Written by Classical Liberal
According to the Daily Mail, the UK faces a chronic shortage of seasonal fruit and veg pickers, apparent risks for us all. Farms will go out of business as they cannot pick all their crops in time to sell them. We will face increased prices and shortages of certain foods.
It is estimated that the UK needs 500,000 workers across the food supply sector: pickers, packers, processors, and drivers. Vegetable growers have been forced to increase wages by up to 60% – up to almost £20 an hour in some cases – to combat the chronic labour shortage. (Albeit many food picking, packing, and processing jobs are being advertised online at £11 to £12 an hour, so the labour shortage might not be so dire in certain areas.)
The MSM has gleefully blamed Brexit for driving away thousands of foreign pickers and packers who kept British farms afloat. COVID has compounded these difficulties by making it nearly impossible to fly in foreign workers on seasonal contracts this summer. The MSM has also enjoyed hectoring us that not enough Britons are willing to apply for these jobs.
The MSM believes that we should reverse Brexit if we want to continue to eat cheap food, essentially picked and packed by Eastern Europeans. Is it all doom-and-gloom? Or is there a solution to this seemingly wicked dilemma? After all, we dug for victory in the Second World War, when Nazi U-boats tried to starve us into submission.
Several possible solutions have been mentioned in the debates about this.
Firstly, UK farmers should embrace robots and other technology that will enable them to be much less reliant upon people to pick and pack. This is an excellent idea in many ways. Especially if it prompts the UK to develop world-leading technology, which could also be sold to other countries. However, this is not an option for all, as many small farms would not afford the considerable investment needed. And, larger farms may need to increase prices to pay for these robots.
Secondly, if UK farmers cannot get enough Britons to perform this work at current wage rates, classical economics suggests that they will have to raise the wages until they can attract enough British workers to pick and pack. Of course, these increased costs will then be passed on to the consumer. Consumers can then decide if they want these foods enough to pay more for them.
Thirdly, if some foods become increasingly scarce, we may have to learn to live without them; or substitute alternatives for them that are easier to produce. Above all, we voted for Brexit because we believe that Britain can cope with these challenges. I’m happy to eat less asparagus if it means we can be free of diktats from Brussels.
Fourth, we may have to buy even more food from abroad. This is not good for our balance of payments. It will also hasten the decline of the UK’s agricultural sector. It will probably mean eating more frozen or canned food and less fresh food. But it is a pragmatic solution that will stop our food bills from rising astronomically.
Fifth, it has been suggested that unemployed Britons living on benefits should be compelled to do this work. After all, the wages are very good at up to £20 per hour. Of course, the work is seasonal, and it is concentrated in certain parts of the country. So there might be structural difficulties getting unemployed people in London, for example, to work on farms in, say, The Fens. And, is it fair to ‘compel’ unemployed people to do such hard physical work, which not everyone is capable of doing?
Indeed, some farmers who claim they are crying out for British workers turn ‘willing’ British workers away because they can’t work fast enough. One farmer told the Daily Mail that he took on twenty British workers in 2020, but only eight completed the season. Many left within a day or two because they didn’t want to do such hard work. But there were six ‘that we had to sort of let go’. ‘They were willing but they were never going to keep up. We had a friendly discussion and they went elsewhere.’ Surely, he could have given them more time to learn the ropes or made some allowances for ‘willing’ British workers.
Sixth, we accept that COVID has been an aberration and that things will soon get back to normal, then we can fly in seasonal workers from Eastern Europe to work on our farms. This would enable British farms to keep going. And, it would also stop our food bills from rising. But it rather defeats the purpose of Brexit. And, what if these seasonal workers refuse to fly home at the end of their contract and try to stay in Britain? After all, we seem incapable of deporting anyone who tries to remain here illegally.
Unfortunately, it is a ‘wicked’ problem. None of these are easy answers. They all involve compromises, costs, or sacrifices. What do you think the answer is?
As long as we look to others to provide for us we will fail. Not fail directly but indirectly as those who provide the solutions will have control.
It seems very wrong to rely on immigrants to do the work for us. It seems ‘colonial’ arrogant and lazy. Why on earth would a country of 65 million require others to harvest the crops grown in the soil of our country?
Is technology the cheap way out? In an ideal world maybe but again we now have problems with digital ownership and the consequent dependency. Maybe but isn’t that kicking the can.
The whole system and approach to a number of ‘problems’ should in my opinion be changed. Finance, communication, technology health, education, law, governance, and food production should be turned upside down.
With food production my answer to Classical Liberal’s question is to create Co-operatives. They should not be confined to food production but that is another question and answer.
Find people prepared to join such groups and then enjoy the community, co-operation, horticulture, exercise, fresh air, planning, harvesting, rewards and the general feel good factors.
We would develop interest among those who have lost the answers, solve loneliness, encourage solutions to mental problems, learn tolerance, and create purpose.
This should not be about making money or one’s ‘rate of production’. Those who are young and healthy will produce more physically yes but the secret is that everyone will contribute.
Approach local farmers, gain use of fields, get ‘experts’ to advise, recruit those who are interested.
My God haven’t we all had enough of the treadmills the exploitation the corruption. Stop relying on others that is why we are in this mess.
Let them mechansie or grub up their orchards and turn the land to other uses if they are not prepared to invest then like other business they must go to the wall. There are lots of mechanisation programmes in operation in the horticultural business alreay.
Dairy, cereal and beef farmers have made huge investments in automation over the last twenty years without crying out for cheap labour.
When I was young I remember my Mother taking us children into the fields with her while she picked fruit. We were parked at the ends of the rows where she was picking and were made to stay within her sight and play with whatever toys we had brought with us or made up games of our own. The work was always ‘piece work’ not by the hour! Thus if you don’t work hard or quickly enough you don’t earn enough either!
Hop picking was another seasonal job in our area. If you didn’t keep up with the other pickers and tell behind with your row, you were shamed by having to have other faster pickers some and pick into their own bins rather than the hops going into hour own (You were paid by the bushel picked!).
Also I remember that as students we also worked in the fields during school and college holidays to earn money to a) help out at home and b) help out with our school/college expenses.
Why are Brits too proud to do this sort of work? It is healthy (except when it rains and you get wet!!). and the hours fit in with most peoples’ requirements.
What’s wrong with asking the unemployed to pitch in and also the so-called migrants fleeing from war torn France? Why should not they also work to earn their very generous keep in a land where they have so far made no active contribution!
Why is our government such a load of ‘wussies’! Now then…….let’s see……it couldn’t be because they really want Brexit to fail altogether could it? Or worse…..is it because they are setting up the Country to run into bankruptcy so that the globalists can buy us out for a song!!!! Shurely not!!!!
Good point about piece work. Nor do I have a problem with foreign seasonal workers coming in provided they go back again afterwards. If Brits were to do this work, what would they do in the winter? They need permanent employment.
It seems to me that we can’t see the wood for the trees..
Question; Are you hungry? Answer; I have food, come and get it.
Then the permanent omnipresent proviso ‘provided you pay me enough to have some. So, how do we use the system to meet individual needs for food? Easy peasie. Pay the pickers £100 an hour and there will be no shortage of pickers, only a shortage of people able to pay the price of the end product after costs. There now, how simple was that?
As for those who cannot pay, the system says ‘screw you’. I’m only interested in your money, not your well being. and so we go on and we call it civilization. Heaven help us if civilization should ever break down.
Admit 20,000 applepickers from Afghanistan. Or as I understand the Taliban are short of Civil Servants. They can have some of ours… Apart fom the shame, a drop in the sanddunes.
Probably MSM and Remoaner’s propaganda.
Market Forces are usually the best answer.
Didn’t the ‘Get Brexit Done’ wonderful Gubmint promise a UK substitute for CAP? If any has been done it will favour big conglomerates of course. (As would N.F.U.)
We can’t risk using illegal immigrants. We don’t have enough military personnel to guard them!
Ukip had Mike Hookem as Fish and Farm Spokesman. I wonder what he would recommend.
The answer is clearly to pay for work done rather than by the hour.
So, exactly how might Brexit dissuade foreign workers?
Nobody has been rounding them up for deportation have they?
Now Covid, possibly.
Just more MSM fearmongering.
Hey I wonder if Hong Kongers or Afghans might be interested?
British farmers need to get off their ars*s and embrace modern picking technology, pay their seasonal (and permanent) workers proper modern-day wages/conditions and (like the rest of British industry) actually TRAIN workforces to current standards (not done for at least the last 40 years -like the haulage industry). Above all, realise that the ability to fudge the issues by employing cheap but skilful foreign labour is no longer an option. British employers of all stripes (not just agriculture) had better get used to it, and fast.
Attempts have been made for years to make “picking machinery”.
Most have failed.
Do your research Harry. Here is just one example of mechanised fruit picking machinery for apples. There are other examples for other fruits too.
A ‘wicked’ problem. Yes.
Created in a large measure by a sucession of “wicked” governments.
Wicked in the sense that they are (culpably) ignorant of of life outside the metropolitan area of London.
They delight in MAKING laws,because they can. Neither they, nor their civil servants seem capapble of forseeing the consequences.
They create problems, but do not have the intelligence to seek solutions.
Blaming Brexit, or Covid is the cowards excuse. Westminster and Whitehall bear the responsibility… no one else.
True, Richard. I remind people routinely that ‘it isn’t because of covid’, as we are told hourly. It is because of the way government has CHOSEN TO RESPOND to covid. Huge difference.
Lots of ayslum seekers say they want to work. Plus endless dossers drunks druggies should be put work. or pu to…?
Is self-sufficiency in food production a strategic necessity? Or do we accept that we will always rely on imports and if so to what degree? We are happy to import cars, steel, electronics and so on, and we can import asparagus (to mention the example in the article) from many countries at affordable prices. Prior to joining the common market farmers received payments known as income support. On joining the common market that was replaced by payments under the Common Agricultural Policy. Put another way, farming has long been subsidised. I am not up to date on the current situation for UK farming, but I doubt it (or the majority of it) can continue unsubsidised. The wages issue is but one feature of why subsidies are necessary, necessary that is while it is thought desirable to support UK farming that would otherwise be economically unviable. During the second world war, even with a mass patriotic effort to ‘dig for victory’, the country was still dependant on the north Atlantic convoys for food (among other things). UK fruit growers, if they cannot pick their fruit, may go out of business, or may switch production to products requiring less labour intensive farming, but we will not be deprived of fruit so long as there is international trade. The press use a sentimental argument about fruit production to undermine Brexit. We should not fall for it. If British fruit growing is no longer viable then so be it.
For many years our farmers, especially the big conglomerates have used cheap foreign labour to maximise their profits. These workers had to live and work in difficult conditions that our own people refused to suffer. To me it sounds an excellent opportunity to deal with the thousands of youthful and and other hangers on who refuse to work at all. Such employment under the banner of community service would solve many problems and the few problems caused are easily policed. No work, no benefits. Perhaps even the illegals presently living in luxury hotels could be put to work to earn their keep. If they will not then back to where they came from. Am I living in cloud cuckoo land? I supppse I am but it seems like a good idea.
No sir you are not….it is a great idea. However the authorities, those ‘in charge’ (God help us) haven’t got the nous to follow such a common sense idea.
Sounds like a darned good idea to me!
When I was young and fit I would have welcomed the opportunity to work on a farm of any sort. Hopefully I would have been able to stay in such work permanently.