Context and Challenge

Agriculture is both a driver of biodiversity loss and a sector deeply dependent on it. Intensive farming practices – monocultures, mechanisation, and chemical inputs – degrade ecosystems while relying on the services those ecosystems provide. Transforming farming landscapes to support biodiversity is essential, but such transformation is labour- and knowledge-intensive.

In Europe, much of this labour is performed by seasonal migrant workers, often under precarious conditions. Tasks such as manual weeding, crop diversification, and maintaining field margins require skill, time, and care, yet the system is structured around short-term contracts, low wages, and limited rights. Farmers face pressure to produce at world market prices, leaving little room for ecological or social innovation.

Biodiversity-friendly farming cannot be achieved without addressing the labour systems that underpin it. Social and environmental sustainability are inseparable. To transform agriculture, we must also transform how we value and organise agricultural work and workers.

Vision for Transformation

In the future we imagine, farms are diverse, locally adapted, and rooted in both ecological responsibility and social justice. Biodiversity is not an add-on but is integral to farm management. Crops flourish alongside wild flora and fauna, and agricultural landscapes become mosaics of productivity and habitat.

Farm workers are respected as skilled professionals. They are employed on fair terms, with regulated shifts, decent wages, and opportunities for decision-making. Their knowledge – accumulated through years of experience – is recognised and nurtured. Training programmes support both ecological literacy and workers’ rights, enabling long-term relationships and career development.

Mechanisation and digital tools are used thoughtfully, not to displace workers or accelerate exploitation, but to support biodiversity and reduce physical strain. Farmers have the financial and organisational freedom to prioritise sustainability, supported by consumers who value quality and by policies that reward ecological stewardship.

These farms are socially, environmentally, and culturally resilient – better equipped to adapt to climate change and global crises, and offering meaningful work in vibrant rural communities.

Leverage Points and Pathways

The transformation begins with recognising the value of diversity in crops, in labour, and in knowledge. Direct selling channels allow farmers to retain more value, enabling better wages and more varied tasks. This diversity makes farms more attractive to workers and more resilient to market pressures.

Knowledge transmission between farmers and migrant workers is a key leverage point. Many workers bring expertise from their home countries and gain new skills abroad. Supporting this exchange – through training, recognition, and long-term contracts – strengthens both biodiversity and social cohesion.

Policy also plays a crucial role. Subsidy schemes that link biodiversity practices to labour standards, such as recent reforms in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, offer a model for integrating environmental and social goals. A coherent European framework could further support fair labour conditions and robust rights protections.

Barriers and Enablers

Barriers include financial constraints, consumer price sensitivity, and structural dependence on low-wage migrant labour. The seasonal nature of farming and the normalisation of poor working conditions make change difficult. There is also a shortage of specialist staff and limited pathways for workers to advance.

Enablers include direct marketing models, growing interest in agroecology, and emerging policy reforms. Farmers who prioritise diversity and fair conditions are already demonstrating that another way is possible. Their success stories – built on good food, good work, and good relationships – offer a roadmap for transformation.