The National Farmers Union (NFU) says £22 million worth of fruit and vegetables has been wasted directly because of workforce shortages in the first half of 2022.
A new NFU survey indicates that the 2022 fruit and vegetable harvest has been “significantly impacted” because there aren’t enough people to pick the crops, the NFU says.
As the survey represents around a third of the UK horticulture sector, the NFU estimates the overall value of food wasted accumulates to more than £60 million.
The NFU says the results demonstrate the detrimental impact workforce shortages are having on the food and farming sector, resulting in significant crop losses “at a time when the country is experiencing the worst cost-of-living crisis in generations”.
The survey also showed that 40% of respondents are suffering crop losses as a result of labour shortages; 56% of respondents reported a fall in production – averaging a 19% reduction across the businesses; 17% of workers recruited did not turn up; and 9% of workers left their contract early.
The survey also found that growers expect a further fall in production in 2023 of 4.4%.
It’s nothing short of a travesty that quality, nutritious food is being wasted at a time when families across the country are already struggling to make ends meet because of soaring living costs.
NFU Deputy President Tom Bradshaw said: “It’s nothing short of a travesty that quality, nutritious food is being wasted at a time when families across the country are already struggling to make ends meet because of soaring living costs.
“At the same time, the prolonged dry weather and record temperatures have created a really challenging growing environment for our fruit and veg. Every crop is valuable – to the farm business and to the people whose plates they fill. We simply can’t afford to be leaving food unpicked.
“With the demand on the Seasonal Workers Scheme expected to increase again next year, it’s vital the scheme has the capacity to facilitate the people the sector needs to pick, pack and process the country’s fruit and vegetables.
“This means increasing the number of visas available to meet the sector’s needs and expanding it to a minimum of a five-year rolling scheme to enable growers to have confidence to invest in their businesses – particularly given growth in the horticultural sector is a government ambition set out in the National Food Strategy.
“This survey has demonstrated just how crucial it is for fruit and veg growers to have access to the workforce they need. Expanding the Seasonal Workers Scheme will play a vital role in enabling that access and ensuring we don’t see this devastating level of food waste next year.”
Other results from the NFU survey:
- 63% of workers were recruited through the Seasonal Workers Scheme
- 33% of workers recruited through the Seasonal Worker Scheme were returnees
- Farm businesses expect 69% of workers to come through the Seasonal Workers Scheme in 2022
The survey includes results from 199 growers across England and Wales, which between them employed over 22,000 seasonal workers.
NFU says 38,000 visas have been made available for the 2022 Seasonal Workers Scheme and says the sector requires 70,000 workers.