By Danielle Kutchel and Jessica Anstice
Con Raffa, owner of Raffa Fields, a third-generation asparagus grower in Tooradin, is struggling to get enough workers in to pick his crops.
Fortunately, the cooler weather means the season proper hasn’t begun yet, but once the weather warms up and the season gets started he knows his skeleton crew will be hard put to keep up with the picking.
He’s been relying on itinerant workers who have been redeployed from elsewhere in the state to cover the current cutting schedule, but only has about half his usual workforce.
Usually, the majority of seasonal workers at Raffa Fields are from the Pacific Islands.
Covid restrictions mean the only workers the company currently has access to are those who are currently stuck in Australia due to border closures earlier this year.
These workers have been redeployed from various farms across Victoria – some have come from Shepparton after finishing their deployment at an orchard.
And Con isn’t optimistic about locals stepping in to fill the gaps.
He said the farm advertised one position for four weeks, but received no local applications.
“It’s very disappointing to have everybody saying there’s so much unemployment, but no one comes in,“ he said.
“If you’re getting unemployment benefits, you’re not going to come to work.“
Banana farmers from North Queensland have contacted him, asking if they can borrow any extra workers from down south for their own upcoming season – but there are none to share.
While Con’s asparagus crop won’t be destroyed if it isn’t harvested, it does mean a loss of income for the farm.
“It’s not a good scenario,“ he said.
Asparagus grower Alex Motta, from Motta Produce in Kooweerup and Dalmore, usually hires around 100 pickers from Vanuatu each year, however this year he was only able to employ 15.
“The biggest thing for us is a lot of the pickers in the asparagus industry have been the workers that come to Australia under the Seasonal Worker Program which is a government-backed program,” Mr Motta explained.
“Because the borders have been closed the only access we’ve had to those workers are to the ones that are stuck in Australia, have finished job placements in other parts of the country and have been able to come down to do asparagus.
“It means a lot of experienced guys we used are back in Vanuatu and are not allowed to come – it’s caused quite a bit of drama and made it extra challenging.”
Mr Motta said he has had to employ new workers but has found it “quite difficult”.
“I’ve had to just try and find other workers,” he said.
“We’re sort of at the beginning of the season but when everything gets up and running and we’re in full production, we could find problems with getting all of our asparagus out of the fields.
“I’m definitely worried about that.”
And it’s a similar story at local apple orchards.
Rowan Little, chief innovation officer at Montague in Narre Warren North, said for the last apple harvest the company had around 100 seasonal workers picking apples throughout the season.
“We are not sure where we will get workers to help us with next year’s apple harvest that is due to start in February 2021,“ he said.
“At this point we can only guarantee 25 workers which is a 75 percent reduction to last season. This will mean we will be short of workers at our Batlow (NSW), Narre Warren North (VIC) and Harcourt (VIC) orchards.“
Montague has been speaking with industry bodies and governments in both New South Wales and Victoria in an effort to secure the workers it needs.
As for the asparagus market itself, Mr Motta said like many other industries, it has been severely impacted by the pandemic.
With the food service industry at an all time low, he has serious concerns for the supply demand.
“We’re struggling with airfreight because flights have been restricted and also food service, both in Australia and in a lot of overseas countries, has been decimated really,” he said.
“Something like asparagus, it’s selling ok in retail but a lot of it is in export market.
“I don’t think anyone in any business hasn’t been affected by Covid.”
Member for La Trobe Jason Wood said the Federal Government has implemented a number of measures to ensure the agricultural sector has the workers it needs.
At the start of the pandemic, the government provided visa extensions to allow temporary visa holders already in Australia to continue to work in agriculture and for agriculture workers to stay with one employer for a longer period of time.
“The Morrison government is working through the National Cabinet, agreed to establish an Agriculture Workers’ Code to ensure the continuing operation of Australia’s critically important agriculture industry,” Mr Wood said.
“The aim of the Code is to provide a nationally-consistent approach for movement across domestic borders for those in occupations critical to the continuity of agriculture.
“It covers workers – including seasonal workers, farm businesses, agricultural services and activities.”
