Search

This paper analyzes how agents such as agricultural migrants, agricultural employers and local community representatives apply the dual frame of reference (DFR) to naturalize, rationalize and justify the presence of exploitative labor practices for agricultural migrants. The paper gives a qualitative account of social dynamics in two agricultural-dependent communities located in Northern California and South-Eastern Norway. Qualitative one-on-one interviews with agricultural migrant workers (n = 11), employers (n = 10) and community representatives (n = 12) were conducted in English and Spanish. Our findings demonstrate how DFR is utilized by employers to justify labor strategies that rely on migrant workers, employees to rationalize their participation in exploitive work, and by local community representatives to naturalize the exploitative labor practices of migrant workers in their community. Our research findings further add to the analysis by suggesting that the frames of reference are dynamic based on changes of material conditions in the home country. Lastly, we find a third frame of reference focused on the future of the agricultural worker and the hopes for future generations. Combined, these perspectives add to the understanding of the disempowerment of workers, lack of successful changes and overall, upkeeping of exploitative migrant labor systems in the agricultural industries and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales is the property of Anduli: Revista Andaluza de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists is the property of Polish Association of Agricultural & Agribusiness Economists and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among agricultural workers, especially in developing countries like India, irrespective of crops and the various operations, which ergonomic interventions can minimize. Research on ergonomic interventions and post-intervention studies in agriculture is limited. Sixty-five papers were identified for the review. This systematic review identifies the effects of MSDs in various crops, which will provide a direction for future researchers and practitioners to contribute more to agricultural ergonomics. In addition, this study categorizes the research in terms of (i) the body parts affected due to MSDs, (ii) the continents where the study has been done, (iii) the farming operations which have been investigated, (iv) various MSDs evaluation methods used in agricultural fields. The review reveals that the prevalence of MSDs in various body parts are lower back (74%) followed by shoulder (63%), wrist/hand (62%), neck (57%), upper back (45%), knee/leg (38%), elbow (29%), angle/feet (26%) hip/thighs (22%), and fingers (8%). Further, most of the studies concentrate on harvesting operations (48%), and there exists immense scope for similar studies in pre-harvesting and post-harvesting operations. Ergonomic intervention and post-intervention studies among the agricultural workers are limited even in the developed countries. The review will help the researchers to identify the scope of ergonomic interventions among the various crops in different continents. In essence, this review pinpoints the various intervention gaps in different operations associated with farming in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Carta Económica Regional is the property of Universidad de Guadalajara and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Increasing concerns about automation of work raise the question what the demographic components are that promote the spread of technology. What is the relationship between the presence of immigrants and automation? This paper is divided into two parts: an empirical investigation and a historical case study. Empirically, we use data from the International Federation of Robotics and the American Community Survey to show that US counties that have a higher share of foreign-born population, especially from Latin American countries (low-skilled), but also from China and India (high-skilled), exhibit less robot exposure, which confirms the intuition that regions with more low-skilled and high-skilled immigrant workers with low wages and low organizational clout provide employers with alternatives to robots. The case study of the Florida sugarcane producers shows that the availability of low-skilled foreign workers can diminish incentives to mechanize production unless protests/ lawsuits make them more expensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migrant farmworkers are a ubiquitous but invisibilised, expropriated and exploited component of the global agricultural economy. Their conditions took centre‐stage during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Fear of production disruption in the migrant labour‐intensive sectors led to foreign workers being deemed 'essential' in many countries, and exceptional procedures and regulations were instituted that further increased their exploitation, illnesses and deaths. However, the pandemic has not merely exposed the long‐established structures of racialised exploitation and expropriation in the domain of farm work. Although it exacerbated the precariousness of the living and working conditions defining the reality of migrant farm workers, there is evidence that the pandemic also strengthened farmworkers' individual and collective consciousness, along with forms of organisation and resistance. The symposium 'Migrant Farmworkers: Resisting and Organizing before, during and after COVID‐19' explores two dimensions reflected in migrant farmworkers' realities during the pandemic. First, the contributions look at the general conditions defining power structures and material outcomes within the political economy of agriculture before and during the pandemic. Second, they explore the conditions under which resistance and solidarity emerged to question established structures of exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a detailed analysis of a unique item from the author's family archive: the work diary of his grandfather, Mordechai Livnat (Libman). In this diary, Livnat meticulously recorded, between 1928 and 1931, the details of his work as an agricultural laborer in Herzliya—at the time, a small village in the central part of Eretz Israel (aka pre-State Israel)—primarily during the establishment of the new colony's citrus orchards. The diary documents employment details, employer information, working hours, and wages received. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of the information contained in the diary paint a comprehensive picture that allows us to learn about the lives of Jewish agricultural laborers in Eretz Israel at that time. In particular, the hardships faced by these workers stand out, primarily job insecurity, which manifested mainly in their dependence on the weather and the need to work for multiple employers. This article also sheds light on aspects related to agricultural work before the introduction of technological advancements to the agricultural sector, which was mainly manual then, and its impact on the daily routine of the agricultural laborer. The diary is analyzed using an inductive approach—from the text outwards—in a way that emphasizes the complexity and importance of the connections between the macro and micro in historical research. This way, it is demonstrated how items collected during genealogy research can shed important light on historical knowledge, and not just the other way around. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of the ageing labour force in agriculture and the effects of this process have been studied and widely discussed for a long time. The paper aims to determine the level and pace of ageing of employees in Poland compared to other European Union countries, and in particular to compare its scale between agricultural and other occupations. The study uses LFS data gathered in the EUROSTAT database and the comparative method in relation to values of the renewal ratio. The age structure of employees changed noticeably between 2002 and 2022. The proportion of employees aged 50-64 in the group of all employees increased by 11 pp. in the EU. The analyses show that in the years 2002-2022, in both the EU and Poland, agricultural workers were the oldest group among all the major occupation categories. The renewal ratio for the agricultural worker category was 1.2 in the EU and 1.4 in Poland in 2022. Nevertheless, in the period under consideration, in the EU and in Poland, the pace of ageing was relatively higher for other occupations, especially for services and sales workers, clerical support workers, and craft and related trades workers. On the other hand, managers are the only employee group in Poland reporting an increase in the renewal ratio. Changes in the age structure of the agricultural labour force in Poland and in the EU need to be explored in the context of the dynamic changes taking place in the agricultural sector in recent decades, and also in correlation with demographic trends in European societies.

Copyright of Textual is the property of Universidad Autonoma Chapingo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The world of work is characterized by the diversity (racial and ethnic, gender, generational and age, religious and spiritual, disability, socioeconomic and sexual orientation) of people that converge in it, a characteristic that represents a management opportunity to create effective teams, recognizing that diversity can generate competitive advantages. Considering this reality, the objective is to develop a questionnaire to measure diversity management based on an empirical model designed with the variables internal management of cultural diversity, tolerance to diversity, equality and respect, labour equity, integration, selection, intercultural communication and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of E‐Verify adoption on the total number of farm workers, total acres of operated farmland, and farm wages. This article finds that states with a high E‐Verify enforcement level experiences a decrease in the total number of farm workers and the total acres of operated farmland, suggesting that farms reduced their production scales after E‐Verify. However, this study finds no E‐Verify impact on farm weekly wages. This result could be a result of crop mix shift. States that adopt more stringent immigration policies should prepare the farm sector for a variety of negative shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a public health issue of concern in South Africa. Workers in the agricultural sector are generally at increased risk of TB due to multiple interacting factors such as exposure to silica dust, co-worker infection, and occupations falling within the lower socio-economic sectors. This study investigates factors associated with TB screening uptake for agricultural workers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This cross-sectional study targeted a study population of 16,787 agricultural workers across 96 agricultural worksites in South Africa. A two-stage cluster random sampling design identified 24 agricultural worksites and a potential 2500 participants. The outcome variable was self-reported TB screening. Descriptive statistics and unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression analyses were performed to determine factors associated with TB screening. A literature review informed the selection of covariates as possible confounders. The final study sample comprised 2144 workers across 24 sites, with 55% being women. TB screening uptake was 1155 (56.3%). Factors such as living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (AOR 3.16, 95% CI: 2.44–4.09), accessing health services in the workplace (AOR 1.94, 95% CI: 1.09–3.46), and having prior TB knowledge (AOR 18.45, 95% CI: 9.8–34.74) were positively associated with TB screening. Participants in the age group 36–49 years had significantly higher odds of self-reporting TB screening, compared with those aged 18–25 years (AOR 1.37, 95% CI 1.07–1.77). Migrant workers from Mozambique (OR 0.52, 95% CI: 0.34–0.79) and Zimbabwe (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57–0.89) were significantly less likely to self-report TB screening compared to their South African counterparts. The findings underscore the importance of workplace health services in achieving end-TB targets. We recommend programs and interventions for preventing TB in South Africa that target the agricultural sector in general, and in particular migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify occupational injuries and diseases associated with agriculture in Asia, to provide a reference for prevention and hypotheses for future research. Methods: We matched data on agricultural workers (n = 963,124) enrolled in Taiwan's national Farmers Health Insurance since its inception in 1989, to general population controls of the same age, gender, and township. The study population was linked to the National Health Insurance Research Database from 2001 to 2016 for inpatient cases. Logistic regression was used to assess odds ratios for outcomes. Results: Farmers had 2.76 times the risk of mycotic corneal ulcer (95% CI: 1.96–3.87) and 1.65 times the risk of typhus fever infections (95% CI: 1.47–1.85) compared to the general population. The odds ratio for poisonous animal bites was 2.22 (95% CI: 2.07–2.38), for falling into a storm drain or manhole was 2.04 (95% CI: 1.30–3.20), and for toxic effects from pesticides was 2.01 (95% CI: 1.92–2.11). The toxic effects of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides were correlated with the cultivation of rice, fruit trees, and flowers. Q fever and motorcycle accidents were associated with fruit tree cultivation. Conclusions: The study identifies agricultural occupational injuries and diseases that may inform occupational health policy and the development of prevention priorities to prevent occupational hazards for farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a substantial burden of occupational health effects from heat exposure. We sought to assess the accuracy of estimated core body temperature (CBTest) derived from an algorithm that uses sequential heart rate and initializing CBT,1 compared with gastrointestinal temperature measured using more invasive ingestible sensors (CBTgi), among outdoor agricultural workers. We analyzed CBTest and CBTgi data from Washington State, USA, pear and apple harvesters collected across one work shift in 2015 (13,413 observations, 35 participants) using Bland Altman methods. The mean (standard deviation, range) CBTgi was 37.7 (0.4, 36.5–39.4)°C. Overall CBT bias (limits of agreement) was −0.14 (±0.76)°C. Biases ranged from −0.006 to −0.75 °C. The algorithm, which does not require the use of ingestible sensors, may be a practical tool in research among groups of workers for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to prevent adverse occupational heat health effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research links restrictive immigration policies to immigrant health and health care outcomes. Yet most studies in this area focus on the impact of single policies in particular years, with few assessing how broader state-level immigration policy contexts affect groups by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. Linking data from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (2005-2012) with information on state immigration policies, we use an intersectional approach to examine the links between policy contexts and health care utilization by nativity, race/ethnicity, and legal status. We also assess the associations between two specific types of state immigration policies--those governing immigrant access to Medicaid and driver's licenses--and health care utilization disparities. We find that state-level immigration policy contexts are associated with health care utilization among U.S.-born and naturalized U.S. citizen non-White Latinx agricultural workers, who report lower levels of health care utilization and greater barriers to care-seeking in more restrictive policy contexts. By contrast, we find little evidence that state policies shaped health care utilization among undocumented workers. These findings advance understanding of the impact of "policies of exclusion" on the lives of marginalized groups and underscore the importance of racialized legal sta tus in considering the links between sociopolitical contexts and health and health care disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a limited understanding of how toxic exposures to agrichemicals vary relative to international migration over the life course. A life history calendar (LHC) was piloted to explore sequences of agrichemical exposure relative to international migration. LHCs were administered to 41 foreign born individuals from Mexico and Central America who had agricultural work experience during their lifetime and who were living in South Florida. Social sequence analysis was used to explore occupation-by-agrichemical events relative to migration. A three-cluster solution was used to classify low, moderate, and high lifetime exposure sequences. The odds of any perceived effects of agrichemicals on the body increased with time prior to migration in the moderate and high exposure sequence clusters and continued to increase 20% with each year following migration in the moderate exposure cluster. Workers with high lifetime agrichemical exposures prior to migrating internationally showed lower likelihoods of a perceived effect on the body following migration despite continued exposure. Further research on instrument validity is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Farmworkers are at risk of heat-related illness (HRI). We sought to: 1) evaluate the effectiveness of farmworker Spanish/English participatory heat education and a supervisor decision-support mobile application (HEAT intervention) on physiological heat strain; and 2) describe factors associated with HRI symptoms reporting.Methods: We conducted a parallel, comparison group intervention study from May-September of 2019 in Central/Eastern Washington State, USA. We used convenience sampling to recruit adult outdoor farmworkers and allocated participating crews to intervention (n = 37 participants) and alternative-training comparison (n = 38 participants) groups. We measured heat strain monthly using heart rate and estimated core body temperature to compute the maximum work-shift physiological strain index (PSImax) and assessed self-reported HRI symptoms using a weekly survey. Multivariable linear mixed effects models were used to assess associations of the HEAT intervention with PSImax, and bivariate mixed models were used to describe factors associated with HRI symptoms reported (0, 1, 2+ symptoms), with random effects for workers.Results: We observed larger decreases in PSImax in the intervention versus comparison group for higher work exertion levels (categorized as low, low/medium-low, and high effort), after adjustment for maximum work-shift ambient Heat Index (HImax), but this was not statistically significant (interaction - 0.91 for high versus low/medium-low effort, t = - 1.60, p = 0.11). We observed a higher PSImax with high versus low/medium-low effort (main effect 1.96, t = 3.81, p < 0.001) and a lower PSImax with older age (- 0.03, t = - 2.95, p = 0.004), after covariate adjustment. There was no clear relationship between PSImax and the number of HRI symptoms reported. Reporting more symptoms was associated with older age, higher HImax, 10+ years agricultural work, not being an H-2A guest worker, and walking > 3 min to get to the toilet at work.Conclusions: Effort level should be addressed in heat management plans, for example through work/rest cycles, rotation, and pacing, in addition to education and other factors that influence heat stress. Both symptoms and indicators of physiological heat strain should be monitored, if possible, during periods of high heat stress to increase the sensitivity of early HRI detection and prevention. Structural barriers to HRI prevention must also be addressed.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Registration Number: NCT04234802 , date first posted 21/01/2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Past studies show that farmers are especially at risk for respiratory diseases due to occupational exposure and not using protective equipment. This study aimed to provide information about the effects of occupational pesticide exposures on the respiratory system of farmers working in Central Anatolia from a wider perspective to gain insight into the effects of pesticides and other occupational exposures on the respiratory system of farmers. Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study was conduct with a representative sample size of 380 agricultural workers living in the Central Anatolia region. Data were collected with a face-to-face questionnaire and spirometry. The chi-square test was used for testing relationships between categorical variables. The Shapiro–Wilk test was conducted to investigate the distribution characteristics of FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75 (p > 0.050), and nonparametric Mann–Whitney U tests (MW) and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to examine differences in FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF25–75 between groups. Univariate analysis was performed before multiple logistic regression analyses to identify candidate variables for the final model. Results: The median duration of pesticide use was 25.00 years. According to the FEV1 of agricultural workers, 23.16% had an FEV 1 ≤ 80% predicted. The odds for FEV1 ≤ 80% predicted was 2.44 times higher for smokers (95% CI 1.2–5.0), 1.74 times higher for those with respiratory symptoms in the past 3 months (95% CI 1.1–2.9) and 5.01 times higher for those farming 30 years and more (95% CI 1.8–14.1). Conclusion: The results of the study found that pulmonary function values of agricultural workers were lower compared to reference values. Lower FEV1 was associated with the duration of farming and smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential agricultural workers work under occupational conditions that may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission. Data from an agricultural worker cohort in Guatemala, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG (anti-N IgG) testing were used to estimate past infections and analyze risk factors associated with seropositivity at enrollment and association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The stability of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses were assessed in a subset of participants. The adjusted relative risk (aRR) for seroprevalence at enrollment was estimated accounting for correlations within worksites. At enrollment, 616 (46.2%) of 1334 (93.2%) participants had anti-N IgG results indicating prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. A cough ≤ 10 days prior to enrollment (aRR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.13–1.46) and working as a packer (aRR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.67–2.38) or packing manager within the plants (aRR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.36–2.43) were associated with increased risk of seropositivity. COVID-19 incidence density among seronegative workers was 2.3/100 Person-Years (P-Y), higher than seropositive workers (0.4/100 P-Y). Most workers with follow-up NAb testing (65/77, 84%) exhibited a 95% average decrease in NAb titers in <6 months. While participants seropositive at baseline were less likely to experience a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection during follow-up, NAb titers rapidly waned, underscoring the need for multipronged COVID-19 prevention strategies in the workplace, including vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has been well described in farmworkers in Latin America. Agricultural workers in the United States (US) are exposed to similar hot and humid working conditions, but CKDu in the US is under-described. This review aims to better understand the current literature describing the connection between heat stress and kidney function in farmworkers in the United States. Utilizing a scoping review methodology, we searched CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science databases to better understand the current state of the heat stress and kidney function research in farmworkers within the United States. In this review, 229 pieces of literature were screened. Ultimately, 4 articles were chosen to be included in the scoping review. Common themes within the articles were variations in study protocol lengths and type of heat stress measurement. Additionally, the majority of the work completed was quantitative to date, with only one study providing a critical social lens for analysis of CKDu in the United States. We found evidence that more work is needed within the US to understand the relationship between working in the heat and kidney function in agricultural and other workers who experience high heat conditions at work and are susceptible to the deleterious effects of working in said conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Farmworkers are at risk of excess exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) during their work activities, especially if they work in geographical areas with high ambient solar UVR levels such as in South Africa. Excess exposure to solar UVR may lead to several negative health effects such as certain cataracts and skin cancer. This study evaluated personal solar UVR exposure of a group of farmworkers to determine if they were at risk of health-related problems due to excess solar UVR exposure. Methods Polysulphone film (PSF) badges were placed on the shoulder, arm, and top of the head of outdoor and indoor farmworkers on a macadamia nut and avocado farm in the Limpopo province for the duration of their daily work shift to evaluate their total daily solar UVR exposure. Sixteen days were assessed for each of the three, high solar UVR seasons, i.e. autumn, spring, and summer. Results During autumn, farmworkers' arms received the highest solar UVR exposures (geometric mean (GM) = 7.8 SED, where 1 standard erythemal dose (SED) = 100 J/m2, 95% CI 6.1–9.8 SED) while the highest exposures were on the top of the head during spring (GM = 11.6 SED, 95% CI 7.3–17.4 SED) and summer (GM = 13.9, 95% CI 10.4–17.9 SED). Statistically significant differences in solar UVR exposure were found between the body sites during spring and summer but not autumn. Conclusions The relatively high daily solar UVR exposure levels of farmworkers suggest this occupational group is at risk of excess solar UVR exposure and preventive measures with awareness information to safeguard health is necessary for employers and employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fair Food Program (FFP) provides a mechanism through which agricultural workers' collective voice is expressed, heard and responded to within global value chains. The FFP's model of worker‐driven social responsibility presents an alternative to traditional corporate social responsibility. This article identifies the FFP's key components and demonstrates its resilience by identifying the ways in which the issues faced by a new group of migrant workers – recruited through a "guest‐worker" scheme – were incorporated and dealt with. This case study highlights the important potential presented by the programme to address labour abuses across transnationalized labour markets while considering early replication possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, there is increasing recognition that agricultural workers are at risk for chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology (CKD u). Recurrent heat exposure, physical exertion, dehydration, muscle damage, and inflammation are hypothesized to contribute to the development of CKD u, but the relative importance of these processes and the interactions among them remain unclear. Moreover, there is a need to identify biomarkers that could distinguish individuals who are at greatest risk for kidney damage to target preventative interventions for CKD u. In this study, we evaluated dehydration and markers of inflammation, muscle damage, and renal function in agricultural workers at a non-workday baseline assessment. Urine specific gravity and kidney function were measured before and after work shifts on three subsequent days, and heat index, core body temperature, and heart rate were monitored during the work shifts. A combination of direct comparisons and machine learning algorithms revealed that reduced levels of uromodulin and sodium in urine and increased levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein in serum were indicative of dehydration at baseline, and that dehydration, high body mass index, reduced urine uromodulin, and increased serum interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein at baseline were predictive of acute kidney injury on subsequent workdays. Our findings suggest a method for identifying agricultural workers at greatest risk for kidney injury and reveal potential mechanisms responsible for this process, including pathways overlapping in dehydration and kidney injury. These results will guide future studies confirming these mechanisms and introducing interventions to protect kidney health in this vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rates of anemia among agricultural workers, who are also at risk for kidney injury and chronic kidney disease of unknown cause (CKDu), are unknown. We evaluated body composition through the sum of three skinfolds among 203 male sugarcane cutters and assessed the relationship of variables related to nutrition, anemia (hemoglobin < 13 g/dL), and elevated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ≥ 5.7%) with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using linear regression. Eleven percent of workers were at the level of essential body fat (2–5%). Anemia was present among 13% of workers, 70% of which were normochromic normocytic, a type of anemia suggesting potential underlying chronic disease. Anemia was more common among those with lower BMI and fat free mass. The prevalence of elevated HbA1c was 21%. A moderate negative correlation was found between hemoglobin and HbA1c (Pearson's r = −0.32, p < 0.01) which suggests that HbA1c values should be interpreted with caution in populations that have high rates of anemia. Twelve percent of workers had reduced kidney function with an eGFR < 90 mL/min/1.73 m2. On average, the eGFR was 18 mL/min per 1.73 m2 lower [(95% CI:−24, −12), p < 0.01)] for those with anemia than those without, and 8 mL/min per 1.73 m2 lower among those with elevated HbA1c [(95% CI: −13, −2), p < 0.01]. Results will inform future studies examining the role of anemia in the evaluation of CKDu and interventions to improve nutrition for workers in low-resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]