Farms Employing Foreign Workers in Italy: An Analysis with Census Micro Data

Over the last decades, foreign workers have become a\r\nsignificant component of Italian agriculture workforce.\r\nTheir presence and incidence are highly diversified\r\nwith respect to farm typologies, type of contract\r\nand geographic location. A comprehensive representation\r\nof this complex phenomenon is thus the first\r\nstep to understand the different problems and needs\r\nassociated to the employment of foreign workforce.\r\nThis study uses micro data from the 2010 Italian Agricultural\r\nCensus to first describe what are the structural\r\nand geographical features of Italian farms employing\r\nforeign workers and then to group farms\r\nthrough a cluster analysis. Results give a detailed\r\nrepresentation of the incidence of foreign workers\r\nemployed, revealing which part of Italian agriculture\r\nrelies more on foreign workers. The cluster analysis\r\nallows the definition of six groups: foreign workers\r\nare especially involved in livestock activities, both\r\nindoor and grazing and in farms specialized in permanent\r\ncrops. Among major policy implications, analysing\r\nthe presence of foreign workers can help targeting\r\npolicies to agricultural production system\r\nneeds.