On 27^th January 2026, the SafeHabitus project gathered policymakers and stakeholders to discuss how working conditions in farming can be improved for farmers and farm workers. 

A SafeHabitus online policy workshop looked at the use of ethical trade market mechanisms to promote health and safety in agriculture. The event brought together EU and international organisations, social partners and agricultural organisations, as well as those who evaluate and certify ethical market mechanisms with the aim of identifying effective policy interventions to improve working conditions.

Such mechanisms are creating additional momentum for improved conditions as European supermarkets are increasingly asking suppliers to certify the social conditions of farm workers picking fruit and other produce. But evidence from new research shows more needs to be done to improve conditions.

During the Policy Workshop, agriculture and occupational health and safety stakeholders discussed the findings of the research commissioned by SafeHabitus on “Enabling conditions for market developments supporting ethical working conditions”; the LIFT-OSH study of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA), the iSeal Evidensa report and relevant practice and policy experiences of international organisations, such as the FAO and ILO.

New research reveals a fundamental contradiction

The SafeHabitus report, analyses how corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures and human rights due diligence led by large retailers affect labour conditions across two strawberry supply chains: Morocco to the United Kingdom and Huelva (Spain) to Germany.

Responding to the report, Dr David Meredith, the leader of SafeHabitus highlighted that. “This new research highlights a number of critical issues regarding CSR, due diligence frameworks and supermarkets’ purchasing practices.

“While corporate social responsibility and human rights due diligence frameworks have become increasingly sophisticated, the purchasing practices driving these chains do not always support farmers to deliver on the social commitments set by retailers and expected by consumers.”

The report’s author, Carlos Ruiz Ramírez of Oxfam Intermon highlights recommendations for both supermarkets and the EU:

“Supermarkets should respect labour and human rights, pay fair prices, integrate human rights into corporate management and incentives, publish supplier information and risk data, and support regional, organic and small-scale farming. For the EU, the key recommendation is to ensure an ambitious and effective implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), with timely transposition, strong oversight and enforcement, and real access to justice and remedies for affected people, avoiding any weakening of its scope across supply chains,” he says.

According to Alun Jones of CIHEAM Zaragoza, SafeHabitus policy lead, “By increasing the culture of compliance of OSH and decent work standards by agricultural producers, ethical market trade systems can still play a key role in raising the prevention culture in both the EU and in non-EU countries and can support the implementation of decent work and OSH obligations.”.

LIFT-OSH

EU-OSHA’s LIFT-OSH project looked at the role of supply chains in promoting safety and health in agriculture.

Dietmar Elsler of LIFT-OSH says:

“Market leverage in the supply chain can play a significant role for the improvement of working conditions and OSH in the agri-food sector. However, market leverage cannot replace government regulation and long-term buyer-supplier relationships. Rather, market leverage builds on a platform of regulations requiring the actors in the sector to take care of health and safety.”

About SafeHabitus:

SafeHabitus (2023-2026), funded under Horizon Europe, is a multi-actor project that aims to strengthen Farm Health and Safety Knowledge Innovation Systems and support the EU transition to social sustainability in farming. The project brings together farmers, farming organisations, farm advisers, researchers, trade unions, health authorities, policy stakeholders and other relevant actors from across Europe to address occupational health and safety challenges faced by farmers and farm workers.