‘Squeeze’ on seasonal staff has already begun
Ever since the Brexit vote last year, farmers have expressed concern over the consequences of losing migrant workers who pick fruit, look after livestock and generally provide a significant percentage of the agricultural workforce.
This week a survey carried out by the English NFU has confirmed that this drift from working in the UK has already started, with a 29 per cent shortfall in seasonal workers for horticulture businesses in England in the past month.
According to the union, farmers are already feeling the impact, with the cost of food production rising through higher wages, reduced picking rates and, in some cases, crops being left un-harvested.
The NFU has warned that the supply chain could face “significant disruption” next year unless the government takes immediate action to prevent a shortfall of workers.
NFU deputy president Minette Batters said: “The British horticulture industry is critically important to British agriculture, providing vital jobs and value to the economy.
“As an industry, we have theopportunitytoenhance our home-grown food production and increasing the amount of fruit and veg we grow should be a central part of that.
“The situation for farms has become a lot more challenging and farmers are already experiencing the serious effects a lack of workers can have on a business, with some being forced to not harvest crops.
“If the industry continues to see serious shortfalls in the availability of workers, the knock-on effects for the supply chain and the public could be serious.
“Access to a competent and reliable workforce is vital for our food production, especially in a time of record low levels of UK unemployment.”
She said she wanted to see the government taking action in the coming months to prevent a future shortfall in labour.
“The simplest measure would be a tried and tested seasonal agricultural workers scheme open to non-eu workers to top-up the access we have now to EU nationals,” she added.
“Post-brexit, we need to see an immigration policy that is based on fact and business need and recognises the importance and seasonality of workers across all skill levels.”