Fruit farm industry hits out at ‘ridiculous’ plan.

Low visa count proposed will ‘not achieve anything’ for fruit and vegetable industry

Farmers in Tayside and Fife have led the backlash against a “ridiculous” plan to issue only 2,500 visas a year to overseas pickers. Home Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed yesterday a migrant workers scheme to ease the labour shortages that threatens to bring Britain’s fruit and vegetable industry to its knees. Farming collective Angus Growers said the low numbers mean the pilot will do little to improve their recruitment crisis. The pilot will last two years and provide a 2,500-strong annual workforce from outside the European Economic Area. The visas will last six months, starting in spring next year. William Houston, from Angus Growers, expects to be short of at least 600 pickers again next year. He said the small number of visas available will “not achieve anything significant for the industry”. Mr Houston added: “It’s kind of crazy because they’ve obviously done the work to calculate what’s needed to allow people to come here and enable them to work and everything else. “But then they’ve cut short on actually making it worthwhile because there aren’t enough people. “It’s as ridiculous as anything else to do with Brexit.” Pete Wishart, the Perthshire MP who chairs Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee, said he was glad the UK Government has started to listen to farmers, but slammed the numbers involved as “quite frankly absurd”. “Farmers in my constituency have already acknowledged that this number is abysmally low given the number of workers that the sector actually requires,” the SNP politician said. Murdo Fraser, the Perthshire MSP, said the trial showed the Conservatives are listening to farmers and acting on their concerns. He praised Kirstene Hair, the Tories’ Angus MP, for leading the campaign to revive the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. Ms Hair said she had spoken to farmers and industry bodies, who all warmly welcomed the move. “This is a strong starting point and I have reassured the industry that I will also continue to monitor the scheme once it has been implemented to ensure it meets the demands of the industry,” she added. Mr Javid said: “This pilot will ensure farmers have access to the seasonal labour they need.”

The government has provided cold comfort for the farmers of Tayside and Fife after a summer of discontent in their fields. Repeated warnings of a shortage of migrant labour went unheeded and fruit and vegetables rotted, unpicked, where they grew. The two-year pilot scheme to grant 2,500 post-Brexit visas to migrant workers, announced by Home Secretary Sajid Javid, has been condemned by those most affected — the farmers whose livelihoods will be under threat until their workforces are brought to full strength. While any number of extra hands is to be welcomed, the scheme amounts to a little for major concerns like those which operate in Tayside and Fife — and upon which so much of our economy depends. The issue is not just related to Brexit but had its roots in the removal of the seasonal agricultural workers’ scheme. Anecdotally, however, the ongoing dispute between the UK and EU has not helped create the conditions conducive to attracting the necessary labour. Local politicians deserve praise for keeping the issue high on the government agenda when it may have been easier to toe a more party-friendly line. She and her parliamentary colleagues of all parties must keep it there and ensure the beleaguered farms in her constituency and its neighbours, are given the extra help they need.

Picture: Paul Smith. Eastern European fruit picker Jianu Elena Madacily.