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GB: Covid, “Brexit” – tons of harvest rots without helpers

GB: Covid, “Brexit” – tons of harvest rots without helpers

For 33 years, Gerard Vonk has been using seasonal pickers from Eastern Europe to harvest his peppers on his “Tangmere Airfield Nurseries” pepper farm near Chichester (West Sussex), a few kilometers behind the British Channel coast.

But this year, with Covid and “Brexit” ..

Gerard Vonk, Managing Director “Tangmere Airfield Nurseries”:

“… more barriers, more bureaucracy, it is much more difficult to come here and work, a huge problem for our company and other companies in the area.”

SERIOUS LABOR FORCE

Now the labor shortage is serious, the harvest is overripe and 72 workers fewer than last year at this time. Can it go on like this?

Gerard Vonk, Managing Director “Tangmere Airfield Nurseries”:

“Of course not – a lot has to happen. The store is making a huge loss …”

The Tangmere Airfield Nurseries on the south coast of England is the largest farm of its kind in Great Britain. 10.5 hectares of greenhouses full of pepper plants, which are usually harvested every 3 days. But currently only every 11 …

Did anyone have this on their screen?

Mark Knigt, Erntemanager “Tangmere Airfield Nurseries”:

“I mean, we thought it was possible, but we had no idea how extreme it was going to be. I mean, people reacted extremely. That surprised the industry … ”

750,000 ZUCCHINI ROTTED

And five miles further – a field full of rotting zucchini. At the same time, farmers are afraid that UK supermarkets will fill their empty shelves in the EU.

Luke Hanrahan, Euronews:

“On this one farm there are three quarters of a million unpicked zucchini, one hundred and fifty tons of vegetables that are simply left to rot – because the staff is lacking. And if this continues – it will force farms like this to make difficult decisions. ”

Julian Marks, Manager “Barfoots of Botley”, Bognor Regis, West Sussex:

“… that landed on the floor, we had no staff to recycle it – and customers have become rare …”

Julian Marks, the managing director, thinks this year is “problematic”. The pandemic and “Brexit” would have made it practically impossible to get harvest workers from the continent to return.

Julian Marks, Geschäftsführer, “Barfoots of Botley”:

“Restricting free movement is having devastating effects, but not just on agriculture and horticulture – pretty much every sector in which people from abroad have worked for years. They’re going home. ”

The shortage was already apparent at the turn of the year – when the British government tripled the number of work visas for seasonal workers to 30,000.

But the farmers believe that more needs to be done to lure people back to the British coast. And to prevent another crop disaster.

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