Long-Term Trends and Policy Challenges in Chilean Agricultural Labor Markets

Anriquez, G 20210901 International Journal of Agriculture and Natural Resources 10.7764/ijanr.v48i3.2336
Resumen

This paper identifies the major long-term trends in agricultural labor markets in Chile. The document shows the increasing aging, feminization, and seasonality of the agricultural labor force. Long-term projections are made regarding the evolution of labor supply and demand based on demographic and economic trends. These projections suggest the continuation of the already existing trends of a decreasing supply of labor and an increasing demand for agricultural labor, mostly driven by the substitution of crops into labor-intensive but higher-value export crops. Hence, the paper predicts a continuation of the trend of rapidly increasing labor costs in agriculture. The paper discusses the challenges imposed on farmers and policy-makers of confronting these rapidly growing labor costs by continually raising farm labor productivity.

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