UK environment secretary, George Eustice said his country is eying Moroccan and Bulgarian workers amid a shortage of Ukrainian and Russian workers that previously made up the majority of agri-workers in the UK.
In a recent speech given at the Food and Drink Federation’s conference, Eustice said “the four operators that run that scheme have been looking at other possibilities including countries like Morocco and Bulgaria.”
Such agricultural programs relying on an international workforce aren’t new to Moroccans; there already exists a similar program between Morocco and Spain for the seasonal Spanish harvest of strawberries, which hosts around 20,000 female Moroccan workers every year.
Since Russian tanks and infantry units advanced towards Ukraine a month ago, the whole world was turned upside down. Almost every sector felt some kind of impact, even the United Kingdom’s agriculture sector.
Under a program called the Seasonal Workers’ Scheme, established in 2013 and then revamped in post-Brexit 2019, the UK hosts, every year, thousands of seasonal workers from select countries. In 2021, 67% out of the 30,000 workers who made it to English shores were Ukrainians. Additionally, 8% of the remaining workers came from Russia.
As the Russian “military operation” is officially plunging into its second month today, Ukrainians naturally can’t make the trip all the way to the UK. Not only are all able males prevented from leaving Ukrainian soil, but most visa processing facilities are also unoperational in Kyiv.
As for Russians, they are in no way able to pay for their visas as western sanctions against their country remain, making it impossible for them to use the Swift and Mastercard systems.
The war is visibly taking its toll on English growers and recruitment agencies, who are scouring the international market in search of alternative working forces.
Nick Ottewell, the Farming Director at Laurence J Betts, a Kent salad grower, said: “The recruitment agencies have been channeling all their efforts in terms of their networking and infrastructure into Ukraine since the seasonal workers’ scheme restarted and that’s all been shattered. Our industry is in a mess.”
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