DR ‹ › A special issue of the scientific journal Alternatives Agricoles is devoted to female agricultural workers, bringing together contributions from academics in Morocco, France, and Tunisia. Through research articles, book reviews, and first-hand testimonies, the dossier sheds light on the «living, working, and migration conditions» of women who, despite their precarious circumstances, play «an essential role in agricultural production». Published in the November 2025 issue, the collection seeks to «highlight, understand, and acknowledge» the women who sustain the primary sector. According to the authors, these workers remain largely invisible in «public policies and even social debates». Coordinated by Zhour Bouzidi (Moulay Ismail University of Meknès), Chadia Arab (University of Angers), Nicolas Faysse, and Pierre Louis Mayaux (Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development – CIRAD), the special issue offers a reflection on «the transformations of the rural world», combining academic analysis with field-based research. A press release sent to Yabiladi notes that the dossier foregrounds the voices of the workers themselves, as well as those of organizations supporting them. It examines issues such as «informal and irregular employment, low wages, lack of social protection, power relations with farmers and transporters», and the specific conditions faced by Moroccan women recruited for strawberry harvesting in Spain. Beyond diagnosis, the authors show how these women «carve out spaces of autonomy» through networks of solidarity and everyday negotiation in the face of structural constraints. The dossier also puts forward proposals to «sustainably transform rural policies», advocating for structured support mechanisms, stronger social protection, more balanced power relations, and greater recognition of female agricultural workers as full-fledged actors in agricultural development.
