Farm workers in the Mexican border state of Baja California have led a week of violent protests over low pay, abuses and the generally poor working conditions they suffer.

The heated demonstrations have threatened to interrupt a harvest that supplies millions of dollars worth of tomatoes, strawberries, as well as other crops to the United States.

Hundreds of farm workers have blocked Baja's main north-south highway by burning tires and tossing rocks at vehicles.

As of Tuesday, as many 50,000 farm workers are believed to be on strike across the Mexican state.

Francisco Vega, the governor of Baja California, has stated that thousands of jobs were at risk.

As reported in an Associated Press article, Vega informed the press, via an official statement, that "If the fields continue without a workforce, the harvests will be lost and that will affect everyone who depends on this part of the economy."

The protesting farm workers, many of whom are migrants from southern Mexican states like Guerrero and Oaxaca, are demanding healthcare, overtime pay, days off, and an end to abuses by field bosses.

Currently many of these farm workers earn about $8 for a full day of labor.

Businesses in the area have closed, and the highway blockades have prompted the U.S. consulate in Tijuana to advise travelers to exercise caution.

Two-hundred people have been arrested as the demonstrations have turned into rock-throwing altercations with the riot police.

In an effort to curb the violence, Baja California's state government has sent out police armored vehicles to break up road blockades, warning the protesters "that there will be no tolerance for those who use demonstrations to act outside the law."

After protesters complained of police abuses and detentions, Mexico's National Human Rights Commission announced that it has begun an investigation into possible human rights violations.