Foreign Migrants in Export Agriculture: Mozambican Labour in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, South Africa

The restructuring of labour regimes in high‐value export agriculture has been an important research theme in the globalisation of agro‐food systems. Contrary to theories of agrarian transition, as export agriculture becomes more globalised, it does not shift to more modern forms of labour. Increasing competition within global agricultural trade has instead led to the use of more vulnerable workers in an attempt to secure a less militant and cheaper workforce. This paper presents the results of a detailed study of the farm worker conditions in the Mpumalanga lowveld of South Africa, a region that produces high‐value agricultural crops, much of which are exported. Mozambican labour has played a key role in this region for decades, and options for improving conditions are explored in the context of proposed changes in the country’s immigration policy. Rather than improving conditions for farm workers, the new policy may instead worsen conditions for migrant farm workers.