Australia's fruit and vegetable farmers need an extra 26,000 workers to harvest their crops this summer, according to new research illustrating the impact of coronavirus border closures on farm labour.
The National Farmers' Federation , which warned of labour shortages pre-COVID 19 and has previously lobbied for an agriculture-specific visa to address worker shortages, said the EY report proved the need for urgent intervention.
"We're just looking at any option and happy to work with Government for any option to get people on-farm, because at the moment its desperate times for a lot of growers and they just need a workforce."Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak Several farm groups have been calling for an urgent extension of the program, and are seeking incentives to help displaced workers in Australia join the horticulture workforce.
But less than one-fifth of the 450 growers that responded to an EY survey believed the domestic unemployment would affect the labour supply.
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