The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly announced on 11 November the forthcoming “Banca Dati Appalti Agricoltura”, a central database that will list all labour contracts and sub-contracts in the agricultural sector. The initiative forms part of Italy’s broader crackdown on ‘caporalato’—the illegal gang-master system that exploits thousands of migrant seasonal workers each year. Employers wishing to tender for farm-labour services will have to register contracts in the new portal, which will be cross-checked against social-security and immigration databases to verify declared wages and work-permit validity. Companies that maintain full compliance will gain a digital “green badge” that large retailers can use in responsible-sourcing audits, while non-compliant operators risk exclusion from EU Common-Agricultural-Policy subsidies. For global food multinationals sourcing tomatoes from Puglia or citrus fruit from Calabria, the database promises enhanced supply-chain transparency and reduced reputational risk. It also dovetails with the 2027 Flussi quota, which allocates 89,000 visas for seasonal farm labour; recruiters will be able to match workers to vetted contractors, streamlining the Nulla Osta process. The platform is expected to go live in Q2 2027 after a three-month pilot in Foggia. In the interim, the ministries will run awareness webinars in multiple languages and issue a technical decree detailing data-submission formats. Employers should begin mapping their seasonal-labour chains and liaising with local consultants to prepare for mandatory registration.
Source: Ministero del Lavoro – Newsroom
