citrus / mechanization

[Guest guest]

Follow-Up to Citrus & mechanization.

Thanks to Tina for bringing this issue to our attention, and thanks to

Ruiz for an overview of the political effects of economic shifts in

agriculture. The Florida citrus industry for more than a decade has faced

economic difficulty. One condition that has had an effect on the worker, at

least in influencing who chooses to continue in citrus, was an inability to

clean the groves regularly, as once was possible, leading to " unkempt "

groves where low shrubs and weeds became homes to critters like rats and

snakes. I've met individuals who ran small companies who provided this

service, who chose to go into another area of agriculture, or left

agriculture, owing to fewer contracts to clean the groves. As for the

worker, critters sometimes tipped the balance in choosing where one wished

to work, or they make good stories that discourage newcomers from seeking

to work in the groves.

I know very little about the Florida town mentioned in the article. But I

doubt that shakers will " redraw the profile " of the town. Oranges are a

part (albeit big part) of its citrus production; also grown are grapefruit,

tangelos, tangerines, lemon, limes. Several fruits and vegetables play a

role in agricultural production that will continue to require manual labor

in that and other areas of Florida.

Mechanization has generated dramatic changes. Among industries felt by

changes in the past are cherries in the Midwest and cotton in the South.

Workers for those crops went elsewhere. Mechanization in citrus may push

workers elsewhere. To accompany the funds for mechanization experimentation

and implementation, will there be support for services like job training,

placement, and employment announcements? As asks, what impact might

this have on health services already in place?

All this is a matter worth some thought.

V Bletzer

Medical Anthropologist