Almería province in southern Spain, often called Europe’s vegetable garden, is home to thousands of illegal immigrants who work in the region’s sprawling greenhouse farms. Workers like 44‑year‑old Amoateng Foster, a former math teacher from Ghana, now live in informal settlements such as Don Domingo de Arriba, where they lack official electricity and running water.
Low pay and difficult conditions
Those without proper documentation often earn far below the minimum wage of eight euros per hour. Foster says he sometimes receives only five euros, and other workers report rates as low as four euros an hour for long, physically demanding shifts in extreme heat.
Government data shows more than 70,000 people are registered with social security in Almería’s agricultural sector, but unions and NGOs estimate the true workforce exceeds 110,000, with about 90% being foreign nationals.
Charitable response
Local Catholic groups, including the Mercedarian Sisters of Charity, provide language lessons, skills workshops, and food baskets to migrants. Sister Francisca, the 80‑year‑old coordinator, emphasizes that the organization does not attract migrants but simply offers aid to those already seeking a dignified life and the ability to support families back home.
At their San Isidro distribution center, the sisters serve roughly 20‑50 families daily, depending on donation levels, handing out basic necessities such as sandwiches and other food items.
Government efforts
Spanish authorities say they are working to improve the situation, including an amnesty program that offers nearly half a million undocumented migrants who have been in the country for at least five months a path to legal status.
Despite these measures, the reliance on cheap labor remains a core part of the greenhouse industry’s profitability, as growers compete to supply European markets with millions of tons of produce each year.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
