Investing in Farmworker Health

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that US federal agencies invest only $16.2 million annually in farmworker health research, amounting to approximately $6.75 per worker. The analysis highlights significant gaps in research for underrepresented populations and calls for increased funding through the 2023 food and farm bill, alongside broader policy changes regarding pesticide regulation, labor protections, and immigration rights to address systemic exploitation and climate-driven risks like extreme heat.

• Federal investment in farmworker health research and education is minimal relative to the economic contribution of the workforce; while farmworkers contributed an average of $1.223 trillion to the US economy from fiscal years 2019 to 2022, federal agencies invest only $16.2 million annually, which is roughly $6.75 per worker.
• An analysis of 55 funded projects shows that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provided the most funding (32 projects), followed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with 15 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with 7. The most frequent research topics were environmental exposures (21 projects), injuries (15), communicable diseases (12), and chronic diseases (12).
• Current federal research fails to target several key demographics; no projects specifically named women, LGBTQ+, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary farmworkers as populations of interest, and only 13 projects specified farmworkers as the sole target population.
• There is an urgent need for expanded research and policy action to address escalating threats from climate change, specifically extreme heat, and the lingering risks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2023). Investing in Farmworker Health. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/farmworker%20health%20summary_5.16.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Investing in Farmworker Health. 2023. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/farmworker%20health%20summary_5.16.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Investing in Farmworker Health |date=May 2023 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/farmworker%20health%20summary_5.16.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2023investing, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Investing in Farmworker Health}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2023}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/farmworker%20health%20summary_5.16.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }