Investing in Farmworker Health

The Union of Concerned Scientists found that between FY 2019 and FY 2022, the NIH, CDC, and NIFA allocated an average of $16.2 million annually to farmworker health research, amounting to approximately $6.75 per worker. The report highlights critical data gaps regarding the synergistic effects of extreme heat and pesticide exposure, as well as a lack of research focusing on women, LGBTQ+, and Indigenous farmworkers. It recommends doubling NIFA funding to at least $16.2 million per year and increasing the use of community-based participatory research.

• Federal funding for farmworker health research is significantly low relative to the size of the workforce and the economic contribution of the industry. Between FY 2019 and FY 2022, the NIH, CDC, and NIFA allocated an average of $16.2 million per year, which equates to roughly $6.75 per worker, while the food and agriculture industry contributed an average of $1.223 trillion to the US economy annually during the same period.
• The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) provided the largest share of identified funding, averaging $8.1 million per year (50%), followed by the NIH at $6.2 million (38%), the CDC at $1.7 million (11%), and the Department of Veterans Affairs at $0.16 million (1%).
• Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the US, with a 2021 fatality rate of 20 deaths per 100,000 workers, which is more than five times the average of 3.6 deaths per 100,000 in other industries.
• Farmworkers face extreme risks from heat-related causes, with death rates estimated to be 20 times higher than any other civilian occupation. Extreme heat is linked to acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, and can interact with pesticide exposure to amplify adverse health outcomes.
• There are severe gaps in research regarding specific underrepresented populations. No projects in the study named women, LGBTQ+, gender nonconforming, or nonbinary farmworkers as a population of interest, despite women making up 34 percent of the workforce.
• Indigenous farmworkers face unique barriers to health care. In California, Indigenous Mexican farmworkers are far less likely to have access to health care than the general population or other Mexican farmworkers.
• The report identifies a lack of community-based research approaches. It cites the Farmworker Association of Florida as an exemplary model for partnering with universities to provide direct benefits to workers, such as the 'Partnership for Citrus Worker Health' which provided safety glasses and training to reduce eye injuries.
• The Union of Concerned Scientists recommends that Congress at least double NIFA funding for farmworker health research to a minimum of $16.2 million per year in the next food and farm bill.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2023). Investing in Farmworker Health. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/Investing_in_Farmworker_Health_report_final_0.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Investing in Farmworker Health. 2023. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/Investing_in_Farmworker_Health_report_final_0.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/Investing_in_Farmworker_Health_report_final_0.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/Investing_in_Farmworker_Health_report_final_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }