Cancer, lung disease, miscarriages: are Uruguay's rice workers paying too high a price to bring in the crop?

"Julio de los Santos, now 50, noticed something was wrong when he began losing his strength and experiencing pain in his legs and kidneys. He couldn't hold tools and could barely stand. His visits to the doctor became more frequent until he ended up in intensive care, where his wife was told to prepare for the worst. He survived, but today depends on more than 30 medications and a ventilator."

"In 2018, doctors had diagnosed De los Santos with an occupational illness caused by exposure to agrochemicals. Uruguay's human rights institute recommended relocating his family from the area where he worked in the east of the country a place where a school sits less than 300 metres from plantations and where crop-dusting planes pass overhead. Julio de los Santos can no longer work due to illness"

"The rice industry, often considered an engine of Uruguay's economy, employs about 30,000 workers and comprises than 500 growers and farms, mainly in the east and north of the country, according to the ministry of agriculture. They have made Uruguay Latin America's second-largest rice exporter a remarkable achievement for a country with a population of about 3.5 million. Between 2024 and 2025, the sector grew by 24%, and 95% of its production was exported."

Julio de los Santos, 50, developed progressive loss of strength, leg and kidney pain, could not hold tools, and required intensive care; he now relies on more than 30 medications and a ventilator. In 2018 doctors diagnosed an occupational illness linked to agrochemical exposure. Uruguay's human rights institute recommended relocating his family from the east region, where a school sits less than 300 metres from plantations and crop-dusting planes fly overhead. The rice industry employs about 30,000 workers across over 500 farms, drives exports, grew 24% between 2024–2025, and exports 95% of production, generating profits exceeding $500m. Researchers, trade unionists, and workers have raised concerns about failures to monitor and protect worker health despite international pesticide and ozone-convention ratifications.

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