McClain: Farmers, farm workers need more flexibility to create local food supply

News that federal officials are investigating a local farm for allegedly hiring undocumented farm workers should call our attention to the larger problem of a shortage of farm workers in South Carolina and across the nation (“Farm allegedly employed illegal immigrant workers,” Nov. 20). At present, we can either import our labor or import our food supply.

The American Farm Bureau noted recently that, “U.S. agriculture faces a critical shortage of workers every year, as citizens are largely unwilling to engage in these rigorous activities and guest-worker programs are unable to respond to the marketplace.”

The Midlands Food Alliance, a program of Sustainable Midlands, works to develop a sustainable, equitable and localized food system that includes people who are historically, socially and politically disenfranchised and left out of the decision-making process of our government. Lack of an adequate agricultural workforce pigeonholes farmers into utilizing undocumented laborers and marginalizes those workers into positions without standing. We stand with employers and employees advocating for alternative solutions that provide our agricultural workers with respect, fair wages and protection under the law.

The current H2-A Visa program for farmworkers is complex, lacking flexibility for the farmworker and the operator. For example, the National Council of Agricultural Employers found that administrative delays resulted in workers arriving 22 days late for work. Farm operators need the flexibility to hire labor efficiently during times when they need labor, and farm workers need to be able to choose which farm operators they work with while in the United States.

We encourage policy makers to develop long-term stewardship of an agricultural labor force. The average age of farmers in South Carolina is 59. Initiatives such as South Carolina’s Farm to School Program and Clemson’s new Sandhill Incubator Farm can help shepherd agricultural leaders. More consumer and institutional dollars supporting local food-producing farms and food hubs (such as Grow Food Carolina) build the capacity for all farmers in South Carolina to access retail and institutional markets.

Our state’s agricultural business is growing. It is incumbent upon our leaders to address agricultural labor needs in ways that are both flexible and fair for farmers and farm workers.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 11:24 PM.