Tomato Harvest in Apulia: Migrants Work Under Exploitative Conditions

Borgo Mezzanone – 13 August 2026: Between fields, warehouses and a former reception facility near Foggia, thousands of migrants live in improvised accommodation during the harvest season. A report published by Franceinfo on 12 August focuses on the tomato harvest in Apulia and on the people whose work stands at the beginning of European supply chains for canned tomatoes, passata and sauces.

In the vicinity of Borgo Mezzanone, a small town in the province of Foggia, an informal settlement has developed over the years. Its size fluctuates with the harvest seasons. Observers say that it has several thousand residents at the height of the season. Many shacks are made of planks, tarpaulins and sheet metal. According to reports by aid organizations, access to electricity, clean water, sanitation and medical care remains inadequate.

Franceinfo reports low daily wages, long working days and a high degree of dependence on intermediaries. Those affected report threats and physical violence. These allegations cannot be generalized to all agricultural businesses. However, they correspond to a system that has long been documented in Italy and is known as caporalato: the criminal recruitment of workers under exploitative conditions.

Italian judicial authorities have repeatedly investigated suspected intermediaries and business owners in the province of Foggia. In September 2023, four people were arrested there on suspicion of illegal labor recruitment and exploitation, including three agricultural business owners. Such proceedings target specific suspects and do not justify a general suspicion against the entire sector. However, they show that the issue has also concerned law enforcement authorities for years.

People without permanent housing, secure residence status, their own means of transportation or sufficient language skills are particularly at risk. Anyone who needs transport to remote fields every day can easily become dependent on informal intermediaries. Italian labor and interior authorities are therefore pursuing programs against undeclared work and exploitation in agriculture.

Inspections alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Legal job placement, reliable transportation, decent accommodation and independent advice are needed. In June 2026, the Spartacus project stated that it had placed 180 people from Calabria to the Foggia area in regular employment within one year. Given the scale of need, the reach of such initiatives remains limited.

For consumers, these conditions are generally invisible. Tomatoes from the Foggia plain are processed and reach numerous European countries as canned products, passata or sauces. At the start of this supply chain are harvest workers whose wages, accommodation and access to justice help determine the price of the goods.