News & Events

As part of our AgRimate’s mission, we’re dedicated to understanding the real daily experiences of farmers. To get a closer look at the psychosocial working conditions in the agricultural sector, our partners Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (UBER) recently conducted a series of field visits and interviews in Spain and Greece.

Our Journey in Spain 🇪🇸

In early March, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (UBER) traveled to Jaén, Spain, to conduct the first of five interviews with olive grove farm owners. During our visit, we walked through local olive groves and gained firsthand insight into the complexities of the pruning process. To get a complete picture, the partner spoke with a farm owner about his daily work and regional specifics, like regulated harvesting times.

The role of agricultural cooperatives was also explored, holding a follow-up interview with the president of a cooperative via Zoom. After this field visit by UBER, Union de Pequenos Agricultores y Ganaderos (UPA) helped arrange three more online interviews with farm owners, giving a richer understanding of the diverse challenges in the sector.

The primary goal was to explore the psychosocial working conditions of these farmers. They spoke about their daily tasks, job demands, resources, and their views on new technologies like exoskeletons. 

The most surprising discovery? Despite the visible challenges, the farm owners’ passion for their work and the unwavering support from their families left a powerful impression.

Exploring Viticulture in Greece 🇬🇷

The visits were held between May 20th and 25th, in Northern Greece, where in-person interviews with five vineyard owners in the Kavala and Drama regions were conducted. These interviews, which lasted about 30 minutes each, were based on the same guide used in Spain, but were tailored specifically to viticulture. One online interview with a vineyard owner in the Athens region was also held, due to travel logistic limitations.

The main objective, similar to the one in Spain, was to explore the psychosocial working conditions in Greek viticulture. The team wanted to understand daily work during pruning and harvesting, identify key job demands and resources, and learn about their attitudes toward technological innovations. The interviews delivered detailed information on daily tasks, demands, and community relations.

In Greece, a specific challenge was recruiting smallholder vineyard owners, especially from abroad, due to geographical distance and limited personal networks. The high workload of the vineyard owners during this time of year also made it difficult to schedule interviews.

Like in Spain, one of the most striking discoveries was the deep passion the vineyard owners expressed for their work. This strong identification with viticulture seemed to help them handle the physical and mental demands of the job. The frequent interruptions they face, whether for business operations or personal family obligations, were also noticed, sometimes even during the interviews, mirroring the intensity of the workload.