Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
e. 1. Assessment of Need. Provide an assessment of the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
Current Narrative:
Arkansas is a major producer of a variety of agronomic crops. Agriculture is Arkansas’ largest industry, adding around $16 billion to the state’s economy annually. The Natural State’s diverse landscape and climate produce a wide variety of Arkansas agricultural products. Arkansas is a major exporter of rice, soybeans, cotton, poultry and feed grains. There are 49,346 farms statewide and 97 percent of Arkansas’ farms are family-owned. A mere 16 percent of Arkansas’ farms account for a whopping 92 percent of production.
The production of these crops is centered in the eastern third of the state but there are notable concentrations elsewhere, particularly in the river valleys of the Arkansas River (central Arkansas) and the Red River (southwest Arkansas).
Commercial and greenhouse production of fruit, vegetable, ornamental, and turfgrass crops are also economically important in many sections of the state.
Agriculture Activity
According to the University of Arkansas — Division of Agriculture Research and Extension’ 2019 Arkansas Agricultural Profile, 42% of Arkansas land was comprised of farms. There were 42,500 farms on 13.9 million acres, with the average farm size of 327 acres.
In terms of cash receipts, Arkansas’ top agricultural commodities were Soybeans, Rice, Corn, Cotton, and Wheat.
Assessing the unique needs of the MSFW population in Arkansas, like many other states, presents several challenges. The MSFW is difficult to identify, share information with or locate. Despite high agricultural activity within the state, it appears a significant number MSFWs pass through Arkansas for seasonal work and continue to other states, looking at Arkansas as merely a “stopover”.
Typical comments from Employers and their permanent, full-time field supervisors suggest that MSFs come here to work, earn their money and move to the next location. They most generally are sending a significant portion of their pay to their families and must bring in a paycheck. They have no time for training for other employment, unless they can no longer work in the fields due to age, health or other factors. Employers, obviously, want to keep these valued workers and would be reluctant to encourage training or employment outside of meeting the agricultural needs they have.
Other factors such as healthcare, schooling for children, employer requirements, rights, insurance, health & safety information, availability of adequate work clothing and transportation, among others, are needs of the MSFWs. Lack of identification and contact makes it difficult to know how great the needs are. MSFWs are rarely provided transportation to be able to come to town or a career center. Career centers are not available when they are not working. The needed information must be brought to the MSFW in the fields, communities, or frequented businesses/services they utilize.