advanced course about "Strengthening socially sustainable agriculture: Towards decent employment and working conditions"

Agriculture remains one of the sectors most exposed to decent work deficits worldwide. Ensuring safe and fair working conditions across agri-food sector value chains continues to be a major challenge, particularly in labour-intensive activities such as crop production, horticulture, and livestock. Situations involving labour rights deficits, informality, and inadequate working conditions are still observed in both developed and developing countries. These challenges have significant social implications, especially for the most vulnerable groups, including migrant workers, women, youth and seasonal labourers. Limited access to social protection, insufficient training, exposure to occupational safety and health risks, and the prevalence of informal or unstable employment relationships are structural issues that persist in agriculture, often compounded by weak enforcement of labour legislation.

Various international frameworks and policy instruments, including the standards and guidance developed by the International Labour Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, aim to promote decent work and protect labour rights in agriculture. However, their diversity and complexity, together with fragmented implementation and limited institutional capacity, make their effective application challenging for many stakeholders. Strengthening coherence between these instruments, improving enforcement mechanisms, and enhancing stakeholders’ capacities are key to advancing socially sustainable agri-food systems.

registration deadline July 19. Register

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The course is organised by the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza (CIHEAM Zaragoza) with the collaboration and support of the Masar al’an programme of the Spanish Agency for International
Development Cooperation (AECID), the Food and Agriculture Organization ofthe United Nations (FAO), the Spanish National Institute for Safety and Healthat Work (INSST), and the Horizon Europe project SafeHabitus.