Migrant fruit-picker scheme ‘no more than a sop’, says farmer

WEST farmers have warned that a new seasonal workers pilot scheme, set to provide 2,500 places for agricultural workers from outside Europe, “will not be enough” to fully tackle the labour shortfall the industry faces.

Announced by the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary, Michael Gove in September last year, the pilot opened for applications this week and will allow fruit and vegetable farmers to employ migrant workers for up to six months.

Recruiters Concordia and ProForce have been licensed to manage the pilot and the first workers are expected to arrive on UK farms this spring, subject to recruitment and visa application processes.

But for Cornish grower Jeremy Best, owner of Mitchell Fruit Garden near Newquay, 2,500 permits is “nothing more than a sop”.

“We need more like 95,000 workers to make up the shortfall, so 2,500 is a joke actually,” said Mr Best, who relies largely on workers from the Czech Republic to harvest a range of soft fruits, including strawberries, for retail outlets and wholesalers.

“The NFU (National Farmers’ Union) wanted a research trial in 2016-17, so the Government is reluctantly starting it now. Give them their dues, they are doing something, but if you’re going to do it then make it 25,000 or 35,000 places at least.”

Mr Best also fears that the shortage of field workers will in turn have implications for those in the food processing sector.

“If we don’t have the workers to get the crops off the field then there is going to be another lot of people out of work.”