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Copyright of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among agricultural workers, especially in developing countries like India, irrespective of crops and the various operations, which ergonomic interventions can minimize. Research on ergonomic interventions and post-intervention studies in agriculture is limited. Sixty-five papers were identified for the review. This systematic review identifies the effects of MSDs in various crops, which will provide a direction for future researchers and practitioners to contribute more to agricultural ergonomics. In addition, this study categorizes the research in terms of (i) the body parts affected due to MSDs, (ii) the continents where the study has been done, (iii) the farming operations which have been investigated, (iv) various MSDs evaluation methods used in agricultural fields. The review reveals that the prevalence of MSDs in various body parts are lower back (74%) followed by shoulder (63%), wrist/hand (62%), neck (57%), upper back (45%), knee/leg (38%), elbow (29%), angle/feet (26%) hip/thighs (22%), and fingers (8%). Further, most of the studies concentrate on harvesting operations (48%), and there exists immense scope for similar studies in pre-harvesting and post-harvesting operations. Ergonomic intervention and post-intervention studies among the agricultural workers are limited even in the developed countries. The review will help the researchers to identify the scope of ergonomic interventions among the various crops in different continents. In essence, this review pinpoints the various intervention gaps in different operations associated with farming in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the calculation of the inclusive financial development level of 22 provinces and 4 municipalities in China from 2004 to 2017, this paper uses the Kernel density estimation method to further analyze the evolution of the inclusive financial index. Based on the above analysis, we make empirical analysis of the impact of China's inclusive financial inclusion development index on farmers' entrepreneurship using static panel and dynamic panel estimation method. The empirical conclusions show that there are certain differences in inclusive financial inclusion development level in various provinces in China. Improving the inclusion development level of inclusive finance can better promote farmers' entrepreneurship. Urbanization level, economic openness and regional economic development level have a significant positive effect on farmers' entrepreneurship, while farmers' income and education level have a significant negative effect on farmers' entrepreneurship. It is possible to promote farmers' entrepreneurship by improving the inclusive development level of inclusive finance, combining urbanization, increasing government investment in productive fixed assets, increasing economic openness and improving regional economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, entrepreneurship has been gaining more prominence as a potential tool for solving poverty in developing countries. This paper mainly examines the relationship between farmer entrepreneurship and rural poverty alleviation in China by assessing the contribution of farm entrepreneurs towards overcoming poverty. Data were collected from 309 employees of farmer entrepreneurships in Guangxi Province through survey questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct an analysis of the effects of three identified capabilities of farm entrepreneurs—economic, educational and knowledge, and socio-cultural capabilities—on attitude towards farmer entrepreneurship growth and the qualitative growth of farmer entrepreneurship and how these in turn affect rural poverty, using AMOS 21. The findings show that socio-cultural capability has the greatest influence on farmer entrepreneurship growth (β = 0.50, p<0.001). The qualitative growth of farmer entrepreneurship also more significantly impacts rural poverty (β = 0.69, p<0.001) than attitude towards farmer entrepreneurship growth. This study suggests that policy makers in China should involve more rural farmers in the targeted poverty alleviation strategies of the government by equipping rural farmers with entrepreneurial skills. This can serve as a sustainable, bottom-up approach to alleviating rural poverty in remote areas of the country. The study also extends the literature on the farmer entrepreneurship-rural poverty alleviation nexus in China, and this can serve as a lesson for other developing countries in the fight against rural poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Alternatives Rurales is the property of Rural Alternatives Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ciencia, Tecnología y Salud is the property of Ciencia, Tecnologia y Salud and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper brings advances in weather data collection and modeling, and developments in socioeconomic climate microsimulations to bear on the analysis of the implications of climate change (CC) in the design of public policies to combat food insecurity. It uses new downscaled predictions of future climate in 2050, derived from three Earth System Models calibrated with a new historical weather station dataset for Peru. This climate data is used in a three-stage socioeconomic microsimulation model that includes climate risk, and deals with the endogeneity of incomes and simultaneity of expected food consumption and its variability. We estimate the impact of CC on agricultural yields, and find results consistent and fully bounded within what the global simulations literature has found, with yields falling up to 13% in some regions. However, we show that these drops (and increases) in yields translate to much smaller changes in food consumption, and also surprisingly, to very minor impacts on vulnerability to food insecurity. The document explores what explains this surprising result, showing that in addition to characteristics that are specific to Peru, there are household and market mediating mechanisms that are available in all countries, which explain how changes in yields, and corresponding farm incomes have a reduced impact in vulnerability to food insecurity. Finally, in light of these findings, we explore which policies might have greater impact in reducing food insecurity in contexts of hunger prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the trends in today’s tourism sector is the development of environmentally-friendly tourism activities which rely on natural resources of cultural heritage and on biodiversity. This is definitely the case for agritourism, a form of rural tourism. The purpose of this paper is to identify the development aspects of Polish agritourism with particular emphasis on natural and cultural attractiveness. To demonstrate the relationship between agritourism activities of Polish farms and the cultural and natural attractiveness, the Hellwig’s synthetic development indicator was used. As shown by research, the cultural and natural attractiveness of a destination is an important exogenous development factor. Another finding was that the intensified efforts undertaken by the farmers to access EU funds were not focused on areas with valuable natural or cultural resources and an untapped agritourism potential; instead, they were oriented at regions dominated by semi-subsistence or family farms. For a large part of farmers, the new form of support is about to become a source of additional incomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the use of child labor in West African cocoa production became widespread in the early 2000s in many high-income countries. In 2015 in Ghana, 91.8% (or a total of 878,595) of the children working in the cocoa sector were involved in a form of hazardous work. Child labor in cocoa production is not just a symptom of poverty but also a contributing factor, as children often forgo a formal education to work in cocoa orchards. Current Ghanaian law prohibits child labor, but, with many cocoa households living in poverty, child labor becomes a necessity for survival, and as such, current child labor laws are rarely enforced. Therefore, an effective policy that eliminates child labor could compensate farmers by providing an economic incentive. In this paper, we develop and calibrate a farm household model to estimate the cocoa price premium necessary to eliminate child labor from cocoa production while leaving the farm household welfare unchanged. This welfare-neutral price premium removes the negative effects of eliminating child labor for the farm household. Varying degrees of child labor exists, with certain forms posing a greater risk to children’s wellbeing. The results show that eliminating the worst forms of child labor would require a cocoa price premium of 2.81% and eliminating regular work (non-hazardous work but over the maximum hours allowed for a child) and the worst forms would require an 11.81% premium, which could be paid for by the well-established Ghanaian Cocoa Marketing Board. An incentive for the Cocoa Marketing Board to pay the price premium and monitor and enforce this policy would be the ability to differentiate their cocoa as child-labor free and not lose market share to countries who cannot currently certify this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthworms are primary candidates for national soil health monitoring as they are ecosystem engineers that benefit both food production and ecosystem services associated with soil security. Supporting farmers to monitor soil health could help to achieve the policy aspiration of sustainable soils by 2030 in England; however, little is known about how to overcome participation barriers, appropriate methodologies (practical, cost-effective, usefulness) or training needs. This paper presents the results from a pilot #60minworms study which mobilised farmers to assess over >1300 ha farmland soils in spring 2018. The results interpretation framework is based on the presence of earthworms from each of the three ecological groups at each observation (20 x 20 cm x 20 cm pit) and spatially across a field (10 soil pits). Results showed that most fields have basic earthworm presence and abundance, but 42% fields may be over-worked as indicated by absence/rarity of epigeic and/or anecic earthworms. Tillage had a negative impact (p < 0.05) on earthworm populations and organic matter management did not mitigate tillage impacts. In terms of farmer participation, Twitter and Farmers Weekly magazine were highly effective channels for recruitment. Direct feedback from participants included excellent scores in trust, value and satisfaction of the protocol (e.g. 100% would do the test again) and 57% would use their worm survey results to change their soil management practices. A key training need in terms of earthworm identification skills was reported. The trade-off between data quality, participation rates and fieldwork costs suggests there is potential to streamline the protocol further to #30minworms (5 pits), incurring farmer fieldwork costs of approximately £1.48 ha-1. At national scales, £14 million pounds across 4.7 M ha-1 in fieldwork costs per survey could be saved by farmer participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the development impacts of migration and remittances in migrant source communities by applying insights from the New Economics of Labor Migration (NELM) theory to Ethiopia’s migration. Using household survey data, we empirically evaluate how household participation in migration arises and so that the subsequent labor losses and the influx of remittances affect income sources and asset accumulation of smallholder farm households. To account several econometric issues and consistently estimate the impacts of migration and remittances, we adopted three-stage least-squares method complemented with endogeneity and multicollinearity test. Besides, using logistic and multinomial logistic regressions respectively, we estimate the determinants of the household migration decision to have migrants, as well as the probability of the household to send out temporary or permanent migrants. Findings suggest that larger and wealthier households are less likely to have migrant family members, while households living below the poverty line, as well as villages with the highest unemployment rate, are the most likely to have both temporary and permanent migrants. However, a rise in months spent out of agriculture has a significant negative effect on crop income and asset accumulation, but only for permanent migration. By contrast, the influx of remitted income from migrants has led to increased crop income and asset values in the form of land and livestock holdings. Finally, this manuscript provides more comprehensive evidence by showing the net-returns of migration in terms of initial lost-labor effects and the positive developmental impacts that it produces varied for households with different types of migration and production conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the social inclusiveness of agricultural extension services in India. We estimate the probability and frequency of farmers’ access to extension services and resulting changes in crop income across different caste groups. The literature suggests that caste-based social segregation manifests in various spheres of life, and perpetuates economic inequality and oppression. An econometric analysis of nationally-representative data from rural India verifies this with respect to the agricultural sector. Farmers belonging to the socially-marginalized castes are found to have a lower chance of accessing the public extension services, primarily due to their inferior resource-endowment status. Contacting extension agents at least once increased the average annual crop income by about 12 thousand Indian rupees per household, which is equivalent to 36% of the annual crop income of those without access to extension services. There exists significant impact heterogeneity. Farmers from the socially-marginalized castes hardly benefited from accessing the extension services. Based on these observations, we have developed a number of policy recommendations that could improve the social inclusiveness of agricultural development strategies in rural India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an empirical agent-based model to assess the impacts of Brexit on Scottish cattle farms. We first identify several trends and processes among Scottish cattle farms that were ongoing before Brexit: the lack of succession, the rise of leisure farming, the trend to diversify and industrialise, and, finally, the phenomenon of the “disappearing middle”, characterised by the decline of medium-sized farms and the polarization of farm sizes. We then study the potential impact of Brexit amid the local context and those ongoing social processes. We find that the impact of Brexit is indeed subject to pre-Brexit conditions. For example, whether industrialization is present locally can significantly alter the impact of Brexit. The impact of Brexit also varies by location: we find a clear divide between constituencies in the north (highland and islands), the middle (the central belt) and the south. Finally, we argue that policy analysis of Brexit should consider the heterogeneous social context and the complex social processes under which Brexit occurs. Rather than fitting the world into simple system models and ignoring the evidence when it does not fit, we need to develop policy analysis frameworks that can incorporate real world complexities, so that we can assess the impacts of major events and policy changes in a more meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies highlight a growing concern over the limited adoption of climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices despite their potential benefits on adaptation, mitigation and productivity. Literature indicates several factors behind the lack of adoption including socio-demographic and economic conditions, agro-ecological scales and the nature of the practices. This paper examines to what extent and under which conditions such factors influence the adoption of CSA practices at farm, household and community level across three study sites in different continents: Vietnam, Nicaragua and Uganda. While cost benefit analysis (CBA) is employed to assess the farm-level profitability of CSA practices, the aggregate community impact disaggregated by different groups of farmer typologies with specific socio-economic features is derived from the adoption rate estimated by the relative advantage of practices and the income level of each group. Our main findings show great variation of farm-profitability of CSA practices across scales. Similar practices could generate different profitability depending on crop typologies, input access and prices, household types and local context. Regarding the aggregate profitability of CSA practices at regional scale, we found that under particular conditions, relevant factors of adoption matter to the adoption pattern and thereby affects the ranking. Such conditions include (i) high income inequality, (ii) large profitability gap of prioritized CSA practices, and (iii) large proportion of cost and benefit of the practices in the level of income. This study contributes to enhancing the prioritization process of CSA practices and provides practical guidance for research and policy to tailor the investment to appropriate end-users to assure the greatest impact for the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a response to the growing reference to archaeological evidence by linguists and geneticists interested in the spread of early farmers and pastoralists in southern Africa. It presents two databases. The first contains the archaeological evidence for pastoralism and farming in southern Africa, for the period 550 BC to AD 1050. This is the first time that the seven different types of archaeological evidence that have traditionally been used to identify both spread events are presented together at this scale. This was stimulated by our interest in investigating the antiquity of an early ‘Iron Age package’ relative to the spread of single archaeological traits. The analysis shows that the package appears approximately 700 years after sites containing pottery, cattle and sheep, without agriculture, appear in the drier parts of the sub-continent. It post-dates the appearance of earlier sites with pottery associated with farmers, metal-working and cultivation in the eastern half of the sub-continent. While poor preservation undoubtedly explains the absence of some parts of the package, the analysis suggests that other explanations should be considered. The second database is a quantitative, spatial study of archaeological publications on southern African farming and pastoralism for the period 1950 to 2016, covering the same geographical area and archaeological timeframe. This is presented as a proxy for research-intensive areas in attempt to show the gaps in archaeological fieldwork and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents a positive relationship between maize productivity in western Kenya and women’s empowerment in agriculture, measured using indicators derived from the abbreviated version of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index. Applying a cross-sectional instrumental-variable regression method to a data set of 707 maize farm households from western Kenya, we find that women’s empowerment in agriculture significantly increases maize productivity. Although all indicators of women’s empowerment significantly increase productivity, there is no significant association between the women’s workload (amount of time spent working) and maize productivity. Furthermore, the results show heterogenous effects with respect to women’s empowerment on maize productivity for farm plots managed jointly by a male and female and plots managed individually by only a male or female. More specifically, the results suggest that female- and male-managed plots experience significant improvements in productivity when the women who tend them are empowered. These findings provide evidence that women’s empowerment contributes not only to reducing the gender gap in agricultural productivity, but also to improving, specifically, productivity from farms managed by women. Thus, rural development interventions in Kenya that aim to increase agricultural productivity—and, by extension, improve food security and reduce poverty—could achieve greater impact by integrating women’s empowerment into existing and future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies of the pig production efficiency are from the perspective of animal welfare. Therefore, this study conducted a comprehensive evaluation of pig welfare levels based on survey data from 773 pig farmers from 23 counties in the Chinese provinces of Hunan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guizhou, and Shanxi. This study used the Delphi method, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-Tobit regression model to analyze farmers’ pig production efficiency and its influencing factors. This paper found that most farmers’ pig production efficiency is low, and the DEA is invalid. Only 2.9% of pig farmers’ who breed pigs are at the optimal level in terms of welfare, and their production efficiency is relatively high. In contrast, 49.34% of the farmers are at the medium welfare level, and compared with the farmers at the optimal welfare level, these farmers’ pig production efficiency is low. Additionally, the farmers’ age, gender, and number of years of experience with pig breeding have a significant effect. Furthermore, the scale of pig breeding and feeding type, the agriculture facilities for the central treatment of waste in local areas, and the availability of local agricultural science and technology personnel have a considerable influence on pig production efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to develop a method for selection of optimal soybean varieties for the American Midwest using data analytics. We extracted the knowledge about 174 varieties from the dataset, which contained information about weather, soil, yield and regional statistical parameters. Next, we predicted the yield of each variety in each of 6,490 observed subregions of the Midwest. Furthermore, yield was predicted for all the possible weather scenarios approximated by 15 historical weather instances contained in the dataset. Using predicted yields and covariance between varieties through different weather scenarios, we performed portfolio optimisation. In this way, for each subregion, we obtained a selection of varieties, that proved superior to others in terms of the amount and stability of yield. According to the rules of Syngenta Crop Challenge, for which this research was conducted, we aggregated the results across all subregions and selected up to five soybean varieties that should be distributed across the network of seed retailers. The work presented in this paper was the winning solution for Syngenta Crop Challenge 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of market segments within a population remains critical to agricultural systems and policy processes for targeting new innovations. Patterns in attitudes and intentions toward cultivating Provitamin A GM cassava are examined through the use of a combination of behavioural theory and k-means cluster analysis method, investigating the interrelationship among various behavioural antecedents. Using a state-level sample of smallholder cassava farmers in Nigeria, this paper identifies three distinct classes of attitude and intention denoted as low opposition, medium opposition and high opposition farmers. It was estimated that only 25% of the surveyed population of farmers was highly opposed to cultivating Provitamin A GM cassava. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are seen as a promising vehicle to achieve agricultural development impacts. By increasing collaboration, exchange of knowledge and influence mediation among farmers, researchers and other stakeholders, MSPs supposedly enhance their ‘capacity to innovate’ and contribute to the ‘scaling of innovations’. The objective of this paper is to explore the capacity to innovate and scaling potential of three MSPs in Burundi, Rwanda and the South Kivu province located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In order to do this, we apply Social Network Analysis and Exponential Random Graph Modelling (ERGM) to investigate the structural properties of the collaborative, knowledge exchange and influence networks of these MSPs and compared them against value propositions derived from the innovation network literature. Results demonstrate a number of mismatches between collaboration, knowledge exchange and influence networks for effective innovation and scaling processes in all three countries: NGOs and private sector are respectively over- and under-represented in the MSP networks. Linkages between local and higher levels are weak, and influential organisations (e.g., high-level government actors) are often not part of the MSP or are not actively linked to by other organisations. Organisations with a central position in the knowledge network are more sought out for collaboration. The scaling of innovations is primarily between the same type of organisations across different administrative levels, but not between different types of organisations. The results illustrate the potential of Social Network Analysis and ERGMs to identify the strengths and limitations of MSPs in terms of achieving development impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents evidence on peer effects among U.S. agricultural workers. On average, we find that a 10% increase in peer productivity increases focal worker productivity by 2.8%. This effect is modified by the ability and gender of workers and peers. Exceptionally slow workers are least responsive to peers and have pronounced negative spillovers on the productivity of their coworkers—their presence decreases productivity by 2%. Male workers are more responsive to their peers than female workers—a 10% increase in peer productivity increases the productivity of men by 3% and women by 2.6%. Workers are also generally more responsive to peers of similar ability and gender. Workers increase their speed the most when in the presence of peers with abilities just above their own. Male workers are more responsive to male peers than female peers, and female workers are more responsive to female peers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every day, millions of agricultural workers are exposed to noise at work and all the risks this can entail. The World Health Organization (WHO) states "noise-induced hearing loss is insidious, permanent and irreparable". By using power tiller, more than the permissible exposure limit to noise may cause serious health problems to the agricultural workers. This paper examines the noise propagation of popular and most commonly used power tillers having a power rating of 11kW, 9.5kW and 4.4 kW. It was observed that all three power tillers produced the noise above 93 dB(A) in the working zone of the operator. The density of noise contour and SPL is proportional to the engine rpm or load. The working radius around PT-I, PT-II and PT-III of 3.5 m, 2 m and 5.6 m was found noisy [>90 dB(A)] and not suitable to work 8 h per day as per recommendation of ISO and OSHA. The permissible duration of exposure to noise for operator for PT-I, PT-II and PT-III varies from 7.8 h to 3.6 h, 13 h to 5.1 h and 5.3h to 2.1h, respectively for different engine rpm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some employers are not obligated to pay at least minimum wages to all employees. U.S. farm employers comprise one of these groups. Employees of large farms and H-2A workers (lawfully admitted, nonimmigrant workers performing temporary or seasonal agricultural work) are protected by minimum wage legislation, while some migrant workers (often those paid piece rates) are exempt. U.S. agriculture also is characterized by a large percentage of unauthorized workers who may or may not earn above minimum wage. Following insights from dual labor market theory and from theories of the signaling capacity of the minimum wage, we compare labor market outcomes in the agricultural sector (where minimum wage coverage is limited) to low wage/skill non-agricultural sectors (where minimum wage coverage is more complete) nationally using data from the Current Population Survey. We then extend our analysis to a detailed state-level case study of agricultural workers in California using a representative survey of employed farm workers. Results suggest wage increases for covered workers that exceed those for uncovered workers, but insignificant differences in hours worked. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the impacts of minimum wage coverage on agricultural workers relative to other workers for the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a public health issue of concern in South Africa. Workers in the agricultural sector are generally at increased risk of TB due to multiple interacting factors such as exposure to silica dust, co-worker infection, and occupations falling within the lower socio-economic sectors. This study investigates factors associated with TB screening uptake for agricultural workers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This cross-sectional study targeted a study population of 16,787 agricultural workers across 96 agricultural worksites in South Africa. A two-stage cluster random sampling design identified 24 agricultural worksites and a potential 2500 participants. The outcome variable was self-reported TB screening. Descriptive statistics and unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated with TB screening. A literature review informed the selection of covariates as possible confounders. The final study sample comprised 2144 workers across 24 sites, with 55% being women. TB screening uptake was 1155 (56.3%). Factors such as living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (AOR 3.16, 95% CI: 2.44–4.09), accessing health services in the workplace (AOR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.09–3.46), and having prior TB knowledge (AOR 18.45, 95% CI: 9.8–34.74) were positively associated with TB screening. Participants in the age group 36–49 years had significantly higher odds of self-reporting TB screening, compared with those aged 18–25 years (AOR 1.37, 95% CI 1.07–1.77). Migrant workers from Mozambique (OR 0.52, 95% CI: 0.34–0.79) and Zimbabwe (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57–0.89) were significantly less likely to self-report TB screening compared to their South African counterparts. The findings underscore the importance of workplace health services in achieving end-TB targets. We recommend programs and interventions for preventing TB in South Africa that target the agricultural sector in general, and in particular migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research links restrictive immigration policies to immigrant health and health care outcomes. Yet most studies in this area focus on the impact of single policies in particular years, with few assessing how broader state-level immigration policy contexts affect groups by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. Linking data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (2005-2012) with information on state immigration policies, we use an intersectional approach to examine the links between policy contexts and health care utilization by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. We also assess the associations between two specific types of state immigration policies--those governing immigrant access to Medicaid and driver's licenses--and health care utilization disparities. We find that state-level immigration policy contexts are associated with health care utilization among U.S.-born and naturalized U.S. citizen non-White Latinx agricultural workers, who report lower levels of health care utilization and greater barriers to care-seeking in more restrictive policy contexts. By contrast, we find little evidence that state policies shaped health care utilization among undocumented workers. These findings advance understanding of the impact of "policies of exclusion" on the lives of marginalized groups and underscore the importance of racialized legal sta tus in considering the links between sociopolitical contexts and health and health care disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Farmworkers are at risk of heat-related illness (HRI). We sought to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of farmworker Spanish/English participatory heat education and a supervisor decision-support mobile application (HEAT intervention) on physiological heat strain; and 2) describe factors associated with HRI symptoms reporting.Methods: We conducted a parallel, comparison group intervention study from May-September of 2019 in Central/Eastern Washington State, USA. We used convenience sampling to recruit adult outdoor farmworkers and allocated participating crews to intervention (n = 37 participants) and alternative-training comparison (n = 38 participants) groups. We measured heat strain monthly using heart rate and estimated core body temperature to compute the maximum work-shift physiological strain index (PSImax) and assessed self-reported HRI symptoms using a weekly survey. Multivariable linear mixed effects models were used to assess associations of the HEAT intervention with PSImax, and bivariate mixed models were used to describe factors associated with HRI symptoms reported (0, 1, 2+ symptoms), with random effects for workers.Results: We observed larger decreases in PSImax in the intervention versus comparison group for higher work exertion levels (categorized as low, low/medium-low, and high effort), after adjustment for maximum work-shift ambient Heat Index (HImax), but this was not statistically significant (interaction - 0.91 for high versus low/medium-low effort, t = - 1.60, p = 0.11). We observed a higher PSImax with high versus low/medium-low effort (main effect 1.96, t = 3.81, p < 0.001) and a lower PSImax with older age (- 0.03, t = - 2.95, p = 0.004), after covariate adjustment. There was no clear relationship between PSImax and the number of HRI symptoms reported. Reporting more symptoms was associated with older age, higher HImax, 10+ years agricultural work, not being an H-2A guest worker, and walking > 3 min to get to the toilet at work.Conclusions: Effort level should be addressed in heat management plans, for example through work/rest cycles, rotation, and pacing, in addition to education and other factors that influence heat stress. Both symptoms and indicators of physiological heat strain should be monitored, if possible, during periods of high heat stress to increase the sensitivity of early HRI detection and prevention. Structural barriers to HRI prevention must also be addressed.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Registration Number: NCT04234802 , date first posted 21/01/2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the agricultural sector during the ISI period and the debate about the agricultural wage and the living conditions of the farm workers have a long historiography. But until today there is little information about workers' income in the long run. In this paper we want to reflect about the wage level reached during this period and for that we will present a new wage series for 1934-1973. We seek to analyze their behavior considering the sector labour productivity, its relation with industrial wages and the institutional frame in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential agricultural workers work under occupational conditions that may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission. Data from an agricultural worker cohort in Guatemala, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG (anti-N IgG) testing were used to estimate past infections and analyze risk factors associated with seropositivity at enrollment and association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The stability of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses were assessed in a subset of participants. The adjusted relative risk (aRR) for seroprevalence at enrollment was estimated accounting for correlations within worksites. At enrollment, 616 (46.2%) of 1334 (93.2%) participants had anti-N IgG results indicating prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. A cough ≤ 10 days prior to enrollment (aRR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.13–1.46) and working as a packer (aRR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.67–2.38) or packing manager within the plants (aRR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.36–2.43) were associated with increased risk of seropositivity. COVID-19 incidence density among seronegative workers was 2.3/100 Person-Years (P-Y), higher than seropositive workers (0.4/100 P-Y). Most workers with follow-up NAb testing (65/77, 84%) exhibited a 95% average decrease in NAb titers in <6 months. While participants seropositive at baseline were less likely to experience a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection during follow-up, NAb titers rapidly waned, underscoring the need for multipronged COVID-19 prevention strategies in the workplace, including vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fair Food Program (FFP) provides a mechanism through which agricultural workers' collective voice is expressed, heard and responded to within global value chains. The FFP's model of worker‐driven social responsibility presents an alternative to traditional corporate social responsibility. This article identifies the FFP's key components and demonstrates its resilience by identifying the ways in which the issues faced by a new group of migrant workers – recruited through a "guest‐worker" scheme – were incorporated and dealt with. This case study highlights the important potential presented by the programme to address labour abuses across transnationalized labour markets while considering early replication possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, temporary foreign workers (TFWs) provided a critical role to maintaining the food supply in Canada, yet workers faced a number of challenges that made them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological investigation and public health response to a COVID-19 outbreak among TFWs in an agricultural setting in British Columbia from March to May 2020.Methods: An outbreak was declared on March 28, 2020 following detection of two cases of COVID-19 among a group of 63 TFWs employed by a nursery and garden centre. Outbreak control measures included immediate isolation of cases, case finding via outreach screening and testing, cohorting of asymptomatic workers and enhanced cleaning and disinfection. The outbreak was declared over on May 10, 2020.Results: A total of 26 COVID-19 cases were identified among the group of TFWs; no cases were identified among local workers. Cases were primarily male (77%) with a median age of 41 years. Symptom onsets ranged from March 8 to April 9, 2020. One case required overnight hospitalization for pneumonia.Conclusion: This was the first COVID-19 community outbreak identified in British Columbia and the first COVID-19 outbreak identified among TFWs in Canada. This outbreak began prior to implementation of provincial and federal quarantine orders for international travellers. A provincial policy was later developed that requires TFWs to quarantine in government-funded accommodation prior to deployment to agricultural settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]