FINAL SAY Fen Tiger We need more farm workers
With many farms suff ering from a labour shortage, it’s high time politicians encouraged more people to work on the land, says Fen Tiger
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upporting British farm- ers is a Big Thing at the moment – and politi- cians seem to be bend-
ing over backwards to prove their farming credentials. Any- one would think a general elec- tion is imminent and they are af- ter our votes.
Continuing this vein of
thought, I have a question prompted by a recent visit to my local supermarket, where I saw that one of my favourite fruits came from Peru. I accept that blueberries are not exactly grown in abundance locally, but surely they could be sourced from clos- er to home?
I know of farms that are con- tracted to grow blueberries for the supermarkets – but there are none in my local shop. It is the same for the local apples. Where are they? According to the NFU, almost 16m of our apples will be left unpicked and rot in the or- chards this year.
Why? Because there are not simply enough workers to pick them. If, like me, you are old enough,
cast your mind back to a time when the nation’s farmers relied on an army of pickers. These were usually local people who were prepared to work hard long hours
for cash. And local farmers would arrange transport for all the workers.
Common sight Local pickers were supported by travellers and students – often permitted to work temporarily under a Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme. It was a com- mon
sight.Yet today, Scottish strawberries, East Anglian let- tuces and local raspberries are all having the same problem: lack of pickers. Farmers face considerable losses – and not just in fi nancial terms. Stress levels are through the roof. In some cases, farms are considering reducing the acreage grown or dispensing of plants rather than going to the expense of leaving the fruit unpicked. One big grower is even openly talking of moving out of the UK and relocating to other coun- tries where labour is more read- ily available. And who can blame them?
This comes at a time when the environment is on everybody’s hit list. Locally grown food has nev- er been more popular. Food miles and transport costs need to be ad- dressed. People want food from nearby rather than buying it from a huge industrial scale business
thousands of miles away. Fruit tastes far better when it comes from your local farm shop too. And it is important that the labour is available to pick it. I never understand why overseas workers aren’t allowed to do so. They often come from countries with severe economic problems and they do a good job.
Win-win situation Some people may consider farm work low paid. But seasonal workers from overseas can earn more picking fruit in the UK than they can earn in their own coun- try. It’s a win-win situation all around, supporting British farms while enabling them to send mon- ey back home.
Some people blame Brexit for
the lack of pickers – but that’s not always the case. It’s true that the falling pound has made it less lucrative for peo- ple to come here and work. It’s also true that some people from overseas feel less welcome and less inclined to come here since the UK voted to leave the Euro- pean Union.
Uncertainty over travel ar- rangements and visas does not help either. Even if they want to, it is harder for overseas workers to come to the UK because the government’s pilot Seasonal Agri- cultural Workers Scheme allows in only a fraction of those needed. It all means that more fruit is being sourced from further afi eld, rather than grown and eaten lo- cally in the UK. That is bad news
for UK consumers, bad news for British growers and bad news for seasonal workers too.
Local jobs In all of this, one main question needs addressing: why don’t local people want to fi ll the job vacan- cies? Is it the low rate of pay? Is it that they don’t like hard work? Or is it simply that they don’t want to work at all? Minimum wage rates are often
blamed. But I think the reasons run much deeper: many young people today don’t want to work on the land – and certainly not in all weathers. After all, it is cer- tainly true that there are easier ways to make more money. With that in mind, it is im- portant that we attract and give more encouragement to those who do want to work in agri- culture. There are some fi ne, hard-working and reliable peo- ple out there – from overseas as well as from closer to home. The government has a key role
to play in this – by making the pi- lot Seasonal Agricultural Work- ers Scheme permanent and in- creasing the number of people it allows into the UK. We have a key role too – in ensuring that work- ing conditions are the best and the industry is vibrant. Many of us are doing this al-
ready. It is high time the govern- ment followed suit. Otherwise a key sector of the rural econo- my risks being confi ned to histo- ry. And that is something none of us want to see.
“One big grower is even openly talking of moving out of the UK – and who can blame them?”
74 ANGLIA FARMER •DECEMBER 2019
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