The news that flights are being chartered to bring seasonal workers over for the UK’s farming industry comes as no surprise to those of us with experience in the sector, and as things stand, it won’t be the last year that this happens.

With extra pressure being placed on the agriculture sector by the dual effects of Brexit and Covid-19, there have been calls to use the large numbers of people who have either been furloughed, or lost their jobs, to fill the gaps left by the decrease in seasonal workers. Even as a temporary solution to make sure this year’s harvest doesn’t go unpicked, this is unlikely to work, because contrary to what many might think, this is not an “unskilled” job. And looking beyond this very strange year, this is going to be a problem that only becomes more severe from 2021, when post-Brexit immigration rules come into force.

There have been a lot of people inquiring about doing this work in recent months, with large job sites reporting increased interest in fruit-picking jobs, farm labouring, and so on, and no doubt some of the 70,000 seasonal workers we need will come from this. The majority of this interest goes no further thanthe inquiry stage, though, and there are many reasons for this.

To point out the obvious, it’s an incredibly physical job. Having worked as a fruit-picker for years, I can tell you that it’s certainly not (as some television ads imply) wandering calmly through a field or orchard, casually selecting an apple or a cauliflower. You have to work quickly, carrying heavy bags of apples, or bent over picking strawberries, and, other than lunchtime, without the luxury of the familiar coffee break or chat in the kitchen with a colleague.

Every person has a quota, and in many places you’re only paid by how much work you get done. There’s a minimum wage, true, but if you don’t hit the targets repeatedly you’re likely to lose your job, and to meet those targets you have to work at full speed, all day. Even as a 19-year-old, by the time it got to Thursday afternoon the thought of having to do it all again the next day was difficult. The idea that these jobs could be filled by people who’ve spent most of their lives working in offices is not realistic, and many would be asked to leave fairly quickly.

There’s also a lot to think about while you’re harvesting fruit, it’s not as simple as walking along and collecting everything in your path. When picking apples, you need to consider the size, the colour, whether they’re damaged, how firm they are (different for each variety) – and making sure that you don’t accidentally pick the pollinator tree with a different variety on it, thereby ruining the entire box of fruit. Pick poor-quality fruit, and it won’t count towards your pay.

The issue isn’t just money, though. These jobs simply wouldn’t work for many people. They’re located in specific regions, generally far from major towns and transport links. For those who don’t drive or live in those areas, that means finding accommodation. Some farms provide this for seasonal workers, but it would need serious adaptation for social-distancing rules, and not everyone would be happy with the conditions. It’s also not free, so people already paying rent or a mortgage on their home would be paying twice.

Work starts early in the morning, which equally won’t suit many. This is not about British workers being lazy, as some commentators are fond of implying. If you have to take your children to school for 8:30am, then a job that starts at 7am isn’t practical. The seasonal nature of the work would also be a problem for many people.

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For these reasons, and many others, we are always going to need seasonal workers in this country, many of them from abroad. They should be welcomed, and valued, as specialised key workers without whom we would be paying far more for our fresh produce. The path we are on with our immigration system risks not only making it impossible for these workers to fill these jobs, but also a resurgence of problems the industry has seen in the past. No one wants to see the return of rogue gangmasters – and the employment and human rights abuses many seasonal workers suffered at their hands.

What we’re seeing this year should serve as both a wake-up call that our post-Brexit immigration system will need to be changed and an opportunity to change the way we view those who fill these key jobs, in agriculture and many other industries. If you can, “pick for Britain” – but please value those who come here from abroad to do this too.