This year’s harvest of one of the British Isles’ best loved crops – the Jersey Royal new potato – could be hit by a shortage of migrant workers because of Brexit, farmers have warned.
Around 1,000 foreign workers are needed to plant and harvest the potatoes and other crops on Jersey but farmers have reported that they are struggling to recruit staff.
The outdoor growing season traditionally gets under way this month but the shortage of Polish workers in particular has led to fewer seed potatoes being planted.
Particularly mild conditions in the Channel Islands have also led to daffodils blooming early, leading to some being lost because there have not been enough workers to pick them.
Peter Le Maistre, the president of the Jersey Farmers’ Union, said there was concern on the island that Brexit would affect this year’s harvest.
He said that since the turn of the century, many of the 1,000 positions had been filled by Polish workers.
“But after Brexit there was uncertainty and, more importantly, a drop in the value of the pound against the euro and the Polish zloty, which made working in the UK and the Channel Islands not so attractive to Polish people,” said Le Maistre.
“The economy in Poland has also picked up and people are finding jobs back home. We found it harder to recruit staff last year and this year we’re finding it even more difficult.”
Some farmers have begun to explore hiring staff from outside the EU, including Kenya. The farmers’ union has been working with a recruitment agency to bring in staff from Romania, with the first due to arrive next week. “We hope in the short term that might be the answer to our labour requirements,” said Le Maistre.
Producing early potatoes on much of Jersey is very labour intensive as they are planted on slopes known as côtils. They have to be hand-lifted because of the steepness of the inclines and mechanical harvesters used only for the later, flatter fields.
Charlie Gallichan, of Woodside Farms, which grows and exports Jersey Royals, vegetables and flowers, expressed concern at the situation.
He said: “We are trying to harvest vegetables and flowers and have also starting planting potatoes, but we will be losing crops before long if we don’t get more staff. We have already lost some daffodils and we are just trying to keep our heads above the water until we get reinforcements.”
Gallichan, whose family have farmed on Jersey for five generations, added: “It’s an industry problem; it’s not just Jersey. As an island we’ve got to decide if we want to look at employing people from outside the EU and how that would work.”
Jersey Royals have been grown on the island for 140 years. There are approximately 20 island farmers who grow Jersey Royals on about 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres).
