Italy's southern Apulia region on Saturday imposed a ban on farm work during the hottest hours of the day, following the death of a migrant worker.

Apulia President Michele Emigliano signed an ordinance that bans work between 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm by those in the agricultural sector with prolonged exposure to the sun, according to a risk assessment that measures the level of physical activity and the outside temperature.

The limited ban, which takes effect immediately, extends until August 31, according to a press release from the regional authorities.

Migrant worker Camara Fantamadi, a 27-year-old from Mali, collapsed and died Wednesday in the countryside outside Brindisi while riding his bike home. He head worked four hours in the fields in temperatures that reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

Italy is in the midst of a heatwave with temperatures in some southern areas expected to rise even higher to 44C or 45C, meteorologists say.

Thousands of illegal temporary farmhands from Africa and eastern Europe work in Italy's fields picking fruit and vegetables. They are often paid low wages and live in substandard conditions in makeshift camps.

Many work without contracts under an illegal but well-established system known as "caporalato", which sees them do long hours in the fields for wages well below the national minimum.

Workers are forced to pay rent to so-called "caporali," or intermediaries -- sometimes from local mafias -- who run squats and organise the daily recruitment and transport of workers to the fields.

News reports said that Fantamadi was being paid six euros per hour for his work.

The mayor of Brindisi, Riccardo Rossi, was the first on Friday to impose the working ban.

In an interview Saturday with RaiNews24, he said there had been no medical resources at the working site for Fantamadi and other farmhands.

An investigation had been opened into his death, he said.

"This is an inhumane death," Rossi said. "These are conditions in the fields that are not acceptable, especially during these hours and temperatures. This should be regulated."

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