From furlough to furrow, Scotland’s new Land Army
Even airline pilots sign up to pick fruit and veg
A MODERN-DAY Land Army of furloughed workers is being recruited to save Scotland’s multimillion-pound soft fruit industry.
For years farmers have relied on workers from Eastern Europe – and sometimes farther afield – to pick their crops because Scots have been reluctant to sign up to roles in the polytunnels and fields.
But with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to many people losing their jobs or being furloughed, fruit and vegetable growers have been inundated with applications from Scots looking for work.
Like the Land Army of the darkest days of the Second World War, which was mobilised to keep Britain fed, thousands of Scots want to sign up.
From fisherman and joiners to glaziers and even airline pilots – as well as students who want to earn summer cash – ordinary people have applied for jobs picking vegetables as well as the strawberries and raspberries for which Scotland is famed.
In an attempt to stop the spread of the deadly virus, flights from eastern Europe have been cancelled, resulting in many who would normally travel here for work being stranded in their own countries. Sally and Iain Brown, owners of Easter Grangemuir Farm in Pittenweem, Fife, typically hire around 170 workers to pick their strawberries and broccoli, for the living wage of £9.30 an hour.
The farm has had interest from a number of furloughed workers.
Mrs Brown said: ‘It has been amazing listening to their stories.
‘I would love to get a Scottish army of about 50 or 60 to start us off in May. The response has been phenomenal. The communities where we live are all pulling together to help and the community spirit is there, too.’
In recent years Scottish farmers have struggled to find enough staff to harvest their crops – prompting the Home Office to set up a scheme to supply six-month visas to nonEU migrant workers to the UK.
The initiative – announced in 2018 – has been a success and this year it was announced that UK farmers could recruit up to 10,000 foreign workers, up from 2,500 last year.
But the coronavirus outbreak has led to cancelled flights and uncertainty growing, with the country in lockdown for another three weeks.
The National Farmers Union (NFU) launched a recruitment drive to encourage people to apply to pick fruit and vegetables at farms across the UK.
A spokesman said: ‘A number of the posts available on fruit and veg farms across Scotland have been potentially filled.’
Mrs Brown said: ‘With flights cancelled from eastern Europe we are not getting our normal numbers coming over. We’ve been inundated with emails and calls from people looking for work.’
Mrs Brown will now send out a video demonstrating how to pick using the correct technique, so that inexperienced workers know what is expected – while practising social distancing – when the season starts next month.
She said: ‘The only real concern is that people stick at it, it is a big ask.
But I do hope people will want out and to earn some extra money. There is money to be made without a doubt, our top pickers earn a lot.’
James Porter, NFU Scotland horticulture chairman and owner of East Scryne Fruit near Carnoustie, Angus, said that while there is still a problem securing enough workers it is ‘heartening’ that so many people have shown interest.
His farm has had around 300 applications so far, with 76 people – mainly Scots – offered work.
Mr Porter said it gives the farming industry an opportunity to encourage a local workforce and offer ‘the chance to do something useful and productive and earn a bit of money’.
He said he still hopes to hire loyal overseas workers who have already signed contracts for this year, when it is safe to do so.
Mr Porter added: ‘I have been really impressed by the response so far.’
‘The response has been phenomenal’