In mid-July, a joint delegation comprising Shirly Raisin-Sasson (director of the Bilateral Agreements Division at PIBA), Adv. Ishai Pollack (CEO of the Farmers’ Federation of Israel ), Jessica Pearlman (representative of the Israel Farmers’ Federation and director of the internship program, Ramat Negev Regional Council), and Margarita Gorodnitsky (senior deputy director, CIMI) flew to Malawi. The purpose of the mission was for the delegates to get to know their Malawian partners, prepare for implementation of the agreement, and, specifically, to brief the relevant staff about the process of interviews and professional screening that would meet the expectations and needs of the farmers in Israel. It was decided to recruit 500 agricultural workers in the initial pilot stage of implementation.
During the visit, there was an official reception with representatives of various government ministries (agriculture, labour, health, migration, and foreign affairs), who presented their ministries’ development plans for the labour market population, particularly in the field of agriculture. Two full days were devoted to training sessions in two of the country’s districts. The sessions were attended by representatives of the Ministry of Labour, which is responsible for implementation of the agreement, and of the other ministries. During the two days, the interviewers conducted simulations amongst themselves before conducting the actual interviews with the first candidates who had registered for the program. Those who passed the interviews will then go through the rest of the recruitment process under the terms of the bilateral agreements.
During their visit, the delegates also visited a sugar farm and factory and were honored by the presence of the Minister of Labour at their final meeting. Even though the delegates stayed only four days, the schedule was very intensive and they left with a sense of satisfaction, chiefly due to the level of seriousness and commitment shown by their Malawian counterparts.
Although this was only a preliminary step in the implementation of the new bilateral agreement, it was very important to set up the recruitment infrastructure and start to bring agricultural workers to Israel from more countries in addition to Thailand. There is currently a palpable shortage of agricultural workers in Israel and it is imperative to formulate strategy to prepare for the days after the war, to ensure that Israel does not become dependent on a single source.
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