Who Needs Immigrant Farm Workers? A South African Case Study

Recent writing on migration in Southern Africa focuses on the experiences and desires of migrants themselves. While it gives valuable insights, this article argues that it can obscure the role of employers in structuring migration opportunities. In the case of female migrants from Lesotho working in South African agriculture, farmer demand has clearly impacted on the spectrum of both legal and illegal employment opportunities available, with the boundaries between legal and illegal migration appearing more porous than often imagined. The demand for foreign farm workers is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple story of wage differentials with local workers. The conclusion is that if we wish to understand migration flows, and particularly the use of immigrant labour in South African agriculture, we must retain an analytical role for employers' demand.