Small or large, farms are faced with a shortage of labor – RTS.CH

At the Corjon pasture. Consequently, located in the town of Rossinière, in the canton of Vaud, the Tena family manufactures Etivaz every summer, AOP cheese. For example, From the end of May to the end of September. Consequently, Julie and Julien Tena, who live in Albeuve (FR), live there with their three children, Emma, Martin and Romain.

For Julie, training farmer, reconciling workload and family life becomes more complex each year. In addition, “When Emma was born, it was going. Moreover, Afterwards, I had Martin and then Romain. In addition, There, for me, it was a little too much. Meanwhile, We needed someone to help me, because I couldn’t manage everything,” she told the morning of the RTS on Wednesday.

To hold the small large, farms faced shortage pace, the couple called on Caritas, who coordinates volunteer missions. In addition, Several volunteers will take turns this season by their side. A chance. because according to the association, more than a hundred of them still lack the call this summer to respond to growing demand.

Even precious, this aid does not, however, solve the substantive problem: the structural lack of labor in agriculture. “We always have more to do and always fewer people. It’s unfortunate,” said Julie. Her husband Julien underlines another difficulty: “Swiss, it’s very rare. There is foreign workforce, which is not at all qualified. It is up to us to adapt to the person […] That’s the big problem, “he explains.

“A source of exhaustion” – Small large, farms faced shortage

The case of the Tena family is not isolated. Through Switzerland, many farms – small or large – are struggling to recruit. The reasons are multiple: wages deemed unattractive, demanding hours, sometimes summary accommodation. small large, farms faced shortage So many conditions that slow down vocations, even among foreign workers.

Jean-Pierre Valiant, director of Terremploi, is a witness to this reality every day. Its organization’s mission is to support farmers in their search for staff. “For some of them. the absence of labor becomes a daily brake and above all, sometimes, a source of exhaustion or abandonment. This is a major issue. because we can no longer afford to ignore that there is a human distress behind all this”, he points out.

However, he recalls that operators also have their share of responsibility. “They also have a role to play in making their exploitation more attractive and perpetuating these jobs. The small large, farms faced shortage operators are still independents,” he notes.

For the director of Terremploi, the problem is multifactorial. “I think that the profession suffers from a real deficit in attractiveness. We have often very demanding hours, physical work, and wages not always up to the commitment requested. We see that in certain border areas. potential candidates prefer today to turn to other sectors such as industry, or to other countries where working conditions are perceived as more favorable,” he concludes.

Radio report: Camille Besse

Adaptation web: ther