Farm workers are an integral part of South Africa’s economy and food system. Yet they are often food insecure themselves, marginalised and vulnerable to exploitation.

This is why this National Conference on The Future of Farm Workers in South Africa is necessary; to engage as farm workers, civil society organisations, academics, activists, farmers and government officials, to create a vision for what the future of farm workers could be. By design, the conference kicks off on World Food Day, on 16 October. Agricultural employment is concentrated at specific times of year, and as a result farm workers face an under-reported crisis of underemployment and seasonal hunger.

Since 1994, pro-farm worker legislation has provided some protection to these workers, but it has also been associated with violations of labour rights and an accelerating pace of evictions and casualisation.

The conference takes a South Africa-wide perspective, and will highlight the centrality of farm workers in the national economy and food system.

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