Fears of food shortages unless an extra 40,000 people volunteer to pick crops

The UK faces food shortages unless 70,000 Britons ‘do their duty’ by harvesting the country’s fruit and vegetables for £15-an-hour with the global pandemic also disrupting the flow of imported goods, MailOnline can reveal today.

More than 30,000 people have asked to join a new ‘Land Army’ to ‘pick for Britain’ and ‘feed the nation’ – but it is still 40,000 short of what is needed by early May and only a third of volunteers have ever worked on a farm. 

There is also growing confusion about how they will travel to farms, share accommodation and work safely in fields while maintaining social distancing because Public Health England is yet to complete its official guidance.

The Treasury last night stepped in to speed up the process of gathering volunteers by deciding farmers and food plants hit with staff shortages will be allowed to recruit furloughed workers after pressure from the National Farmers’ Union. 

It means they will be able to keep 80 per cent of their pay up to £2,500-a-month, paid for by the taxpayer, while also earning up to £15 an hour, or £350-a-week picking fruit and vegetables.

Today the NFU’s vice chairman Tom Bradshaw issued a call to arms for Britons to ‘step up and do their bit’ – warning that without them there could be food shortages.

He told MailOnline: ‘Allowing furloughed workers to take second jobs opens up a large pool of British people who have the opportunity to get into the fields from early May.

‘It gives us a chance to get to that 70,000 – but of course we are all nervous that we won’t get there. This is a call to arms for to do their bit for their country – we need people help society by picking the fruit and vegetables crucial to our diet.

In a stark warning about the consequences if the plan fails, he added: ‘If we don’t get these fruit and vegetables picked people will have less choice in the supermarkets and fewer fruit and vegetables on the shelves’

Mr Bradshaw said the global nature of coronavirus means that farmers all over the world are struggling to get seasonal workers harvesting their produce.

He added that travel bans, fewer international flights, the rising cost of road freight and lorry drivers becoming ill or self-isolating is making it far harder to import.

He said: ‘International supply chains are becoming more unstable – but we have the fruit and vegetables we need here. But unless we get our British crop picked we may have some shortages of food’.

The race is now on to find 70,000 laid-off workers willing to harvest fruit and veg by early may, with experts admitting they are ‘nervous’ about whether it is possible, leaving tonnes of food rotting in British fields.

40,000 people still need to be found by the end of the month and Jack Ward, chief executive of the British Growers Association, believes a small proportion will end up on farms, warning: ‘Once people see the reality of what’s involved, it’s not for everybody’.

Travel restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus means that just ten per cent of the usual number of Eastern European pickers who travel to the UK are ready for work.

The ‘Land Army’ scheme is being led by Concordia, a charity which provides seasonal labour for farms.

Concordia says almost 90 per cent of applicants are British citizens – and half have either been furloughed or out of work completely because of coronavirus.

But only one in three of the 30,000 have worked on farms before – and just 2,000 are currently deemed ready to start work by early May by completing a short interview process.

Stephanie Maurel, the chief executive of Concordia, said pickers earn an average of £350 a week for around 40 hours of work.

The least they will be paid is the national minimum wage of £8.72 per hour – but the faster workers could be paid up to £15 per hour depending on how much they pick.

The working day will begin between 5am and 6am, finishing in the early afternoon to avoid physical work in the hottest part of the day,

Traditional around four out of five seasonal workers live on the farms, usually in shared caravans with two other pickers paying £53-a-week in rent.

But social distancing means that a caravan per person or family may be required – while Ms Maurel told The Times farms would require newly arriving pickers to go into self-isolation for seven days before starting work to avoid infecting other workers with coronavirus. 

A new website where farmers and potential workers will be matched launches next week, days before the start of Britain’s harvest season. 

The British Growers Association says around 6,000 pickers are needed from mid-April to pick asparagus, and the same again to pick salads and lettuce.

By May at least 30,000 people will be needed to pick strawberries and at least 10,000 more to pick soft fruits such as raspberries. Later in the summer another 10,000 will be needed to pick apples and pears.

Next month tens of thousands will be needed cauliflowers, cucumbers and spring greens and other common vegetables like onions.

Farmers and food plants hit with staff shortages will be allowed to recruit furloughed workers from other businesses to ‘feed the nation’.

The move comes in response to warnings of chaos in some sectors and fears crops will be left to rot in the fields.

Thousands of businesses, from retailers to pubs, have put their staff on furlough, which means the taxpayer will pay them 80 per cent of their wage.

Originally, this payment was denied to the company if these workers went on to find a second job to bring in cash.

However, the Treasury has updated its guidance to say: ‘You may undertake other employment while your current employer has placed you on furlough, and this will not affect the grant that they can claim under the scheme.’

The net effect is that people on furlough could receive 80 per cent of their pay from their main employer while collecting a second wage for fruit picking.

Importantly, these people must be able to return to work for their main employer as and when required.

Fury as Asda and Sainsbury’s stock up on imported POLISH beef while British farmers struggle in coronavirus crisis – despite shoppers REJECTING it on shelves

Supermarkets including Asda and Sainsbury’s are stocking up on imported Polish beef while British farmers struggle through the coronavirus pandemic.

UK beef farmers told the chains that the move is ‘unacceptable’, adding: ‘Please do not play a part in killing British agriculture. Remember, once it’s gone, it’s gone.’

One agricultural law firm tweeted a picture of reduced Polish beef on the shelves, telling Sainsbury’s: ‘Looks like no one wants your c**p Polish beef! We wonder why?’

Nigel Davis Solicitors, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, added: ‘Try selling good home grown British beef – you can’t beat it. Although we’d always recommend people to buy it from a proper butcher and not somewhere that thought to import this!’

Simon Hoare, the Conservative MP for North Dorset, also tweeted: ‘Milk is being poured away by some in North Dorset and I’m told Sainsbury’s has Polish milk and beef. In the words of (Trade Secretary) Liz Truss, THAT. IS. A. DIS. GRACE!’ 

And Somerset farmer James Windslade said: ‘Polish beef being imported by the supermarkets – come on supermarkets and Government, support British farmers.’ 

It comes as Tesco revealed this morning that ‘significant panic-buying’ in recent weeks cleared its supply chain of certain items as sales jumped by 30 per cent. 

The National Beef Association, which represents UK beef farmers, has written to bosses at Sainsbury’s and Asda asking why they have bought meat from Poland.

It said in a letter: ‘It is unacceptable to us as an organisation, and, we suspect, to the British population, that you would choose to import beef from abroad at this time.

‘Currently, there are no definitive answers on how Covid-19 may or may not be transmitted – are you able to guarantee the safety of imported food?

‘Can you confirm and evidence that the source farms in Poland comply with the same rigorous conditions that British farms must adhere to in order to be able to supply your stores? 

‘Unfortunately for you, this gaffe has come at a time when the country seems to be pulling together in a flush of patriotic fervour; supplying imported mince is perceived as out of tune with current thinking, and people have plenty of time to spread the news.

‘At a later date, when the crisis is over and the luxury of choice is handed back to the public, perhaps they will remember which supermarkets backed Britain.’

The move was also slammed by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association, which criticised the ABP Food Group for bringing in Polish beef to meet shortages. 

ICSA beef chairman Edmund Graham said: ‘Why have they shown contempt for Irish farmers whose hard work has made billionaires out of their owners?

‘This is a new low at a time when everyone else in the country is working together.’

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: ‘We have a long history of supporting British suppliers and we remain committed to sourcing British as much as we possibly can. 

‘We have experienced exceptionally high demand for certain cuts of meat in the last few weeks so we have temporarily introduced additional lines for our customers to choose from. 

‘We will go back to offering our usual range as soon as possible, while balancing our commitment to meeting demand and helping to feed the nation.’

An Asda spokesman has been contacted for comment by MailOnline today. 

And National Farmers’ Union chief livestock adviser John Royle said: ‘Our meat supply chains have not been immune to the disruption seen in retail and food supply chains in recent weeks and many will be aware that there has been some Polish beef and poultry meat stocked by some UK retailers.

‘We have challenged this apparent change in sourcing policy. We are aware of the overwhelming customer demand for beef mince and poultry meat that outstripped the processors’ capacity to meet demand – in particular for mince. 

‘The retailers involved have indicated that this is a one off, and haven’t moved away from their standard sourcing policies nor their commitment to British.

‘British farmers are prepared and enthusiastic to meet any increased retail demand and are committed to meet the needs of consumers. 

‘We’re urging retailers and processors to build resilience now to manage any future disruptive buying behaviour and help improve availability of product through this difficult time.’ 

In January last year, a Polish abattoir was accused of handling sick cows, with the meat then imported to 11 EU countries excluding Britain.

Poland identified 9.5 tonnes of beef from the plant, which was later closed down, and 2.5 tonnes of this was exported.

Secret filming by broadcaster Polish TVN 24 revealed how cows that were too sick to stand being dragged from lorries into the slaughterhouse.

Meanwhile bosses at Tesco said today that surging demand resulted in the sale of six million tins of baked beans, 3.3 million tins of tomatoes and 3.6 million packs of toilet roll each week as stockpiling increased.

It said 10 per cent of shoppers bought 30 per cent of products while it also reported stockpiling was most prevalent in the South East.

It added that the company has recruited 45,000 more staff members in the past two weeks in a bid to cope with soaring demand.

Numerous workers have been recruited as drivers and pickers to help expand its delivery business.