Farmers across all sectors are being urged to respond to a major labor survey as the industry continues to see drastic workforce shortages. The review, chaired by industry veteran John Shropshire, who is a farmer and former CEO of horticultural firm Gs, is gathering data on labor shortages.
The review was announced under the government's Food Strategy in August to tackle worker shortages in the food and farming industry. The industry, which is heavily reliant on migrant labor, has warned that it is suffering as a consequence of Brexit and the pandemic.
The government has already boosted the number of visas available through the seasonal worker's route to 40,000, but industry leaders say this is not enough. Mr. Shropshire's review will consider the challenges facing food and farming businesses to recruit and retain the labor they require and will provide recommendations to consider.
Sectors to be considered by the review include the egg, meat, horticulture, dairy, and pigs sectors, as well as the meat and seafood processing sectors. The survey will draw together data on the nature and scale of labor shortages, consider how automation and domestic and migrant labor can contribute to tackling labor shortages, and make recommendations to the government.
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