Counting the Cost of the Organic Revolution
by M. Bird, P. Riva, R. Zamfira, V. Odobescu | 02.02.2022
Organic food sales are booming in Europe, and agriculture in the continent is changing to satisfy this demand
No. of organic produceres:
Value of local organic food markets:
Per capita spending averages (2018):
What does organic farming mean?
Natural fertilizers for the soil such as compost and seaweed
Natural pesticides made from plants, animals, microorganisms, or minerals
No products made from genetically modified crops used in the process of growing food and livestock
Using antibiotics as a last resort in raising animals
Better animal welfare, such as ensuring animals have access to outdoor space.
Which countries grow the most organic food, and what is their potential for the future?
Agriculture-rich Italy in Prime Position to See Organic Upswing
Agriculture’s Total Dependence on Mobile Workers
The number of migrants working in agriculture in Italy has increased by 90% in the past decade
Mistreatment of Farmworkers has Shameful Record
Agriculture is one of top economic sectors in Italy where workers are at risk of labor exploitation
Workers are subject to:
Camelia Cutolo, Lawyer, Italy
Emilia Bartoli Spurcaciu, Italian Union FLAI-CGIL Romania Branch
Maria N, ex-farm worker Iasi, Romania
Letizia Palumbo, Research Fellow, the Migration Policy Centre
The vulnerability to exploitation of women migrant workers in agriculture in the EU: the need for a Human Rights and Gender based approach
Because organic farms don’t use pesticides and herbicides, the work to maintain the fields can require more manpower and longer hours than conventional farming
But many of the these farms treat workers badly
Here is how migrant workers are exploited at organic farms in Italy:
Ouedraogo, worker on organic farm in Saluzzo (CN), Piedmont, Italy
West African worker, ex-worker for organic agricultural farm (2017-2018), Foggia
Aboubabcar, worker on organic farm in Zapponeta (FG), Apulia, Italy
Abdulai Mohamed, worker on organic farm in Cassina de’ pecchi (MI), Lombardy, Italy
West African worker, ex-worker for organic agricultural farm (2017-2018), Foggia
How Organic Farms Can Grow With an Ethical Hiring Policy
Some farms recognise that organic agriculture should not only benefit the food chain, but also those working in the fields. We visited Italian farms with a policy to respect ethics not only in what they grow, but also in how they treat their employees. Even in a competitive industry of low margins and labor intensity, this shows that profits and fairness at work can coexist.
An Opportunity for Social Integration
Olive and grape farm Acquamela bio in Cerignola, in the Foggia province, switched to organic twenty years ago.
“It was a way of rebelling against the system,” says Vito Merra, one of the sons of the original owner, who obtained the land after World War II.
During the grape harvest, Acquamela bio employs a dozen workers, who are both Italian and foreign, mainly from Africa.
“Having a mix of workers helps with social integration,” adds Merra.
Because the farm chose to go organic, it can attract subsidies and ask for higher prices for its goods, making the business sustainable.
Merra is now looking to invest and expand.

A Symbol of Breaking Free from a Legacy of Crime
Organic fruit grower Cooperativa Sociale AlterEco has become a symbol of breaking free of both the influence of gangmasters on agriculture, and of organised crime.
Based in Cerignola, Foggia, the farm is centred on a rural building, which the state confiscated from the local mafia.
Here the cooperative organises cultural initiatives, legal training, especially in anti-mafia law, while also growing tomatoes, cherries, grapes, lemons, olives and pomegranates.
“In a land where farming seems impossible without gangmasters (caporalato), this is a symbol [of the exception],” explains Vincenzo Pugliese, one of its members.
The farm chose to go organic “as a matter of conscience” he adds.
AlterEco has also hired African workers as part of an NGO Terra! project to counteract exploitation, and one of them has since become a member of the cooperative.
“We have a small level of production, but it is sustainable,” says Vincenzo Pugliese.

When growers become food processors, working ethically is easier
Vegetable producer PrimaBio in Rignano Garganico, Foggia, has been growing organic tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, broccoli and asparagus for over 20 years. The mid-sized company sells mostly to non-Italian markets, especially in central and northern Europe and mainly to big retail.
The increase in the number of producers has made the industry more competitive.
“In the past, there were fewer organic companies and it was easier,” says Maria Luisa Terrenzio, daughter of the founder Giovanni Terrenzio.
Since 2019, PrimaBio has also hired African workers recruited by the NGO No Cap, which seeks to combat gangmaster (caporalato) and exploitation through an ethical supply chain.
“If you process the products you grow, as we do, it is possible to work ethically,” says Terrenzio.

Illustrations by Andrei Cotrut, Photography by Diego Ravier