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UK farmers desperately need people to pick fruit and vegetable: here's what you can do to help

 Strawberry Picking in Favesham - DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS
Strawberry Picking in Favesham - DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS

In the last month the UK has seen a wave of panic-buying that has left the country in despair. Despite assurances that there is no shortage of supplies, measures have had to be put into place to ensure the public stop bulk-buying packs of toilet roll, bags of pasta and tinned goods.

However, unless the British farming industry fills the 90,000 fruit- and vegetable-picking jobs currently required, a scarcity of fresh vegetables and fruit may be a reality as produce is left to rot in the fields.

“In recent years as much as 98 per cent of seasonal workers have come from eastern European countries, like Bulgaria and Romania,” says Nick Marston, chairman of British Summer Fruits, which this year is launching an initiative to encourage more people to apply for seasonal picking jobs.

“We do have a reasonable number of workers already living here, a community built up from seasonal workers who have moved here permanently, but this alone is not enough. Picking season really takes off in April and May when the strawberries ripen, and then we have raspberries, blueberries and blackberries," Marston explains. "I’m anticipating a significant shortfall in workers from outside the UK applying for these positions, which is worrying.”

Some large farms have begun chartering flights to bring in labour from eastern Europe, but plans being discussed by the National Farmers’ Union, Association of Labour Providers and the charity Concordia to do the same have been foiled by country lockdowns and grounded airlines. British Summer Fruits has chosen against such a measure. “That plan may work in the short-term, but I think it’s inappropriate to use this as a long-term solution when we have people in this country out of work and in need of an income. We need their help, and they need our help,” says Marston.

The problem has arisen at a time when seasonal positions are already becoming increasingly difficult to fill. “The whole of northern Europe is has been finding it difficult to recruit,” explains Marston.

“Eastern European economies such as that of Romania have seen falls in employment, and uncertainties over Brexit haven’t helped.” The government has put into place a seasonal visa scheme to help recruit workers from all around the world post-Brexit, but the Covid-19 crisis has rendered this a moot point for now.

Picking raspberries in Rochester - Dan Kitwood
Picking raspberries in Rochester - Dan Kitwood

“We’re entering a time of the year when we become self-sufficient in a lot of fresh produce,” Marston tells me. “In the summer we grow 95 per cent of our berries at home, 100 per cent of our broccoli and 100 per cent of our carrots. It’s hugely important we get these crops out of the ground and into supermarkets.”

April 23 is officially the start of British asparagus season, but with so many jobs to fill in so little time, it is possible that hundreds of thousands of stalks could go unpicked. Despite the size of the job at hand, Marston remains hopeful about the willingness of the British public. “It’s a tough ask, I know that. But I’ve seen a lot of interest lately, and there’s a lot of flexibility around farm work.”

British Summer Fruits has recently set up web pages on both the Love Fresh Berries website and its own, providing an interactive map for job seekers to find their own area and hover over pins to find out the available jobs. Though permanent jobs are likely to be the only ones on show, Marston assures me that it is easy to arrange your own hours with the individual farm to suit you. “At the moment, I think farmers will be pleased with any help they can get.”

Similarly, Concordia, working in partnership with seasonal labour service HOPS and recruiter Fruitful Jobs, has launched ‘Feed the Nation’ - a ‘dig for victory’-esque recruitment drive aiming to mobilise the newly or temporarily unemployed workforce. It is currently seeking government support to give the campaign a boost, though this is yet to materialise.

As for the job itself, first-time pickers needn’t worry about lack of experience. Farms are well-practiced in training new workers, and so the only requirement is that you are 18 or over, fit, healthy, and willing to get stuck into some manual labour. It’s true that the hard graft of picking is no picnic, but think of it as your daily dose of exercise, extended over some hours (and you’re helping to prop up the country’s food supply, while you’re at it).

And to answer the question on the lips of many, the work is paid. Marston tells me the wage for fruit picking can vary between £11 an hour and £15 an hour, depending on productivity. This does, however, mean that applying for seasonal work could potentially affect your eligibility for certain benefits offered by the government during the pandemic, so check this before you apply.

The hospitality and service industry is one of the worst hit by the coronavirus crisis; chefs, kitchen porters, front of house staff, bar staff and scores of others involved in the running of a successful restaurant, bar, pub or cafe have been left jobless. But helping farms to harvest their fresh produce is a fantastic way of ensuring the nation remains well fed until business resumes.

Where you can apply for seasonal fruit and veg picking work: