The employment of seasonal farm workers from Central- and Eastern European countries in German agriculture

Abstract

The Employment of Seasonal Farm Workersfrom Central- and Eastern European Countries in German Agriculture Farm labor migration from Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) to Germany is a system of circulative labor migration without evidence of permanent immigration. Within the farm labor market, an official and an informal sector exist. This paper presents calculated seasonal labor requirements per month within German states for a survey of 126 labor intensive crops and agricultural products. The calculations are based on modified KTBL values for labor requirements per hectare which are multiplied with the number of hectares planted with a specific crop. In addition, adjustments for yearly variations of yields have been made. The results indicate that the informal labor market remains important although policy during the eight year survey period has successfully reduced activity within this sector. In future, CEEC farm workers will most likely continue to substitute for German family labor and complement structural change. German labor market conditions reduce mobility of domestic workers into the farm labor sector. The future of farm labor migration after eastward enlargement of the EU remains in question.