Stephen Jardine: Scotland may not be famed for soft fruit much longer

A shortage of EU migrant labour may see farmers switch to other crops, says Stephen Jardine.
Migrant worker Ewelina Chodorek, 22, picks raspberries at Blacketyside Farm, Leven, Fife.  (Picture: Dan Phillips)Migrant worker Ewelina Chodorek, 22, picks raspberries at Blacketyside Farm, Leven, Fife.  (Picture: Dan Phillips)
Migrant worker Ewelina Chodorek, 22, picks raspberries at Blacketyside Farm, Leven, Fife. (Picture: Dan Phillips)

At this time of year, Scotland’s farmers would normally be starting to recruit European workers for the bumper growing season ahead. However this year is anything but normal. The weak pound and uncertainty surrounding Brexit are already causing a serious labour shortage with some farmers reporting produce is rotting in the fields because they don’t have the workers to pick it.

The exchange rate means picking tomatoes in Spain or grapes in France simply makes more financial sense than a season in the strawberry fields of Tayside. And some foreign workers sense they are simply less welcome here.

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In some areas, farm staffing shortages are running at 20 per cent. When it comes to local produce in Scotland, alongside beef, lamb and seafood, we’ve always been famed for fantastic soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries. Perhaps not for much longer. Hardly a berry is picked in Scotland without European migrant labour being involved.

Last autumn one of Scotland’s biggest soft fruit producers told me he was already drawing up contingency plans to switch to other crops unless the labour situation is resolved. Since then, things have worsened. So how do we fill the labour gap? Unlike elsewhere in life, technology does not have all the answers. Some crops like potatoes and carrots can be harvested mechanically but when it comes to soft fruits the clue is in the name. Hand picking really is the only way to ensure the delicate produce is taken from the plant undamaged.

With EU workers no longer available in sufficient numbers, an obvious answer might seem to be turning attention closer to home. Those with long memories hark back to the days when children picked tatties during school holidays, the sun shone every day and there was always jam for tea. The world has changed since then. For a start, many more people live in urban areas rather than where crops are grown.

Scottish unemployment is close to a 25-year-low running at just over four per cent.And those who are unemployed for long periods can be unable to sustain the productivity demanded during long days in the fields. So unless we are going to start conscripting people to work in the fields like North Korea, relying on Scottish labour to plug the gap is simply not realistic. The National Farmers Union in Scotland believes the best solution is a return to the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme. Scrapped five years ago, it granted permits for thousands of overseas workers to come to Scotland to help with the harvest before returning home. Not only it it the sensible answer to the problem, it is the only answer.

Ending the scheme in September 2013, Immigration Minister Mark Harper MP claimed it was simply no longer needed. “At a time of unemployment in the UK and the European Union there should be sufficient workers from within those labour markets to meet the needs,” he said.

What a difference Brexit makes. Farmers need to plan ahead when it comes to planting crops. The Government needs to act now to ensure we have the people to pick them.