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A recent study conducted by the California Farm Bureau Federation confirms there is an acute shortage of qualified and willing agricultural workers to plant and harvest crops, with half of responding farmers experiencing employee shortages during the past year. To help alleviate the shortage, a new app aims to connect growers and workers through cutting edge technology.
The app, Ganaz, enables employers to connect with large numbers of farm workers to recruit, engage and retain their multilingual labor force at the touch of a button. Producers are able to send job postings directly out to interested farm workers, broadcast urgent messages straight to the entire workforce and translate instantly into the language of the workforce.
The Ganaz app allows producers are able to post jobs in just seconds and get them back in touch with all of last year's workers with details on the upcoming season, pay and benefits. The app is designed to keep farmers in touch with workers from year to year, even if they change their phone numbers. Employers can also survey their crews anonymously to learn more about what makes people stay and what makes people leave their company.
Co-founded by Hannah Freeman, Ganaz is the ideal communition tool for today’s ever changing world of farm worker recruitment. “After years of talking with growers and hearing how corrupt the recruitment process is, I realized there are some really great farms out there. I have a passion to help farm workers find those great farms, “ she said. “With smart phone usage taking off all over the world I saw this as an opportunity to help growers meet their needs and helping farm workers find their way. It’s the same passion that I had at Fair trade USA translated into a business opportunity.”
Ganaz provides tools to draft translate and communicate messages to work crews in seconds and can send text messages to workers that don't have the Ganaz app. Additionally, The Ganaz team provides Ag Labor News, which has info on wages and migration and tips on recruiting & retention.
The app is simple to use. Simply download the Ganaz app on an iPhone or Android device. Potential and current workers can be added directly into the app by entering their phone number and sending them an invitation, or Ganaz can send a spreadsheet with workers’ phone numbers to info@GanazApp.com and Ganaz will invite them.
Hannah said Ganaz’s mission is to build well-being and prosperity for workers and industry by harnessing the power of information exchange to promote good jobs, thriving workplaces and healthy communities.
Ganaz is currently available in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, California and Florida and is developing services in Mexico. Their long term goal is to be a trusted source of job information for the worlds low wage workers and address the labor shortage world-wide
