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Farmers have warned the loss of seasonal workers because of the coronavirus lockdown and closed borders are threatening British food crops. University students and furloughed workers have
been urged to volunteer to support their local farms and help "pick for Britain" and help feed the nation through the pandemic. Barfoots' managing director Julian Marks told
Good Morning Britain: "We need to put a call out to university students, furloughed workers who are looking for work, who would like to pick for Britain and get the crop in and support
British agriculture." GMB chief correspondent Richard Gaisford said the agricultural sector will need up to 90,000 workers in order to keep fresh produce from rotting in the fields. Mr
Gaisford said: "Because of coronavirus, because of the lockdown, the border closure, the picking just isn’t happening. "Farmers need up to 90,000 Brits to turn up in the fields to
pick the crops, to get the fruit and the vegetables in. "They will get paid, in some cases, in many cases, quite a good salary, but they will also help the nation have its five-a-day in
this very difficult period." JUST IN: BRITONS FACE FOOD SHORTAGES AND 'SKYROCKETING' PRICES AS CORONAVIRUS RISKS HALT ON EXPORTS At this difficult time for frontline doctors
and nurses, sign up here to show your support now to our brave NHS Heroes. Farmers have warned tonnes of vegetables and fruits could be left to rot in fields should they fail to secure the
right number of workers. The Government relaxed financial support rules to allow temporarily laid-off, furloughed, workers to still claim while getting paid through another job. Last month
UK labour providers Concordia, HOPs and Fruitful launched a new national campaign urging job seekers to apply for farming positions across the UK. The Feed the Nation campaign attracted
11,000 people in its early days, with 50 percent of applicants having lost their job because of the pandemic. READ MORE: ENOUGH'S ENOUGH BORIS! FRONTLINE CRUMBLES AS ONLY 0.4% OF NHS
TESTED “Since then, the charity has supported nearly three-quarters of a million people to undertake intercultural exchanges all over the world.” National Farming Union vice-president Tom
Bradshaw welcomed the campaign and joined in the call to have university students off from education as well as job seekers to apply for a farming job. 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.”
