Prime minister Boris Johnson has been pushed on the need for urgent action on visas for migrant seasonal workers in farming and food production by the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) committee of MPs, Neil Parish.
“We request urgent action on labour shortages affecting the food and farming sector, following an evidence session held with producers and growers,” Mr Parish wrote to the PM at the end of October. “We have heard how a combination of the pandemic and the loss of access to European labour has caused an unprecedented labour shortage, leaving some in the sector frightened about their future.”
While welcoming steps such as additional visas for HGV drivers, he said further immediate action was needed, together with a “long-term sustainable solution to labour shortages that would allow our growers to deliver the government’s ambitions on food security and provide the sector with the certainty it needs to continue producing crops.”
He said evidence from industry representatives, gathered during the inquiry, made it clear growers were aware of the need to ‘play their part’ to increase employment of domestic workers and invest in new technology. He added: “Such solutions cannot be delivered overnight. We hope the government will take the necessary action to support the sector through the immediate challenges it faces, while more sustainable solutions are put in place.”
NFU vice-president Tom Bradshaw told the inquiry there had been a 34% shortfall in seasonal horticultural labour this year, even with the seasonal workers pilot scheme. “I have never seen the industry in the position it is in now and the real lack of confidence is crippling the sector,” he said.
“It is within the gift of this government to put solutions in place that will mean this [is not repeated] next year, but they need to happen very urgently. The lack of confidence that we have at the moment means investment plans are being put on hold and many businesses are mothballing facilities.
“Without the 30,000 on the seasonal workers pilot, it would have been an absolute catastrophe. As it is, there is far more wastage than we have seen at any point since we have been running our [labour] surveys.”
Mr Bradshaw said the seasonal workers scheme must be made permanent. “We cannot have this uncertainty going towards Christmas every year when we still don’t know whether we have a scheme in place or not,” he said.
In written evidence British Growers Association chief executive Jack Ward highlighted staff ‘poaching’ as a new problem in 2021. “We have received reports of recruiters entering fields looking to poach staff to work in other sectors, notably hospitality,” he said.
“Competition for staff has led to something of a bidding frenzy as growers increased wage rates to hold on to staff. And while better rates are clearly a benefit in attracting staff, the margins in fresh produce leave little room for manoeuvre. Businesses offering £250 per day are struggling to recruit.”
Mr Ward said it was time to move away from “the cat and mouse approach we seem to have with this government to recruitment for our sector.” He added: “There is [currently] no obvious alternative to the use of staff and in the absence of recruits from the UK the only alternative is to look further afield.”
Cornish vegetable grower Riviera Produce was among those giving evidence to the inquiry.
“We have left more than £500,000 of produce to rot in the fields [this year] as we have not had enough staff to care for and harvest these crops,” it told EFRA.
“We cannot emphasis enough how important making the seasonal workers scheme permanent is. Without it the horticultural industry in the UK is finished, it is that serious.
“We are now sowing seeds for crops to be planted for next summer. If we do not have the scheme we will stop planting and have to close our business putting many local people out of work. All other brassica and courgette growers in the UK will have to do the same.
Horticulture’s labour shortage is unprecedented, EFRA chairman Neil Parish has told prime minister Boris Johnson.
Photo – EFRA chairman Neil Parish