PARIS - Labour and skills shortages are a major concern in the agro-food sector across OECD countries. This challenge is compounded by the relatively small, and declining, contribution of agriculture to GDP, and the negative public perception of the sector with relatively low wages and limited career prospects.
This paper reviews policies that have the potential to address labour and skills shortages in the agro-food sector including labour market, education and training, social protection policies, immigration, as well as agricultural specific policies. Many of the policy levers used to address the agro-food labour challenge lie outside the sector and involve finding the right policy mix that tends to be country specific.
Furthermore, some issues can be addressed by closer public and private collaboration such as improving working conditions, increasing investment in agricultural education and training of young entrants to the sector. Greater attention also needs to be given to improving the image of agriculture as a career choice, promoting a more diverse workforce, improving the alignment of skills to the needs of the sector, promoting continuous learning, and strengthening national advisory services.
Key messages
• Employment in the agro-food sector continues its long-term downward trend, broadly in line with agriculture’s declining share of GDP,in OECD countries.The demand for labour in agriculture is driven by the interaction of several factors: farm structural adjustment (increase in average farm size, change in ownership structure, demographics); technological advances (increased automation, robotics, drone technologies); and the changing demand of consumers for attributes such as animal welfare, environmental footprint, and food quality.
• The agricultural labour force is segmented with many categories of labour including family owner-operators, farm managers, hired labour,and seasonal workers(including foreign workers). The agricultural labour force is characterised by lower formal education and training.
• Managing complex biological and business enterprises requires greater diversity of skills for employees and employers. Most OECD governments support and incentivise greater inclusiveness in their workforce. While there are significant data gaps on the composition of labour and skills in the sector, there is growing evidence of a large mismatch between the needs of the sector and the supply of labour and skills, including in the face of technological change.
• Labour and skills shortages are being experienced in many economic sectors across OECD countries, and this is resulting in increased competition, especially for semi-skilled and skilled labour in the agro-food sector. Entry barriers to the sector are a concern and include high start-up costs, geographical isolation, fragmented rural infrastructure, relatively low remuneration, poor working conditions, and the negative perception of farming as a professional career.
• Despite the labour and skills shortages, agricultural production and productivity have continued to increase, albeit decelerating in the most recent decade. Emerging labour-saving technologies bring new opportunities to the sector to make it more attractive and responsive to new demands, but they raise important questions on the continuous need for upskilling of the labour force.
• Governments need to find the right mix of policies to address these complex challenges;including policies that oversee the labour market, education and training, social protection, immigration, and agricultural labour.In priority they should aim to:
o Improve the image of agriculture as a sector capable of offering career opportunities,as the role of agriculture is evolving with increasing attention to food security, environmental goods, biodiversity,and social aspects.
o Promotea more diverse agro-food work force with a wider range of skills.
o Ensurea better alignment of education and skills to the evolving needs of the agro-food sector, which is critical for the sector to be sustainable and competitive,including entrepreneurial and digital skills.
o As part of agricultural policy reforms to improve sustainable productivity, and investmentsin Agricultural Innovation Systems, enhance the continuous education and training of the workforce to optimise the adoption of new technologies and digitalisation in the sector.
o Strengthen and expand the capacity of national farm advisory services to meet the current and future needs of the agro-food sector.
For the full paper, visit: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/ed758aab-en.pdf?expires=1675882298&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=59ED507886C58177351AD54B603EF33D
