THE National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has joined organisations from across the food and farming sector to produce a new report calling for a 12-month ‘Covid-19 Recovery Visa’ to help alleviate the workforce shortages affecting the whole of the supply chain.

The report was sent to government ministers on Friday highlighting the impact the pandemic and the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy is having on the sector’s ability to recruit key workers.

The report highlights an average vacancy rate of 13 per cent and estimates there are more than 500,000 vacancies across food and drink businesses. In addition, the report draws attention to the significantly increasing cost of getting food to the public.

In order to ensure continuity, quality and choice in the UK’s food supply both in the immediate and medium-term, the report sets out clear ways government can help the food and drink industry overcome the current workforce challenges. These include:

n The introduction of a 12-month Covid-19 Recovery Visa which would enable all involved throughout the supply chain to recruit critical roles, such as HGV drivers, as a short-term response to labour shortages.

n Commitment to a permanent, revised and expanded Seasonal Worker Scheme for UK horticulture to ensure it is flexible and large enough to meet the industry’s workforce needs.

n An urgent review by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on the impact of ending free movement on the food and farming sector, in the same way it is doing for adult social care.

Read the report here: Establishing the labour availability issues of the UK food and drink sector

Tom Bradshaw 2021 portraits

NFU Vice President Tom Bradshaw, said: “For the past 18 months, food and farming businesses have been working hard to keep shelves and fridges full of nutritious and affordable food. But As this report demonstrates, businesses throughout the supply chain in a wide variety of roles are really feeling the impacts of the workforce shortages.”

“At the very start of the supply chain, farm businesses are feeling the pressure. For example, horticulture farms are struggling to find the workforce to pick and pack the nation’s fruit and veg, with some labour providers seeing a 34% shortfall in recruitment.

“Farm businesses have done all they can to recruit staff domestically, but even increasingly competitive wages have had little impact because the labour pool is so limited – instead only adding to growing production costs.

“It is simplistic to argue that the end of furlough will see many more people meeting this shortfall. Furloughed workers are concentrated in urban areas and not where many agri-food roles are located. A solution to this crisis will need the right people with the right skills and training available in rural areas where many roles are based.

“A short term Covid-19 Recovery Visa, alongside a permanent Seasonal Workers Scheme, would be an effective and, frankly, vital route to help the pressing needs of the industry today. It would also give us time to invest in the skills and recruitment of our domestic workforce, helping to provide long-term stability so we can recruit the people we need to continue to deliver quality, nutritious and affordable food for the nation.”