Strawberry seasonal workers caught between Spanish money and harsh realities back home

Moroccan seasonal workers say their experiences in Spanish strawberry fields are characterized by an ambivalence that is on the one end marked by the opportunity to make money abroad, and yet the realities of poverty, vulnerability, and illiteracy continue to seemingly plague their lives.

These findings are founded on a study carried out by the International Labor Organization and the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills.

The study entitled “Empowering seasonal workers participating in the circular migration program between Morocco and Spain” relied on 300 questionnaires and 25 interviews with seasonal workers from 17 cities in the regions of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra, Beni Mellal-Khenifra, and Casablanca-Settat.

Of those interviewed, 83% of agricultural workers continue to support their families financially after the end of their residencies in Spain, but they say experiences of poverty, vulnerability, and illiteracy persist.

And yet, they say the agricultural seasonal migration represents a real opportunity to improve their living conditions.
Almost half of the women earn between 1,000 and 1,500 euros per month, and 95 percent of them are satisfied with the remunerations.

The majority of the seasonal workers return to Morocco with 25,000 dirhams in their possession.

Half of the women working in Spanish fields said that life abroad has enriched their lives and provided opportunities for empowerment, confidence, and awareness. However, more than half of the seasonal workers in the Spanish strawberry fields have never attended school.

About three-quarters of the women come from rural areas and one-third from Rabat and Tangier region. ,Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.

The number of contracts signed within the framework of the circular migration program between Morocco and Spain for seasonal workers in Spanish fields began with 5,000 contracts in 2007, rose to 17,000 in 2009, and then decreased to 2,000 between 2012 and 2016, before rising to 14,750 contracts in 2019. It decreased to 7,083 in 2020, to rise again to 14,000 contracts in 2021.

During the past year, married women represented 66 percent of seasonal workers, 24 percent who were divorced, 7 percent widowed, and about 75 percent came from rural areas.