Thousands of UK workers needed for harvest

Thousands of UK workers will be needed this year to collect the harvest as European workers are unable to come into the country due to the coronavirus lockdown.

According to the environment minister George Eustice, in a normal year around 30,000 people, mainly from the European Union, arrive to do seasonal agricultural work, but in 2020 that number has been cut by two-thirds.

“We will need a significant number of British people, in particular those who have been furloughed they have the chance if they want,” Eustice told BBC radio on Wednesday.

“We are getting huge interest from people wanting to do this,” he said. “We need tens of thousands of people to do this work.”

The peak of the harvest season comes at the end of May and during June, he said.