Non-EU migrant farm worker visa scheme 'won't resolve' Scots fruit farm recruitment crisis

Farmers and fruit growers are among those who are critical of the two year trial due to start next spring, which will mean non-EU nationals who travel to the UK to work on fruit and vegetable farms will be able to stay for six months before returning.

Farmers in Angus, Perthshire and Fife, which is the home of Scotland's fruit-picking industry are already flying as far as Moldova to try and recruit staff by offering free flights.

Angus Growers. a group of 18 producers, which called for the UK Government to revive the seasonal agricultural workers’ scheme (SAWS), which was scrapped in 2013 by then Home Secretary Theresa May, welcomed the move but said that they would not be recruiting enough.

This year alone the Scots growers who make up just 15% of UK production, were 600 short of the 4000 seasonal workers they need every year.

"The idea is just what we have been asking for, but the two-and-a-half thousand people they are talking about at the moment is not enough. The need is much more than the 2,500. "We are optimistic that if we keep the pressure up, they will actually make the scheme work as effectively as it could be. They need to adjust the numbers, and then we will be very pleased."

READ MORE: Recruitment crisis in Scots fruit-picking industry as one in 400 seasonal workers is British

Graeme Dey, the Angus South SNP MSP was concerned research suggested the agricultural sector experienced a shortage of seasonal non-UK workers of up to 20% last year, forcing local farmers to leave tonnes of quality produce lying in fields to rot.

“The UK Government have been repeatedly warned of the damaging impact Brexit will have on the seasonal labour market, with Mr Gove promising a plan would be in place by March this year. Only now six months on from that promised date, and over two years since the EU referendum, have the Tories managed to offer a resolution to the seasonal worker crisis facing Angus.

“It’s simply not good enough. The livelihoods of local farmers in Angus South have been put on the line due to the UK Government’s incompetency, not to mention the global reputation of the Scottish agricultural industry.

“While I welcome the fact the UK Government have finally managed to produce a seasonal workers scheme, it is totally insufficient to meet the demands of the soft fruits industry.

“It’s time the Scottish Parliament was given the relevant powers over immigration to build a better system which actually works for Scotland and our rural economy.”.

Under the pilot scheme, non-EU migrant workers will be able to work on farms for six months and then leave the country.

Environment secretary, Michael Gove said he had listened to the “powerful arguments” of farmers that the pilot would “ease the workforce pressures” and promised to review its results to look at how best to continue supporting fruit and vegetable farms.

“From lettuce in East Anglia to strawberries in Scotland, we want to make sure that farmers can continue to grow, sell and export more great British food,” he said.

The initiative is a direct replacement for a previous seasonal agricultural workers scheme (Saws) that was scrapped in 2013 after additional eastern European countries joined the EU, providing farmers with ample labour.

The pilot which will run until the end of December 2020 and will be monitored closely by the Home Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

NFU Scotland’s horticultural chairman said: “Problems in securing sufficient numbers of seasonal labour have been a major factor in high value crops of Scottish soft fruit and vegetables going unpicked in the past two seasons.

“This announcement is a step in the right direction and, in our view, has the potential to go much further. The principle that concerns over a seasonal workforce must be addressed has been accepted but the figure of 2500 permits, given that it is on a UK-wide basis, is significantly short of what is likely to be needed to make a difference to the labour needs of the sector.

“The devil is likely to be in the detail but, providing the pilot scheme can prove itself to be flexible and responsive to the likely numbers of seasonal workers required, then it could be a positive move in addressing the challenge of finding seasonal staff for Scottish farms in 2019 and beyond.

“NFUS will be writing to the Home Office, Defra and the Scotland Office this week to seek further information on the scheme and when it will be put into operation."