VIDEO: Commissioner Nikki Fried, FDACS Launch Historic Statewide Farmworker Advisory Council

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried provided welcoming remarks to kick off the inaugural meeting of the Florida Farmworker Advisory Council, the first Farmworker Advisory Council under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Farmworkers have been without representation on the Florida Cabinet since the previous statewide council representing the farmworker community in Florida, which was established in 1979 by then-Governor Bob Graham, was disbanded.

VIDEO: A livestream video of the meeting, including welcoming remarks by Commissioner Fried, may be viewed here via the Florida Channel.

“During my time in office, I have made the safety and well-being of farmworkers a priority in my Department – from our efforts throughout COVID to provide PPE, testing, vaccines, and education, to raising awareness of the risks of heat illness, to our Department’s denial of the dangerous pesticide aldicarb earlier this year,” said Commissioner Fried. “Our farmworkers help feed 150 million Americans each year, ensuring every day that food is brought to the tables of not only our fellow Floridians but the entire country – even in the face of increased risks to their own well-being throughout the pandemic. Unfortunately, their health and safety needs are too often ignored. That’s why what we are doing with this Council is so important, formalizing the partnerships with farmworker advocates built over the two and a half years I’ve been in office and providing those who feed our families a voice on the Florida Cabinet.”

Commissioner Fried has been a strong advocate for farmworkers, pushing for increased COVID-19 testing, access to vaccines as essential workers, healthcare and protective gear, cultural respect, and pandemic and heat illness awareness. Farmworkers face one of the highest risks of death from COVID-19, and a risk of heat-related death twenty times higher than other workers. Commissioner Fried also noted the risk to human health when FDACS denied the usage of the aldicarb pesticide on citrus crops in Florida in April 2021.

Commissioner Fried announced the creation of the FDACS Farmworker Advisory Council in June at an event where she also recognized June 29, 2021, as Farmworker Appreciation Day in the State of Florida. FDACS’ Farmworker Advisory Council will meet quarterly to address the concerns of farmworkers, farmers, private groups, public agencies, individual citizens, and agricultural employers regarding working, living, economic, and environmental conditions for farmworkers in Florida.

The membership of the Farmworker Advisory Council includes:

• Antonio Tovar, Executive Director, Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.
• Arturo Lopez, Executive Director, Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations
• Carlos Perez, President, Farmworker Coordinating Council of Palm Beach County, Inc.
• Father Frank O’Loughlin, Executive Director, Guatemalan-Maya Center
• Gene McAvoy, Associate Director of Stakeholder Relations, UF/IFAS
• Gerardo Reyes Chavez, Organizer/SME, Coalition of Immokalee Workers
• Isabel Garcia, Executive Director, Redlands Christian Migrant Association
• Jessica Calderon, Human Resources Director, Wish Farms, Inc.
• John Martinez, Executive Director, Centro Campesino Farmworker Center, Inc.
• Jon Esformes, CEO, Sunripe Certified Brands
• Karen Woodall, Executive Director, Florida People’s Advocacy Center
• Manny Hevia, President, M&M Farm, Inc.
• Oscar Londoño, Executive Director, WeCount!
• Richard Crockett, Portfolio Director, AgVictus Capital Management
• Susan Rubio Rivera, Executive Director, M.U.J.E.R. Inc.
• Victoria Mesa-Estrada, Senior Staff Attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Immigrant Justice Project

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