Growers will see the seasonal agricultural workers scheme extended from 15,200 workers to 20,200 over a two year period as a much needed boost to the harvesting effort this summer. And 3,500 of the permits will be available this year.
The news comes following persistent lobbying from the National Farmers' Union and after two seasons of soft fruit being left unpicked in many fields because of a shortage of labour.
'The scheme is extremely valuable and this increase is extremely welcome,' said NFU employment and education committee chairman Bob Fiddaman. 'It provides growers with much-needed labour at their key picking times as well as providing east European students with useful experience of living and working in the UK.' The scheme runs from May 1 to November 30. Workers must be in full-time education and aged 18-25 to qualify. The leading countries of origin for UK seasonal workers are Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Bulgaria.
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