Working groups
IAWA
ISWA2026
Working groups

Working groups

ISWA 2026 is organised by Working Groups that are reviewing the abstracts submitted to them and convene sessions on their specific focus. We are very happy to have attracted a diverse range of Working Groups with committed convenors from many different countries and backgrounds that address work in agriculture comprehensively from various angles. Work in the agri-food sector is an increasingly complex topic. There are many intersecting challenges, such as ageing of the workforce, digitalisation, migration, impacts from a changing climate and integration of supply chains. The people working in the agri-food sector play a critical role in adapting and transforming work in the face of these challenges. Advancing the research agenda in this context is essential for informing responsible policy and practice relating to work in the agri-food sector.

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The International Symposium on Work in Agriculture (ISWA) is the only global forum that brings together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to address questions of work in the agri-food sector. Together with the Committee of Labour Science in Agriculture of the Max Eyth-Society for Agricultural Engineering (Fachausschuss für Arbeitswissenschaften im Landbau der Max-Eyth-Gesellschaft für Agrartechnik im Verein Deutscher Ingenieure – AKAL) and the annual event of the Hugo P. Cecchini Institute at Berne University of Applied Sciences, ISWA 2026 will provide a forum to present and discuss research on challenges of work in the agri-food sector from diverse disciplinary perspectives. It aims to facilitate exchange and collaboration between the different stakeholders to tackle challenges related to work that the agri-food sector is facing currently and in the future. 

The symposium covers the following themes:

  • Attractiveness of work in the agri-food sector
  • Decent work in the agri-food sector
  • Knowledge, skills and education
  • Dynamics of work
  • Health and safety
  • Agricultural workforce development systems

Book of Abstracts

List of the working groups

  • WG1 – The impact of digitalisation on agri-food labour and production systems
  • WG2 – Critical perspectives on agricultural robotisation
  • WG3 – Work dynamics within and beyond the farm gate
  • WG4 – Mapping the territory of youth careers in agriculture and food
  • WG5 – Seeds of succession
  • WG6 – Enhancing the attractiveness of work in the agri-food sector
  • WG7 – Innovative approaches to enhancing the attractiveness of agricultural work in rural Africa
  • WG8 – How effectively can production systems attract workers and support decent work?
  • WG9 – Decent work in family farming and the agri-food sector
  • WG10 – Rethinking labour in agri-food models in Africa
  • WG11 – Coping with work constraints within complex crop/livestock systems in the African farming sector
  • WG12 – Soziale Dynamiken und Nachhaltigkeit als Motor neuer Arbeitsprozesse
  • WG13 – Assessing and Interpreting Farm Workload: Pathways, Practices and Perspectives
  • WG14 – Climate shocks and labour market transitions in agriculture
  • WG16 – Climate change and transformation of work in animal husbandry resilience in agri-food labour markets
  • WG17 – Impact of animal welfare improvement on working conditions
  • WG18 – Documenting strategies of preservation in agricultural work
  • WG19 – Gendered work and working gender
  • WG20 – The human element of sustainable farming
  • WG21 – Management of occupational health and safety (OHS)
  • WG22 – Health and safety in farming (Gesundheit und Sicherheit in der Landwirtschaft)
  • WG24 – Landscapes and lifescapes of support
  • WG25 – Living and working in agriculture

For any queries contact the ISWA 2026 organisation office: iswa2026.hafl@bfh.ch 

Modification date: 11 September 2026 | Publication date: 11 September 2026 | By: I Avelange