A young farmer helps a mandarin orange farmer with a labor shortage in Corona Ehime November 10, 13:52
In Yawatahama City, Ehime Prefecture, young farmers who usually produce vegetables and fruits other than mandarin oranges are helping to harvest mandarin oranges, which are under-harvested due to the effects of the new coronavirus.
In Ehime prefecture, Satsuma mandarin is in the harvest season.
Five young farmers from the prefecture visited the farm in Yawatahama City.
The five are members of an organization made up of young farmers in the prefecture, and most of them usually produce vegetables and fruits other than kankitsu, but they rushed to know the labor shortage.
At the farm of Masafumi Nishikawa (56), who grows Satsuma mandarin in terraced fields of 280 ares, three people worked and picked the yellow-colored fruits and harvested them with scissors.
A man from a strawberry farm in Saijo said, "I haven't harvested strawberries yet and I have plenty of room in my field. I heard that I was in trouble and participated."
In Ehime prefecture, JA employs a total of more than 20,000 part-time workers from all over Japan every year for work such as harvesting citrus fruits, but it is difficult to secure human resources due to the influence of the new coronavirus.
Mr. Nishikawa, a mandarin orange farmer, said, "I am grateful for this kind of initiative because it really requires manpower at this time."