‘No Man’s Land’: Reflecting on and Theorizing Migrant Labour in the Mediterranean Agriculture

Abstract

Migration is largely considered an urban phenomenon, with migrants seen as an expression of diversity that makes the urban environment more diverse. Nonetheless, international migration to rural areas has become an important area of research in the study of labour migration in nonurban, peripheral, agricultural, or remote regions. By 2000, the increasing role of migrant farmworkers had attracted the attention of scholars in the Mediterranean region and throughout Europe. The main objective of this chapter is to bring together the reflections and theories emerging from empirical research on migrant labour in Greek agriculture, highlighting certain comparative aspects between Mediterranean countries. Agriculture continues to occupy an important place in the Mediterranean economy and society, while rural localities maintain productive functions and amenities that attract international migration. This chapter is based on research conducted between 2017 and 2021, and in particular on qualitative interviews with key informants and with migrants originating from Mediterranean countries, who have crossed the Mediterranean and/or settled in Greece. It explores the various contributions and impacts of migrant workers on agriculture in the Mediterranean, while also addressing the impact of the economic recession and aftermath on these contributions.