agriculture

Foreign worker program fills labour gap in agriculture

Eleven SAWP workers harvest in a field of celery.  One man in a beige ball cap, blue shirt and suspenders, wearing blue gloves, sorts celery on a conveyor belt with a woman wearing a red tshirt and black ball cap.  Two workers in yellow rain pants carry celery to the conveyor belt. The remaining workers are also in yellow rain pants harvesting celery.

 

By Samantha McReavy

The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) fills a significant labour shortage in Ontario’s agri-food system and is a critical part of production here, says a University of Guelph researcher.  

Prof. Sara Mann, Dept. of Management, at the University of Guelph, says the program has a significant social and economic impact on Canadian farmers, on the workers’ home countries and on Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sectors.

“To maintain the viability of SAWP, it is vital to fully understand its impact,” she says.