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Farmers have been warning the coronavirus lockdown left the agricultural sector with a low number of labourers available to pick fruit and vegetables across the UK. Former Conservative MP
Neil Carmichael, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for farming, insisted Britons must "work together" during the crisis and said help to farmers would be welcome.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Carmichael said: "This country is facing the coronavirus and we’ve all got to work together. "It’s certainly absolutely right for the immediate
question of picking the fruit and so forth, help of that kind is welcome." Mr Carmichael, however, expressed doubt on the feasibility of getting volunteers to the fields while still
respecting the social distancing measures the Government has asked everyone to adopt. He continued: "We are in lockdown at the moment so it’s difficult to see how people can be
encouraged to move around to go immediately to a farm and start picking fruit and vegetables. "So we need to bear that in mind." MORE ON: PICK FOR BRITAIN: FARMERS ASK 90,000 BRITS
TO HELP FEED THE UK AS LABOUR SHORTAGE RISKS CROPS Mr Bradshaw said: “We are urging the British people, university students, anyone looking for work, to mobilise behind British growers in
this time of national importance and pick for Britain. “There will be thousands of vacancies opening up in fields, polytunnels, glasshouses and packhouses across the country in the coming
weeks and we need people to help deliver healthy, affordable British fruit and veg from field to plate.” Place UK, one of the largest fruit growers in the country, suggested hospitality
sector workers temporarily off work may also be suitable to help farmers ensure their harvest does not go to waste. Managing director Tim Place told the Eastern Daily Press: ”It is looking
likely we are going to need help to harvest our crops of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries in the summer, starting from the middle of May. “The thing to emphasise is that
it is going to be early-starting and physical work on your feet all day, and there are strict quality standards to follow as this fruit is for the fresh market. “So we need to find the
people who are suitable for that. My generation will remember going out picking in the fields for a couple of hours to get some pocket money, but that’s not what we will need. “We will be
putting out a call for people with the right attributes to contact us shortly. People in the hospitality industry will be used to being up on their feet for a long time, and those people
could be suited to this kind of work. “We will give training, there will be strict hygiene protocols and we will be keeping people’s distance within the fields.”