate such as harvesting fresh vegetables and fruits.
Agricultural digitisation offers important opportunities in the industry to increase the productivity of labour and raise incomes in a lot of developing countries. There is an uber-like platform known as hello tractor that offers tractor services and it started in Nigeria. We also have platforms that link smallholder producers with a wide market in the urban areas.
Farm work in Tasmania still requires manual workers and this is ideal for backpackers.
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