Managing Labour Hands: The Lived Experiences of Romanian Migrants in the Dutch Agro-Food Sector - Andreea Maria Ferent

In this article, I will examine working conditions, vulnerabilities, and social exclusion, experienced by Romanian migrants working in the Agro-Food sector in the Netherlands. Within the agricultural industry, there is a common presence of prime technical progress, a sector where immense resources go to innovations and research, but also a sector of evermore precarious forms of employment. Therefore, I argue rising debates about the success story of Dutch agriculture must relate to the work narratives of the seasonal and flexible migrant workers that sustain the sector. I will analyze the complicated dynamics of the production process in agricultural labour to discuss the role of transformations. To uncover trends in agrarian change, as well as forms of labour exploitation and resistance, I have used various qualitative research methods. My critique will focus on the job conditions and precarity in agriculture, with a particular emphasis on the economic pressure to keep labour costs low. By examining the changing ways in which exploitation in agriculture influences the life narratives of Romanian migrants, I hope to provide insights that can guide more equitable and just practices in the future.A text by Andreea Maria Ferent illustrated by Sabrina Dâscă, read by Nicoleta Finariu Andreihttps://theanthro.art/managing-labour-hands-the-lived-experiences-of-romanian-migrants-in-the-dutch-agro-food-sector-andreea-maria-ferent/