Launched in May 2020, the “Libera la terra” project, funded by the Puglia Region and coordinated by ANOLF Foggia, aims to bring together employer organizations, trade unions, and third-sector organizations around the same table with the objective of designing concrete and shared proposals to combat agricultural exploitation and illegal labor recruitment (caporalato) in Capitanata. The Capitanata area, in the province of Foggia, is well known as one of the main centers for tomato harvesting and production in Italy; this productive effort relies on farmworkers—many of whom are immigrants from Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa—who live in actual “ghettos” (one example is the Ghetto of Rignano Garganico) under unacceptable housing and sanitary conditions. Added to this is the precariousness of legal status, widespread irregularity in the agricultural labor market (with total or partial absence of legally regulated employment contracts), and the presence of “caporali” who recruit workers on a daily basis and handle their transportation to the fields. In this complex context, agricultural enterprises, employer and trade union associations, and third-sector organizations operate in a fragmented manner and often with conflicting interests and objectives. Hence the need, which the project aims to address, to bring these actors together to develop common solutions. Project partners include: FAI Puglia, Coop. Arcobaleno Foggia, Iscos Puglia, Anolf Foggia, FAI Foggia, CIA Agricoltori Italiani Provincia Capitanata, Coldiretti, Ciala Ebat Foggia, and Confagricoltura Foggia.

CNR-IRPPS participates in the project as a partner, fulfilling a research and evaluation role. The work is led by Dr. Lucio Pisacane and supported by Dr. Serena Tagliacozzo, and focuses on two main activities:

1. Collection of materials and information resources on the topic of agricultural labor exploitation and illegal labor recruitment in Southern Italy, with specific attention to Capitanata;

2. Interviews with project partners and other key stakeholders in order to explore the effectiveness of initiatives implemented in recent years to combat the phenomenon and their impact on the agricultural sector in Capitanata.

These activities aim to gather information regarding best practices and areas for improvement, potentially triggering a process of reflection on the dynamics and mechanisms underlying the phenomenon and supporting the development of shared proposals.