Italian policymakers and businesses have invested substantial financial resources in their drive to promote their agricultural sector as bucolic, pastoral and, above all, traditional. Global retail corporations have heavily capitalised on this narrative throughout the “Made in Italy” trademark. But such a blissful image often conceals a harsh and cruel reality.

According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), each year, almost 200 000 foreign workers are officially employed in Southern Italy’s agricultural sector under exploitative conditions. Other – and likely more trustworthy – sources suggest that the actual number is significantly higher, estimated at around 450 000. Among the latter, about 200 000 foreign workers live under conditions resembling those of slavery – a phenomenon referred to as Caporalato.

Caporalato is a gangmaster form of exploitation, consisting of illegally recruiting workers by the “caporali” – middlemen between labourers and employers. Inhumane working conditions are imposed, with wages falling far below the legal minimum wage that lies between €2 and €4 per hour. The existence and persistence of Caporalato are driven by the dynamics of large-scale distribution, which pressure producers to reduce labour costs in order to meet the low prices dictated by supermarkets and multinational food corporations.

This intermediary system is not only advantageous to businesses, but also to workers themselves, who are frequently vulnerable individuals, mostly unregistered immigrants, with limited bargaining power, few employment alternatives, and often operating under uncertain conditions. As a consequence, they all too often fall willingly into the trap that Caporaltato represents. Although under the Italian justice system, namely under the regulation 199/2016, Caporalato is considered a criminal offence, its enforcement constitutes a significant challenge due to the triple-axe complicity between agro-mafias, food supply chains and businesses.

From Witness to Victim: The Hidden Cost of Knowing 

In 2019, Marco Omizzolo, a renowned Italian sociologist and researcher, published a book titled “Sotto Padrone: Uomini, Donne e Caporali nell’agro-mafia italiana”, an eye-opening study describing the life of the labourers under the Caporalato. Omizzolo infiltrated the system by impersonating a worker, and for six months, he worked and lived as one. Few are those who know what is going on behind closed doors, and the ones who do try to hide and deny it – an occurrence in mafia-led circles exemplified through the “omertà” behaviour.  Bluntly put: “Stay silent, or else…”

In the book, Omizzolo describes how Caporali profit from the labour of men and women, who are forced to work under inhumane conditions on Italian agricultural fields. The author explains that some labourers go so far as to consume performance-enhancing drugs to endure the exhausting work pace. Others, as he came to bear witness, died from exhaustion. Omizzolo highlights how women, beyond withstanding inhumane working conditions, are also subjected to violence and sexual exploitation. For many, this situation is not incidental or temporary; on the contrary, many have been trapped in the system for ten or twenty years.  Tragically, working is only one side of the story, Omizzlo learned, the other being the living in aberrant conditions that far too often lead to suicide.

Omizzolo argues that this predatory system yields illicit profits estimated at approximately €25 billion annually.

The book not only exposes the mechanisms of Caporalato, but also demonstrates how agromafias are structurally embedded within the Italian economic system, contributing to the national GDP at the cost of serious human rights violations.

Pull the Trigger: Acknowledging the Exploitation

On June 19th, 2024, Satnam Singh, a 31-year-old agricultural labourer victim of Caporalato, passed away prematurely at San Camillo Hospital in Rome. His cause of death was due to a severe workplace accident in the Lazio countryside where he had been employed irregularly.

Before passing away, he was crushed by a harvesting machine, which severed one of his arms and inflicted serious injuries to both of his legs. According to initial reports, his Caporale – who had employed Singh for two years already without a formal contract, did not immediately command to call for emergency assistance. Instead, he gave the order to abandon him in front of his residence, placing his severed arm on a harvesting crate. Medical assistance was only provided later, when neighbours intervened.

Tragically, despite multiple surgical procedures, Singh eventually succumbed to his injuries, causing a wave of national shame.  He had arrived from India three years prior with his wife, who was also employed under irregular conditions on the same agro-farm. Their case will remain foundational regarding the widespread exploitation of agricultural labourers in Italy. Although the employer of Satnam Singh has been arrested, his story remains one among many that still lurk in the shadows.

Expose, Resist, Reform

The tragic story of Satnam Singh represents a bitter reminder of the human cost of the agromafia system. Even though Law 199/2016 was introduced to criminalise and combat Caporalato, its enforcement is a major challenge due to widespread complicity within the industry and the long-lasting tendency to “omertà” among the population of lands that have long been controlled by mafia.

Thousands of exploited workers have taken to the streets in protest, demanding fair wages and legal protections. Yet, systemic exploitation persists. Addressing this issue requires a collective effort; however, beyond a call for action, what is truly needed is widespread information and education. Many remain unaware of these dynamics, as the romanticised image of agriculture overshadows the harsh realities of its exploitation.

Raising awareness is a crucial first step in dismantling this system of oppression.

Written by: Elisabetta Quaglino, Edited by: Valerie Schicke

Photo credit: Claudio Poggio (uploaded October 20, 2024) on unsplash