Government calls for university students to pick fruit and veg amid coronavirus outbreak

The government is calling for furloughed workers and university students to pick fruit and vegetables amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The national ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign is expected to launch this week after a shortfall in temporary workers as a result of travel restrictions. 

Seasonal vegetable picking in the UK lasts from the end of May until mid-October, and the government is expecting a shortfall of 70,000 workers. If this deficit is not addressed British agricultural produce, such as strawberries, will go unpicked and will rot in the fields.

To combat this, companies who know their employees are out of work indefinitely, can sign up to a database to help farming businesses find workers they need.  

According to TotalJobs, the number of searches for jobs over the last month has increased by 83% and there have been 50,000 searches for farming jobs in the last week.

Jack Ward, CEO of the British Growers Association, has labelled the response so far as “terrific”.

“We’ve had a really good response, but we have been trying to do as much as we can without relying on government help,” he added. 

The agricultural worker deficit is also a European problem with countries such as Spain, Italy, France, and Germany relying heavily on imported labour for annual harvests. Around 90% of Italian farm workers are seasonal.

John Greene, a farmer in Ireland, usually hires a team of workers who come over from Slovakia to pick strawberries. 

We need to mobilise the British workforce to fill that gap and make sure our excellent fruit and vegetables are on people’s plates over the summer months

– George Eustice

He said: “I look out my window and there’s no one to pick it. None of them are on site at the moment.”

Vice-president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), Tom Bradshaw said: “We are nervous, but we’re hopeful the British public will step up to the challenge in the national interest.

“Obviously picking is quite labour-intensive, and this is a commercial operation, so there will need to be some give and take between farms and those willing to put themselves forward to make sure it works for everyone.

“But we have been working closely with government on the scheme, and they have taken steps to make it easier for people to get involved – for example, by allowing furloughed workers to take on a second job.”

In a bid to combat the growing uncertainty around food resources, the secretary for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, George Eustice said: “We need to mobilise the British workforce to fill that gap and make sure our excellent fruit and vegetables are on people’s plates over the summer months. 

“There are already brilliant recruitment efforts underway by industry and I would encourage as many people as possible to sign up.”

Lois Gilhooly, a Politics and International Studies and Global Sustainable Development student at the University of Warwick said: “I think it’s a fabulous idea to get students out during lockdown and doing something productive. It could have a positive impact on mental health and will help the economy tide over in the meantime.

“However, there should be no imperative to do so. The offer should be open to those who wish to partake and shouldn’t be forced upon students,” she added.