Ministers ‘worrying about votes’ while crops rot in fields warn food industry bosses

The boss of one global food business said farmers were being ‘nannied’ by the government, taking aim at caps on the number of foreign workers allowed into the country.

The backlash comes after research by the National Farmers Union (NFU) – which represents farmers across Hampshire – found that four in 10 growers had suffered crop losses thanks to a lack of pickers.

With worker shortages averaging 14 per cent across the industry, more than £60m in wasted food is thought to have been lost in the first half of 2022.

Although a seasonal workers scheme provides the majority of the sector’s workers, it is due to expire in 2024 and critics claim it is not ambitious enough.

Currently, the seasonal workers scheme provides up to 40,000 six-month visas to bolster the horticulture sector.

Liz Truss, the Tory leadership candidate, pledged to expand the scheme beyond its 2024 deadline.

NFU vice-president David Exwood added: ‘Farming’s a long-term game – food just doesn’t appear, it’s years in the planning and so you need to be able to plan ahead.

‘Politics is short-term … and that’s where the problem lies.

‘They’re worrying about votes tomorrow and we’re worrying about crops next year, the year after.’

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it has already boosted the number of visas available through the seasonal workers route to 40,000 and that it was working to ‘encourage people to take up jobs in the farming sector’.