The "Coffee Agricultural Conference - Rebrota Initiative" addresses the topic of "Employment in the Agricultural Sector: Challenges and Solutions," inviting all stakeholders in the agri-food chain, as well as those involved in employment in the agricultural sector.

The initiative is the result of a joint collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Henar Comunicación Agricultural Publishing Group.

What labor challenges do we face in the agricultural sector? This is one of the main questions addressed by the " Coffee Agricultural Conference – Rebrota Initiative." Organized by the PAC Network and the Henar Comunicación Agricultural Publishing Group , the event was designed to analyze the topic of employment in the agricultural sector through a group of active professionals who presented the challenges they face and also discussed possible solutions.

The event, held on November 19th in the auditorium of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ( MAPA ), was attended by approximately 81 people , representing different stages of the agri-food chain, as well as individuals involved in employment in the agricultural sector. The event was organized around two moderated roundtables; the first was entirely dedicated to the difficulties encountered in finding labor in the agricultural sector, and the second focused on proposing initiatives for improved professional employability in agriculture.

Challenges

In the first roundtable, titled "What difficulties do we encounter with the workforce?" and moderated by agri-food journalist Elisa Plumed, the following were discussed, in broad terms,:

✅ ️ Negative connotations in the sector (complexes, discredit and stigmas)

✅ ️Work in unpopulated areas

✅ ️Mismatch between expectations created during the training period and what reality offers (salary, conditions, etc.)

✅ ️ Temporality

✅ ️Skills are required that are not taught anywhere (lack of training/ qualification )

✅ ️Need to import labor (due to the lack of national labor and the resulting difficulty in regularizing foreigners)

A disconnect between public and private companies in terms of job creation was also mentioned, as well as the need to adapt different training programs to the real needs of the sector.

Likewise, the inequality in the agri-food value chain was pointed out: farmers pay more for a poor harvest, which does not affect the rest of the chain.

Initiatives

In the second roundtable, entitled "Are there initiatives that allow us to look to the future with optimism?" and moderated by Jesús López, director of Henar Comunicación, the panelists presented the methodologies and methods they use to recruit workers for their companies:

✅ ️Cultivating “ employer branding ” to attract talent: working on a good reputation for the employer company to provide brand value and prestige to its employees

✅ ️Execution of internship agreements

✅ ️Approach training centers (conferences, talks, etc.)

✅ ️Take guided tours of your facilities

✅ Promotion and visibility campaigns: attendance at fairs, conferences, conferences, events, etc.

✅ ️Provide ongoing skills training and development

In the case of larger entities, such as Cajamar, the focus is on conducting a study of the sector's training needs to conduct business incubation and experimental stations.

In conclusion, the conference highlighted the need to raise awareness of the sector and promote it in a constructive and positive way, for which communication in the agri-food sector plays a fundamental role. Another useful tool for this purpose is sharing and disseminating good practice examples. In other words, publicizing agricultural practices that work and are successful in their respective areas and that can serve as inspiration for replication in other rural settings.

The event was recorded so that it can be enjoyed on the PAC Network 's YouTube channel .