Social reproduction in Sicily’s agricultural sector: migration status and context of reception

ABSTRACT

This article illuminates the social reproductive experiences of migrants labouring in Sicily’s (Italy) greenhouses. Current global transformations in agricultural production are intersecting with longstanding local economic and social realities, as well as with the 2007 Global Financial Crisis and EU enlargement, to make migrants, male and female, indispensable to a sector resorting to intensified informality in pursuit of flexible and cheap workers. Understanding social reproductive experiences as configured by migrant status and context of reception, the article includes analysis of interview and observational data with two nationalities of migrants – Tunisians and Romanians – occupying different positions in Italy’s migration regime. The article concludes that the harsh context of reception posed by labour market conditions, alongside a familialistic Italian welfare regime, largely precludes opportunities for proximate social reproduction for Tunisians and Romanians. In response, migrants develop transnational resilience strategies resting on cross-border actions combining market-, family-, community and State-based practices, to navigate the social reproductive challenges encountered. Such strategies, however, are less feasible for irregular migrants whose socio-legal position exposes them to the most exploitative working arrangements, denies them access to State welfare and renders them immobile. Moreover, for some regular migrants, such transnational resilience strategies are not their strategies of choice.

KEYWORDS:

• Stratified social reproduction
• context of reception
• migrant agricultural workers
• Southern Europe
• transnational resilience strategies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Majella Kilkey http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0842-7290

Domenica Urzi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7232-2004

Notes

1 Papadopoulos’ (2006) study of shifting gender relations in the context of the migrantisation of farm-labour in Greece considers impacts on Greek farm-women’s social reproductive roles, but does not examine migrants’ social reproduction. Mannon et al. (2012) show how Moroccan women’s role as mothers constitutes them as the preferred temporary workforce for Huelva’s (Spain) strawberry farms under its circular migration scheme because their mothering responsibilities in Morocco ensure their return home at the end of the season. How the women manage their social reproductive responsibilities when abroad, however, is not examined.

2 For more information see dossier statistic immigrazione caritas/migrantes available at: www.caritasragusa.it.

3 EMERGENCY is an Italian NGO, operating nationally and internationally, delivering medical care to vulnerable populations.

4 Mass regularisation programmes represent a key route through which those otherwise ineligible become eligible for family reunification. We are grateful to one of the peer reviewers for this observation.