Tons of unpicked food has been left to rot in fields due to farming workforce shortages. According to a National Farmers' Union (NFU) survey, fruit and vegetables worth £22 mln were wasted in the first half of 2022 alone because there were not enough people to pick them.
Post-Brexit immigration rules and the war in Ukraine have restricted the traditional flow of seasonal workers from eastern Europe, forcing some growers to seek workers from as far afield as Nepal.
Simon Turner, of Sharrington Strawberries, near Holt, estimates he has lost 20pc of his crop this year, despite more than doubling his seasonal harvest workforce from 36 people to 76. Of those, 34 travelled from Nepal.
Source: edp24.co.uk