Published on February 20, 2025 , farmntrade

In response to a lack of agriculturalists and farm labor, countries such as Japan are welcoming competent Indian farmers. Presently, the numbers may be low, but in the future, many developed nations seeking to maintain food security. They will have no choice but to engage from labor surplus nations such as India. So, there are farming opportunities in developed countries .

According to the World Migration Report 2022, with nearly 20 million international migrants, India is the country that sends the most people abroad. The majority of Indian immigrants reside in the six Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. According to data from the Ministry of External Affairs, the remaining 50% of Indians live in 204 countries.

The majority of Indians seek employment in English-speaking countries. Australia has 241,000 NRIs, Canada 178,410, the United Kingdom 351,000, and the United States 1,280,000. New migration corridors were anticipated to materialize following the COVID-19. Recently, a group of Indian cultivators have travelled to Japan.

Japan’s Situation

The demand for farmers in Japan stems from its ageing population and its newer generation’s lack of interest in agriculture. 15 percent of Japan’s population is over 75 years old, according to recent data, indicating that Japan faces the challenges of an ageing population. According to data from the World Bank, Japan ranks second among nations with the highest proportion of residents aged 65 and older.

This has had a direct impact on the country’s agricultural sector, which now faces a severe labor shortage. Approximately 60 percent fewer individuals were employed in agriculture in Japan in 2015 than in 1985, according to data from the country’s 2015 Census. After 2015, these figures decreased further. The Japanese government has introduced a five-year visa for foreign workers to satisfy the country’s labor demand.

Clearly, the shifting demographics of the globe present new opportunities in terms of migration opportunities. There are challenges encountered by the agriculture sector in India, such as underemployment, fragmentation of farmland, and wealth inequality. Can farming jobs abroad assist the surplus labor employed in Indian fields and release the “demographic dividend” for economic gain?

farming in developed countries

The current labor scarcity in Japan can be traced back to the country’s post-independence developmental initiatives, economic expansion, and population control measures. As one of the world’s most industrialized nations, Japan is frequently referred to as the East Asian model. Early stabilization of the population ensured that economic growth gains were not offset by population expansion.

However, like the majority of developed countries in the global north that have achieved this demographic transition, Japan eventually opened its borders to migrants due to a labor shortage.

Youth in developing nations with a rising unemployment rate, such as India, find migration opportunities appealing. In addition to employment, the prospects of residing in a country with vastly superior development and economic standing are certain to entice more young people to pursue this option.

Although agriculture employs the majority of India’s labor force, its output and contribution to the country’s gross domestic product tell a different story. There is no simple remedy to the agrarian crisis of stagnant incomes, rising input costs, and farmer suicides. Farmers are constantly looking for ways to sustain themselves. In truth, the majority of internal migrants who move to cities to work as construction workers were once agricultural workers in rural areas.

Punjab’s Early Beginning

In the 1990s, a group of Indians led the Italian dairy industry revolution, which is one of the success stories of farmer migration. Punjab has always had a thriving migration culture. Three decades ago, when migration to the United States became more difficult, they sought simpler access to European countries.

Since the 1990s, Italy has been home to one of Europe’s largest Indian immigrant communities. According to the Italian Institute of Statistics (2008), 42.9% of Indians in the Lombardy region of Italy work in the agricultural sector. There was a lack of farmers ready to work in dairy farming as a result of Italy’s post-war economic growth. Indians, predominantly Punjabis, were able to capitalize on this market imbalance to establish themselves in a foreign country.

Similarly, Japan’s demographic shifts and accelerated economic growth have created a new market opportunity for laborers from the global south, including India.

Needed: Skilled Farmers for farming in developed countries

In contrast to the situation in Italy, however, Japanese recruiters are recruiting skilled farmers for specialized agricultural tasks. By investing in the upskilling of farmers, nations like India can turn the need for skilled agricultural labor into opportunity.

The practice of Chinese and Indian immigrants buying land in Canada for farming can increase the opportunities for Indian farmers. Hundreds of Indians have already signed up to travel to Japan. With some additional skill training for Indian farmers, we could increase these numbers to create a “Brand India farmer”.

According to the 2015 National Policy on Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, only 4.7% of India’s labor force has received formal skill training. A great deal can be learned from the experiences of returning cultivators from developed nations in order to improve the skill development programme in India in this area.