• Executive summary
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Rights at work and poverty reduction
• 3. Employment for poverty reduction
• 4. Working conditions in agriculture
• 5. Social security for agricultural workers
• 6. Representation, voice, and social dialogue
• 7. Concluding remarks

Executive summary

It is well recognized by now that progress during the last decade has been inadequate from the point of view of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015. Progress towards achieving the World Food Summit target of reducing the number of the undernourished by half by 2015 has also been inadequate.

Higher rates of economic growth in general and of food production in particular is essential for achieving faster rates of poverty reduction and moving more rapidly towards ensuring food security. That, however, is not going to be sufficient because an adequate production and supply of food on an aggregate basis does not guarantee universal access to food. For economic growth to contribute to poverty reduction, and for higher food production to ensure universal access to food, the fruits of growth and higher production must translate themselves into means of access to food and other necessities of life.  Decent and productive employment (both wage-based and self-employment) plays a key role in generating the needed income for ensuring access to food. Economic growth must be accompanied by social progress; and decent work is the key to poverty reduction which in turn can contribute to food security.

Despite falling shares of agriculture in the total workforce, the agricultural labour force still represents the single largest occupational group with over 40 percent of the world’s workforce. Agricultural wage labourers are among the occupational groups with the highest incidence of poverty. While talking about a decent work agenda for agriculture and its workers, it would be important to ensure the inclusion of all categories of workers in the sector and distinguish carefully the various categories, e.g., farmers of various size groups and wage workers of different types. The question of an appropriate strategy for poverty reducing jobs, provision of social protection, and ensuring basic rights, representation and voice remains crucial.

An approach based on promoting decent work would include:

1. Introduction

If one were to cite one problem which poses a challenge for world leaders, development practitioners (at the global as well as national levels), and policy makers alike, it is the stubborn persistence of poverty in many parts of the world. Although the share of world population living below US$1 a day declined from 28.5 per cent in 1987 to 26.2 per cent in 1998, the absolute number of people in poverty defined this way increased from 1,183 million persons to nearly 1.2 billion.  And it is only in countries of East and South East Asia that real success in poverty reduction was achieved, although that achievement also looked rather fragile during the recent economic crisis. Progress in poverty reduction outside that region has been rather disappointing.  This has been especially so in the low-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. While two-thirds of the world’s poor live in Asia, South Asia is home for most of them. And half of sub-Saharan Africa’s 600 million people live on just 65 cents or less a day.  Moreover, there has been very little improvement in the situation in recent years. It needs to be noted in this regard that the pace of improvement of poverty indicators since 1990 has been too slow to meet the Millennium Development Goals of 2015, which call for reduction in the proportion of people in extreme poverty by half.

The FAO report on the “State of Food Insecurity in the World” indicates that 790 million people in developing countries and 34 million in developed countries and countries-in-transition do not have enough food to eat. The number of undernourished persons in developing countries declined at an average rate of about 8 million per year throughout most of the 1990s. To achieve the World Food Summit (WFS) target by the year 2015, the number of the undernourished would have to decline by at least an average of 20 million per year. If the present trends continued, the World Food Summit objective of reducing the number of the undernourished by half by 2015 will not be attained.

It needs to be noted in this context that adequate production (and supply) of food on an aggregate basis does not guarantee universal access to food. Employment (both wage-based and self-employment) plays a key role in generating the needed income for ensuring access to food, especially for the poor.  Indeed, as remarked by Joachim von Braun, a leading food policy expert, “understanding the labour market is as important for addressing the food security problems of the rural and urban poor in developing countries as understanding the food market”. Sustainable employment is recognized as the best route out of poverty, and thus, of ensuring food security.

With regard to employment also, the global picture is not very promising, as can be seen from Box 1.

While recognizing the centrality of employment in achieving the goal of poverty reduction and food security, employment alone is not sufficient. Work alone does not guarantee an escape from poverty, hunger and malnutrition. And the notion of "decent work” become important in that context. The agenda of decent work encompasses the fundamental principles and rights at work, decent employment and income for women and men, protection of workers, and social dialogue. Decent work integrates the enabling rights and allows people to develop and enhance their capabilities. The concept thus provides and integrated perspective on the approach to poverty reduction.

While decent work for all members of the labour force is important for reducing poverty and ensuring food security, it needs to be noted that about three quarters of the world’s poor live and work in rural areas, and are largely dependent on the agricultural sector for sustenance and livelihoods. Greater opportunities for sustainable employment for men and women wage workers, as well as sustainable livelihoods for self-employed small farmers and other workers must be generated to enable people to lift themselves out of poverty.  On the other hand, increasing employment opportunities and food security depends, directly and indirectly, on improving agricultural productivity.

Despite falling shares of agriculture in the total workforce in virtually all countries over the last 25 years, albeit at varying speeds, the agricultural labour force still represents the largest single occupational group with over 40 per cent of the world’s workforce. Today, this workforce is still among the least organised into representative organisations of wage workers or self-employed farmers, continues to register some of the highest incidence of poverty, and has least access to effective forms of social protection. In particular, agricultural wage labourers are among the occupational groups with the highest incidence of poverty in a number of countries, often over 60 per cent. The question of an appropriate strategy to reduce poverty, improve levels of organization and of social protection remains critical.

Agricultural and rural workers need better access to health and education services, as well as potable water. Social protection, whether in the form of basic insurance or social assistance schemes, is needed to cushion the impact of natural calamities, or unexpected loss of earning power due to illness, injury, disability or death.

The changing nature of employment also needs to be addressed, for in some cases it is having an adverse impact on poverty reduction. In all countries the share of wage employment in agriculture has increased, but this has been accompanied by an increasing casualization of wage labour and use of contracted labour.  Far too often, workers recruited by labour-supplying intermediaries or contractors suffer from lower levels of social protection, lower wages and generally inferior conditions of work compared to those of directly employed workers. There is also a growing number of wage-dependent small farmers and an increasing number of small farmers taking up contract farming or outgrowing, whether this has positive or negative impacts on their incomes.

2. Rights at work and poverty reduction

A sustained reduction in poverty through economic growth and employment can only occur and continue if it is accompanied by social progress. The ILO’s constitution made the point in 1919. Since then and most recently, very clear pronouncements on basic rights, social progress and poverty reduction have been made and endorsed by a broad range of countries and by an equally broad range of fora - including the World Summit for Social Development (1995) and the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in 1998.

The question in the context of food security and poverty reduction is how the rights implicit in the pronouncements and instruments mentioned above can be applied to help in accelerating social progress and reducing poverty. First, the concept of decent work as mentioned earlier needs to be regarded as a factor in economic betterment and productivity improvement. The framework of behaviours, laws and labour market institutions that support a threshold of decent work are themselves contributions to the greater efficiency of labour markets, and thus to the enhancement of overall economic and employment performance. And a guarantee of fundamental rights at work play an important role in that regard. In the specific context of agriculture, the concept of decent work can provide both the end and the means of achieving sustainable agriculture, and through that, reduction in poverty and improved food security.

While talking about a decent work agenda for agriculture and its workers, it would be important to ensure the inclusion of all categories of workers in the sector and distinguish carefully the various categories, e.g., farmers of various size groups and wage workers of different types (see Box 2). A comprehensive approach along with a careful distinction between various categories of agricultural workers is essential from the point of view of understanding the institutional framework within which production takes place, the role played by different categories of workers and the factors that influence production of, as well as access to, food.

It is also important to have an understanding of the organizations that represent and organize the different categories of agricultural workers, including trade unions representing wage workers, as well as small farmers’ associations and agricultural cooperatives, which provide an institutional framework through which agricultural and rural workers can strive to improve their livelihoods.

An understanding of the institutional framework of agriculture and the role of various categories of workers therein would be only a first step towards achieving sustainable agricultural development and food security. As mentioned earlier, decent work provides an integrated approach to poverty reduction; and within that framework, it would be important to ensure adherence to core labour standards for agricultural workers, including recognition of workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, elimination of discrimination with respect to employment and occupation, and elimination of forced or bonded labour and of child labour.

As the term “agricultural workers” is a broad one, encompassing workers of different categories, the terms “association” and “bargaining” can (and need to) be interpreted in a broad manner to include not only bargaining for better wages and improved working conditions, but also negotiations between producers’ associations on the one hand and suppliers of inputs and buyers of products on the other for achieving more favourable terms for various transactions. Looked at in the manner mentioned above, the link between freedom to form associations and to bargain collectively and the possibility of achieving fairer returns to work (and hence, reducing poverty and food insecurity) becomes clear.

3. Employment for poverty reduction

The experience of countries that have succeeded in reducing poverty significantly indicates the importance of sustained high growth in achieving this result. However, studies on poverty are replete with an equally important finding that high growth alone is not adequate; the pattern and sources of growth as well as the manner in which its benefits are distributed are extremely important from the point of view of achieving the goal of poverty reduction.  And in that regard, the importance of employment as the key link between growth and poverty alleviation is often pointed out. While this proposition has strong intuitive appeal, there is a good deal of empirical support for it too (see Box 3).

Conceptually, the linkage between output growth, employment and poverty can be seen at both macro and micro levels. At the macro level, the linkage between poverty in its income dimension and output growth can be conceptualized in terms of the average productivity of the employed work force which in turn gets reflected in low levels of real wages and low levels of earnings in self-employment. At the micro level of a household, the same linkage between poverty and employment operates through the type and low productivity of economic activities in which the earning members of a household are engaged, the low level of human capital of the members of the workforce, the dependency burden that limits participation in the workforce, and the mere availability of remunerative employment.

While the above linkages apply to the poverty problem in developing countries in general, in the context of food security, one would need to look specifically at the agricultural sector as a major portion of the world’s labour force still earns its living from this sector. At the turn of the century, almost 60 per cent of the labour force in Asia and Africa worked in the agricultural sector. And three quarters of the working poor in developing countries live in rural areas. A major challenge for developing countries is, therefore, to increase incomes productivity, and labour absorption in both farm and non-farm sectors.

There are an estimated 450 million agricultural workers globally who work for some form of “wage”, and who make up some 40 per cent of the world’s agricultural workforce. Women now account for 20-30 per cent of the total agricultural wage employment although their employment is often of a casual and seasonal nature and is therefore subject to considerable measurement difficulties. Temporary, migrant, and child labour form a significant part of this wage workforce. Indigenous agricultural workers form part of this workforce in many countries.  Having been denied the right to sustain their livelihoods by being forced off their own lands, they often end up as agricultural workers. The share of wage employment in agriculture, especially the number of wage-dependent smallholders in agriculture, is continuing to increase in virtually all regions, and it is now a central feature of employment and income in rural areas.

While wage workers in agriculture are particularly vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity, a large number of the small and marginal farmers in developing countries may also face this problem, at least on a seasonal basis. Seasonal unemployment and underemployment among agricultural workers is significant, leading to a large reserve labour pool willing to work even in poor conditions.  The seasonal nature of agricultural work is responsible for wide variations in levels of employment and incomes. Rural poverty and food insecurity is closely correlated to periods of forced inactivity typical of employment in agriculture.

In the field of employment, efforts at carrying out the mandate given to the ILO at the World Summit for Social Development (Copenhage, 1995) have been made at both national and international levels.  That work focussed on the necessity of integrating social and economic concerns in policy making and on the centrality of employment promotion in any economic strategy, and particularly those aimed at poverty reduction. The importance of active labour market policies, employment programmes targeted at vulnerable groups, integrating the employment objective into public investment programmes, and the effective design of safety nets has also been highlighted. An ILO International Consultation held in Geneva in 1999 reviewed and assessed measures undertaken by countries to give effect to the employment-related commitments of the Social Summit with regard to employment generation and reduction of poverty. It also called for developing new operational initiatives in the employment policy field. These events culminated into the 24^th special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (Geneva, 2000, commonly known as Copenhagen+5) where the international community recognized the need to elaborate a coherent and coordinated international strategy on employment. The clear link between poverty reduction and employment promotion was emphasized.

It is in response to the expressed need mentioned above that the ILO has now developed the Global Employment Agenda which calls for an employment-focused development agenda for the purpose of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, e.g., cutting poverty by half by 2015. The Agenda calls for explicit incorporation of employment consideration into public investment programmes in the process of resource allocation.

The Global Employment Agenda also examines the question of how trade liberalization can promote employment and productivity, especially in developing countries, and suggests policies required to strengthen these effects.  Recommended policies in this regard include greater access of agricultural products (and outputs of other labour intensive sectors) from developing countries to developed country markets as well as international assistance to help the export sector in developing countries meet the product-specific and other requirements of importing countries.

For achieving the goals set by the Social Summit it is essential to provide advisory services on employment policies and programmes aimed at job creation. These activities are of particular importance to the poorest countries and to those amongst the poorest who do not own land and are not producers themselves, since food security requires not only increased production, but also a means to access food. And in that regard, remunerative jobs and incomes are of crucial importance.

Advisory work on employment policies needs to focus on the importance and ways of mainstreaming employment considerations in planning the allocation of public investment. Attention should be devoted to the use of market and price mechanism for encouraging private investment flow into sectors/activities that have a positive impact on employment and pro-poor growth.

Programmes aimed at employment promotion can contribute to the objective of poverty reduction and food security by facilitating the creation of employment for the poor. Such programmes would include the following:

While implementing policies and programmes of poverty-reducing employment, the importance of gender dimension of poverty and food security would need to be borne in mind. Although it is difficult to come by gender disaggregated data on poverty, available evidence indicate the following: (i) women are disproportionately represented among the poor; (ii) both the number and proportion of women among the poor have been increasing, and (iii) women-headed households are more vulnerable to poverty. Women’s participation rate in the labour force has increased; but it has not been matched by a corresponding improvement in the quality of jobs they have access to. Hence, in formulating policies and programmes for employment that can reduce poverty and ensure food security, specific attention would need to be provided to the important gender dimensions mentioned above.

A large number of countries in the world today face crisis of some kind - man-made or natural - e.g., crises due to armed conflicts, economic downturns or natural disasters. Such crises usually have serious adverse effects on poverty and also affect the food security situation. Ensuring food security in such situations requires one to go beyond relief and rehabilitation to development and promotion of decent work. Crises of various types are contributing to the already serious problem of unemployment, underemployment and poverty.  While the importance of urgent humanitarian work cannot be overemphasized, it is equally important to ensure that work on recovery and reconstruction paves the way for a transition from relief to development. And as employment is considered to be the best route out of poverty, an employment-focussed development agenda would be particularly useful for countries emerging from crisis. Assistance needs to be provided on formulating employment-oriented strategies for recovery from crisis.

4. Working conditions in agriculture

Although agriculture is a significant source of employment and livelihood in Africa, Asia and Latin America, agricultural workers and their families, whether on large-scale plantations, small-holdings or within peasant communities, remain disadvantaged in terms of access to credit, markets, social services, labour protection and social security. The lack of economic and social infrastructure needed for the sustainable development of rural areas leaves them "marginalized” even when they represent a majority of the national population.

Many agricultural workers are only poorly protected by national labour law. Some countries specifically exclude the agriculture sector from their general labour legislation. In others, general protective legislation may not be fully applicable to the agriculture sector, or may simply not be applied. For example, exclusions based on the size of an undertaking or on the contractual status of the worker are common. In many cases, labour laws are not applied because employers and workers are unfamiliar with the details of the law, application is found to be impractical in agricultural enterprises or enforcement is weak. In some cases, specific legislation has been enacted which accommodates the special characteristics of agricultural work, providing for flexible working time arrangements, the partial payment of wages in kind, the provision of housing and health care. Typically, casual, temporary or seasonal agricultural workers do not have labour protection equal to that of permanent employees. Despite the adoption of modern labour protection legislation in some countries, the working conditions of agricultural workers, particularly non-permanent ones, remain poor and well below conditions prevailing in other economic sectors. The most vulnerable groups include those working in subsistence agriculture, wage workers in plantations, landless daily paid labourers, temporary and migrant workers and child labourers.

Hours of work in agriculture are long. National legislation and collective agreements often stipulate standard working time of more than 45 hours per week. Because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities, hours tend to be extremely long during planting and harvesting, with shorter hours at off-peak times. During rush periods, field work can go from dawn to dusk, with transport time to and from the fields in addition. The intensity of the work offers little chance for rest breaks; the length of the working day offers insufficient time for recuperation. Because the distance from home to field may be great, many field workers have no opportunity for a proper meal in the course of the day, increasing their fatigue and undermining their productivity. Payment systems can exacerbate this situation. As minimum wages tend to be low or non-existent for agricultural workers in general and many casual, temporary or seasonal workers are paid at least in part on a piece work basis – i.e. per kilo of crop picked, row weeded, or hectare sprayed – there is a strong financial incentive for them to extend their working time to the maximum so as to enhance their earnings.

Much agricultural work is by its nature physically demanding, involving long periods of standing, stooping, bending, and carrying out repetitive movements in awkward body positions. Fatigue and the risk of accidents are enhanced by poorly designed tools, difficult terrain, and exposure to the elements. Even when technological change has brought about a reduction in the physical drudgery of agricultural work, it has introduced new risks, notably associated with the use of sophisticated machinery and the intensive use of chemicals without appropriate safety measures, information and training. Unsurprisingly, the level of accidents and illness is high.

Along with mining and construction, agriculture is one of the three most hazardous occupations. In some countries, the fatal accident rate in agriculture is double the average for all other industries.  According to ILO estimates, from a total of 335,000 fatal workplace accidents worldwide, some 170,000 agricultural workers are killed each year. Mortality rates have remained consistently high over the past decade.

Machinery, such as tractors and harvesters, account for the highest rates of injury and death. Exposure to pesticides and other agrochemicals constitutes one of the principal occupational risks, with poisoning leading to illness or death. Other hazards are inherent in animal handling, and contact with dangerous plants and biological agents which give rise to allergies, respiratory disorders, zoonotic infections and parasitic diseases.  Noise-induced hearing loss, musculoskeletal disorders, such as repetitive stress injuries and back pain, as well as stress and psychological disorders are also frequent. The situation is particularly evident in developing countries where education, training and safety systems are inadequate to prevent injury and illness.

Exposure to agrochemicals poses an increasing health risk in agricultural work. Pesticide sales and use have continued to climb over the years. In developing countries, the risks are increased due to the use of toxic chemicals banned or restricted in other countries, unsafe application techniques, poorly maintained equipment, lack of information available to the end-user on the precautions necessary for safe use, inadequate storage practices, and the reuse of old chemical containers for food and water storage. The WHO has estimated the total cases of pesticide poisoning at between 2 and 5 million per year, of which 40,000 are fatal.

The incidence of occupational hazards in agriculture in most countries is poorly recorded and documented. Official data tend to under-report occupational accidents. In many countries agricultural workers are excluded from any employment injury benefit scheme, because none exists for them or because agricultural workers are specifically excluded from general schemes. In the case of illness and injury associated with agrochemicals, poor reporting is compounded by the difficulty of establishing a correct diagnosis. Many workers may never see a doctor as none is available within a reasonable distance.

While difficult to quantify with accuracy, child labour in agriculture is known to be widely prevalent. It is estimated that of the world’s 246 million working children, roughly two-thirds are active in agriculture. Many of these children work directly for a wage or as part of a family group, exposed to the same work hazards as adults. Children working in agriculture endure long daily and weekly hours of work under strenuous conditions. Exposure to agrochemicals, injuries due to machinery or tools, and the repeated shouldering of heavy loads have a negative impact on their health and development with life-long consequences. Conditions of poverty, including poor housing, an inadequate diet and lack of sanitation, little access to health care and loss of educational opportunity, compound these health problems and mortgage their future.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of agricultural work is that working and living conditions are interwoven. Workers and their families live on the land, where there is much environmental spillover from the occupational risks mentioned above. Wider community exposure to pesticides may come in the form of contamination of foodstuffs, the misuse of containers for food or water storage, the diversion of chemically-treated seeds for human consumption, and the contamination of ground water with chemical wastes. Rural communities often lack the education and information they need to respond appropriately to the risks they face. 

The interaction between poor living and working conditions determines a distinctive morbidity-mortality pattern among agricultural workers. A large number of rural workers live in extremely primitive conditions, often without adequate food, water supply or sanitation or access to health care. Poor diet combined  with diseases prevalent among the rural population (such as malaria, tuberculosis, gastro-intestinal disorders, anaemia, etc), occupational disorders, and complications arising from undiagnosed or untreated diseases can be deadly and is certainly debilitating. A vicious circle of poor health, reduced working capacity, low productivity, and shortened life expectancy is a typical outcome unless social interventions address the underlying problems of the sector: irregular and low-quality employment, low pay, and lack of social protection.

The complex problems associated with the poor living and working conditions of agricultural workers need to be addressed within the context of a well-defined rural development policy which integrates both access to primary health care and the delivery of occupational health services to employers and workers in agriculture. The adoption and enforcement of adequate labour legislation, and safety and health regulations must be complemented by extensive educational and training efforts, so that risks can be identified and eliminated, accidents prevented, and safe work practices promoted. Rural employers and workers’ organizations, as well as cooperatives and farmers’ associations can all be instrumental in implementing improvements.

In 2001, the International Labour Conference adopted the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention (No. 184) which addresses the principal health and safety risks in agriculture in an integrated manner. The Convention proposes a systemic approach to eliminating, minimizing or controlling hazards through preventive and protective measures both at the national and at the enterprise level. These include the development and implementation of national policy, law and regulation, as well as the definition of the rights and duties of employers and workers with regard to the adoption of safe work practices. Machinery safety, ergonomics, the handling and transport of materials, the sound management of chemicals, animal handling and biological risks are among the principal areas of concern. Special measures are foreseen to protect the health and safety of young workers, temporary and seasonal workers, and women workers. The Convention also provides that workers in agriculture should be covered by an insurance or social security scheme against occupational injuries and diseases, as well as invalidity, with coverage equivalent to that of workers in other sectors.

5. Social security for agricultural workers

Social security and decent work

Social security is an integral part of decent work. It provides income security for workers and their families in the event of loss or interruption of employment and it ensures their access to adequate health care. It thus plays a key role in promoting a healthy work force and as such is an essential component for economic development. This is as relevant for the agricultural sector as it is for the industrial sector. But there is a paradox: more than half of the world’s labour force and their families are excluded from coverage and are thus denied these benefits. Where the need for income security and access to health care is greatest, the risk of exclusion from social security is highest. Those working in agriculture and living in rural areas, particularly in developing countries, are among the most vulnerable and excluded. This exclusion not only restricts their basic right to social security; it inhibits their contribution to economic development and to higher levels of national food self sufficiency.

Social security needs for agricultural workers

Social security schemes have typically been established to meet the needs of the industrial and urban based labour force. In principle, agricultural workers have similar needs but the term includes a wide range of people divided into two broad categories each with many sub-divisions:

Thus the range of social security needs for agricultural workers and their relevance to the goal of decent work are at least as important as for urban workers. What differs is their relative significance. Self-employed agricultural workers may have the opportunity to work beyond normal retirement age but their physical capacity for gainful work may be  diminished by poor living conditions and limited access to health care. Much depends on the impact of the  massive and persistent poverty which pervades the rural sector in many developing countries. And this may be compounded by the impact of a poor public infrastructure, low nutrition levels and inadequate access to basic health care which is displayed in public health and mortality indicators.

The response to social security needs

The traditional concept of social security is found in various international labour standards which have been adopted by the International Labour Conference. Some of these, dating as far back as 1921, relate specifically to the social insurance needs of agricultural workers but later standards preferred to avoid this sectoral approach. The Income Security Recommendation, 1944 (No.67) provided a general framework to ensure that income security schemes should relieve want and prevent destitution by restoring, to a reasonable level, lost income due to inability to work. Similarly, the Medical Care Recommendation, 1944 (No.64) suggests that medical care should be provided to workers and their families through a social insurance medical care service or through a public medical service financed from taxes. The Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1951 (No.102) identifies nine contingencies to be covered - medical care and benefits generally in the form of periodic payments in the case of sickness, unemployment, old age, employment injury, family circumstances, maternity, invalidity and widowhood.

Difficulties in the application of social insurance schemes to workers in the informal economy and to groups such as agricultural workers have caused some countries to seek other paths to the provision of social security for the poor. Many countries have developed broad poverty alleviation strategies which facilitate decisions on priorities for the allocation of resources and for seeking donor support. The resultant programmes may accord priority to income generating activities, infra-structural development and community development which seek to achieve sustainable livelihoods for as many as possible while underpinning the support with a social safety net for the rest. This implies some form of targeting and means testing and public health care systems in many developing countries are subject to a user fee payable by all except those who fall below the poverty threshold. In some countries such as Ethiopia the level of exemption is so high that the health care systems remains significantly underfinanced.

Tax financed social protection may also be provided to assist with school fees, basic food and fuel and may be provided either through a cash payment - social assistance - or through a subsidy: broad targeting may be appropriate where most of the beneficiaries are needy but more specific targeting is appropriate in respect of the most vulnerable such as the disabled or the old. Many poor households in rural areas are headed by women.

Box 6 summarizes some country experiences in providing social security to agricultural and rural workers.

Public provision is only part of the picture as regards the provision of social protection services for poor people in rural areas. In recognition of the limitations in the relevance and the scope of social insurance schemes, attention has turned to decentralised schemes under which communities or groups have devised mutual support systems to assist members in a variety of ways including savings and credit, social protection and assistance with establishing small enterprises. The ILO has been active in promoting and strengthening such organisations in many developing countries in Africa and Asia in particular through its STEP programme (Strategies and Tools against Exclusion and Poverty). In addition, as part of a global programme on the extension of coverage ILO will encourage countries to give priority to extension and will undertake research including aimed at identifying innovative mechanisms for extending coverage and for linking decentralised approaches with public social security programmes.

The scale of the resources required to address the needs of the rural (and urban poor) in many developing countries is beyond the scope, alone, of both public social insurance schemes and direct financed systems. In many developing countries, development of the rural economy is the foundation for increased rural prosperity and decent work. But market reforms should progress together with infrastructure development and social protection. In this context social security does have an important role to play as part of a broad poverty alleviation programme which seeks to expand the assets of the poor in rural areas, which addresses inequalities through public expenditure policies which are pro-poor and which seeks economic growth through market reform relating to agricultural produce. But the challenge for social security planners is to design a system which is sustainable and which matches the needs and circumstances of agricultural workers and their families; experience has shown that innovative approaches will be necessary in many countries. There is a need for further research on these aspects.

6. Representation, voice and social dialogue

Agricultural workers and small farmers who produce much of the world’s food and commodities are among the most vulnerable in terms of their own food security as they and their families form the core of the world’s rural poor. Their vulnerability is linked to their difficulties regarding empowerment and voice. Unless they are able to form their own organizations freely, whether as agriculture wage earners in trade unions or small farmers’ associations to improve their own working and living conditions, they will face serious problems concerning their livelihoods. The right of agricultural workers and small farmers to adequate food (and sustainable livelihoods) can only be achieved as part of a package ensuring wider social and political rights.

The importance of decent work for achieving the goal of poverty reduction (which, in turn, is essential for ensuring food security) has already been mentioned. And an important aspect of decent work is the dignity that the workers enjoy in their places of work which, in reality, is reflected in whether their voice is heard in matters related to their work. The latter depends on how they are represented and whether their representatives can carry out necessary dialogues with their partners (be it the employers or the government). In the field of agriculture, workers can be represented by trade unions, rural workers’ organizations or cooperatives (as defined by ILO Convention 141). Given the very uncertain nature of the status of employment for many of them, unions have a clear role to play, to negotiate wages, working conditions, health and safety measures with employers’ organizations as well as governments (the latter concerning policies that might affect the sector in which they work).

Food security involves partnerships: labour, business and governments, both at national level and in the global economy.  Trade unions, rural workers’ organizations, cooperatives, and employers’ organizations play important roles in strengthening economic and social standards with respect to fair conditions of employment in agriculture. The approach of collective bargaining or social dialogue in agriculture focuses especially on improving health, safety and environment relating to working and living conditions for agricultural workers.  There is also a particular focus on ensuring fair conditions of employment for women and men in agriculture, and thereby eliminating child labour.

7. Concluding remarks

It is well recognized by now that progress during the last decade has been inadequate from the point of view of achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by half by 2015. Progress towards achieving the World Food Summit target of reducing the number of the undernourished by half by 2015 has also been inadequate.

Higher rates of economic growth in general and of food production in particular are essential if we are to achieve faster rates of poverty reduction and move more rapidly towards ensuring food security.  That, however, is not going to be sufficient, as adequate production and supply of food on an aggregate basis does not guarantee universal access to food. For economic growth to contribute to poverty reduction, and for higher food production to ensure universal access to food, the fruits of growth and higher production must translate themselves into means of access to food and other necessities of life. Decent and productive employment (both wage-based and self-employment) plays a key role in generating the needed income for ensuring access to food.  Economic growth must be accompanied by social progress; and decent work is the key to poverty reduction, which in turn can contribute to food security.

An approach based on promoting decent work would include;