The government has committed to extending its seasonal worker visa scheme for five years to help UK farmers address skills shortages and prepare for a future of automation.
The announcement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs comes in response to the findings of an independent review commissioned from John Shropshire, chair of the G’s Fresh group of companies.
There will be 43,000 visas available to the horticulture sector in 2025, with a further 2,000 available to those working in the poultry sector. Defra will set out details of visa numbers for the following three years in due course.
The measures will also include up to £50 million of funding for new technology to support automation, with a view to bringing in robotic crop pickers with “human picking parity” within three to five years and reducing reliance on overseas labour.
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Shropshire’s review recommended that the government implemented a strategy to enhance the attractiveness of the sector, opened up access to migrant labour and invested in domestic workers.
In its response, Defra said it would extend the life of the seasonal worker scheme, but with a view to reducing demand for migrant worker visas over that five-year period. It also said it would continue to work with visa sponsors and agriculture employers to ensure workers are not exploited.
In terms of boosting the domestic workforce, Defra said it would deliver regional recruitment strategies to attract jobseekers into food and farming roles, and build greater collaboration between employers, government and education providers.
This will include working with the Food and Drink Sector Council’s Sector Attractiveness Project Group to improve awareness of opportunities and career paths across the UK food chain, providing seed funding to establish an Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH), and working with the Department for Work and Pensions to utilise its Jobcentre Plus network.
Environment secretary Steve Barclay said: “We have a world-class food and drink sector, and the measures announced today will strengthen this by boosting funding for cutting-edge technology that will reduce reliance on migrant labour in the long term.
“Businesses do best when they can plan effectively for the future, which is why we’ve extended the seasonal worker visa route until 2029 to give farmers and growers the certainty they need to thrive.”
The National Farmers’ Union said the announcement was a “huge relief”. President Tom Bradshaw said: “We have seen in the past how damaging shortages of workers has been, with approximately £60 million worth of crops lost in 2022 due to a shortfall of workers.
“We know that with the correct trading conditions there are significant opportunities for growth and the commitment to a five-year scheme is very positive. Moving forward, it is vital to have assurance that the number of visas and the costs associated with accessing them will continue to meet the needs of our food producers.”
Barclay thanked Professor Simon Pearson, director of the Institute of Agri-Food Technology at the University of Lincoln, for his review into the automation in the horticulture sector, adding that modernising the food supply chain would “unlock higher skilled, more attractive jobs for British workers while also improving productivity, product quality and capacity”.
In 2021, a campaign to recruit more UK-based workers into seasonal farm roles was scrapped after only a small number of people signed up.
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