The Pickers is a journey to European fields where our fruit and vegetables are grown. In Southern Italy, Seydou from Mali picks oranges. He has no contract and is paid per crate. He lives in a self-built hut in a settlement without water or electricity. Blueberries in Portugal, olives in Greece, strawberries in Spain – one million migrants currently work in European fields. The pickers are the mobile workforce travelling from one area to the next. Most do not have contracts or minimum wages; some are illegal or have high debts with agents. While exploitation in supply chains like chocolate or coffee is a well-known issue, there is another bitter taste we do not talk about: Our daily fruit and veg are rooted in exploitation. There might be a way out of this system: Pape from Senegal is producing fair oranges in southern Italy. Could this become the new normal?

Migrants picking our fruit and vegetables should work and live under fair conditions. We want to achieve tangible improvements in the social and political situation of these pickers. We aim to create awareness about illegal and unfair working situations in Europe, to reach out to consumers, supermarkets and political decision-makers, and to strengthen the efforts of NGOs and trade unions working for improvements. We want consumers to make informed, fair choices and for supermarkets to comply with all legal requirements to support human and workers’ rights in their supply chains. The EU and national governments must implement and control laws and regulations, and take responsibility for the people harvesting our fields. Our current priority is on the EU and German supply chain law.