Farmer 'overwhelmed' by call to help pick crops

Farmers have warned that a lack of labour could affect the supply of fruit and veg in the UK
Farmers have warned that a lack of labour could affect the supply of fruit and veg in the UK

A Suffolk farmer has said he is 'overwhelmed' with the response to his tweet calling for people to work on his farm amid a drop in migrant labour.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to a worldwide tightening of travel restrictions and border controls as countries try to stop the virus spreading.

British farmers have seen a significant decline in available labour as the soft fruit-picking season is due to get fully underway in April.

Farm labour specialists HOPS have already invited British people to apply for jobs picking and packing fruit and veg.

One farmer who has taken the matter into his own hands is Bruce Kerr, who farms near Woodbridge in East Suffolk.

The response to his tweet calling on the public to help pick his asparagus crop had been 'overwhelming', Mr Kerr told the BBC.

Abbey Farm normally relies on 90 farm workers in an eight-week period which starts next month to help harvest his crop.

"A lot of the vegetable and fruit industry is reliant on seasonal workers and obviously asparagus is one of the early crops, it's fairly imminent in terms of harvesting," he told the broadcaster.

"But if these borders stay closed for a long period of time it could impact dramatically on a number of colleagues in our industry.

"We are putting a call-out for local communities to come and assist us anyway they can going forward."

Mr Kerr said his business offers the national living wage and a productivity bonus.

The tweet has since been retweeted more than 1,400 times with over 80 comments.

It comes as the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) called for a 'land army of employees' to support the industry in picking fruit and vegetables.

Last year's figures show that 98 percent of harvest staff were from outside the United Kingdom.