Demand for seasonal wage labour in agriculture: what does family farming hide?

This article draws on the agricultural household literature to understand the dynamics of wage labour on farms in a context of family farming. The recent evolution towards an increased use of seasonal wage labour motivates the original distinction of three types of labour: family labour, permanent wage labour, and seasonal wage labour. Considering the two wage labour types and hiring cost for seasonal workers, our empirical results based on French data on fruit and vegetables farms from the agricultural census of 2000 suggest that the choice between hiring permanent or seasonal wage labour is not only determined by the seasonality of the activity. The characteristics of the local labour market also affect the trade-off between permanent and seasonal wage labour providing insights on the substitutability of the two labour types, especially when the local labour market is tight. Moreover, the substitution of seasonal wage labour for permanent wage labour can occur in the agricultural sector as means of increasing flexibility as well as reducing costs and commitments. Second, family labour is found to most likely substitute wage labour and more specifically seasonal wage labour.