The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections

As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture's role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, te...

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Main Authors:	Christiaensen, Luc, Rutledge, Zachariah, Taylor, J. Edward
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL LABOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN MIGRATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION LABOR PRODUCTIVITY LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/777731585054424384/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33485

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recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-334852022-09-20T00:11:02Z The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward AGRICULTURAL LABOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN MIGRATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION LABOR PRODUCTIVITY LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture's role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, technological revolutions have shaped and been shaped by these dynamics. Today, a digital revolution is taking hold, affecting agricultural labor and skill demands. In this process, societies evolve from having a surplus to a shortage of domestic farm labor, typically met largely by foreign agricultural wage workers. Yet, anti-immigration sentiments are flying high in migrant-destination countries, and robots in the fields and packing plants offer an alternative. Agricultural trade may be similarly challenged. In the world's poorest countries, particularly in Africa, labor productivity in agriculture remains at historically low levels. So, what can the role of agriculture as a source of employment be in the future? This viewpoint elaborates on these trends and reviews several policy options, including inclusive value chain development, better immigration policies, social insurance schemes, and ramp up in agricultural education and extension. 2020-03-26T14:26:40Z 2020-03-26T14:26:40Z 2020-03 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/777731585054424384/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33485 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9193 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	AGRICULTURAL LABOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN MIGRATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION LABOR PRODUCTIVITY LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
spellingShingle	AGRICULTURAL LABOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN MIGRATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION LABOR PRODUCTIVITY LABOR MARKET AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
geographic_facet	Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9193
description	As countries develop (and food saturation takes hold), agriculture's role as domestic employer declines. But the broader agri-food system also expands, and the scope for agriculture-related job creation shifts beyond the farm. Historically, technological revolutions have shaped and been shaped by these dynamics. Today, a digital revolution is taking hold, affecting agricultural labor and skill demands. In this process, societies evolve from having a surplus to a shortage of domestic farm labor, typically met largely by foreign agricultural wage workers. Yet, anti-immigration sentiments are flying high in migrant-destination countries, and robots in the fields and packing plants offer an alternative. Agricultural trade may be similarly challenged. In the world's poorest countries, particularly in Africa, labor productivity in agriculture remains at historically low levels. So, what can the role of agriculture as a source of employment be in the future? This viewpoint elaborates on these trends and reviews several policy options, including inclusive value chain development, better immigration policies, social insurance schemes, and ramp up in agricultural education and extension.
format	Working Paper
author	Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward
author_facet	Christiaensen, Luc Rutledge, Zachariah Taylor, J. Edward
author_sort	Christiaensen, Luc
title	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_short	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_full	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_fullStr	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_full_unstemmed	The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections
title_sort	future of work in agriculture : some reflections
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2020
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/777731585054424384/The-Future-of-Work-in-Agriculture-Some-Reflections http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33485
_version_	1764478864799563776

The Future of Work in Agriculture : Some Reflections

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