- Many French farmers hope to quickly see the borders reopened for foreign seasonal workers, with the shortage of labor worsening at the dawn of the peak harvest season.
- In New Aquitaine, wine growers, strawberry farmers or asparagus producers who “feared the worst” saw their foreign workforce land and be supported by locals who were out of work.
- For many, this 2020 harvest season is also the one where it was necessary to accommodate seasonal workers while respecting barrier gestures against the Covid-19.
They were not sure whether they had the necessary arms for picking or suckering [removing twigs from a vine] and then lifting the vine. At the start of confinement, strawberry growers in Lot-et-Garonne, asparagus producers in Landes or Haute-Gironde, but also winegrowers in Bordeaux feared the lack of foreign labor. The Covid-19 would certainly seize the 2020 vintage and "put the strawberries in the cabbage", launched, at the end of March, Philippe Blouin.
Two months later, the president of the Interprofessional Fruit and Vegetable Association of Lot-et-Garonne (AIFLG) found a smile. On the phone, the strawberry farmer explains to 20 Minutes that his seasonal workers, mainly from "Spain, Portugal or Poland" have been able to join his farm despite the border closings. "We feared the worst but we manage to live the season well," says Philippe Blouin.
"Bridging the labor shortage with motivated premises"
In March, the 360 millers in Lot-et-Garonne were still waiting for half of the 6,000 agricultural workers needed. If Moroccan seasonal workers have never been able to reach the greenhouses of Agen or Marmande, "workers from the Schengen area, Romanian or from the Iberian Peninsula, were able to cross the borders with work contracts in hand", specifies the Lot -and-Garonne. Philippe Blouin, like many AIFLG producers, also benefits "from a local helping hand, from students or restaurateurs from Arcachon whose establishments were closed".
Same thing in Reignac, in Haute-Gironde. Jean-Pierre Bouillac could see the hundreds of long-awaited foreign seasonal workers arriving. The asparagus producer, however, set aside four hectares of the 15 usually worked each season. “Our most loyal seasonal workers arrived just before the borders closed, others got stuck in Portugal. We have managed to fill the labor shortage thanks to premises. Most were motivated job seekers who had to be trained, explains Jean-Pierre Bouillac. We got out of it, but surely because our region was relatively spared by the Covid-19. People moved more easily to give us a hand. ”
Jean-Pierre Bouillac considers himself "lucky". Elsewhere, especially in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, market gardeners and winegrowers are struggling and welcomed with relief the announcement made by the Minister of the Interior last week. Christophe Castaner assured that "additional exceptions" would be launched to facilitate the arrival of seasonal workers. In Vaucluse, Frédéric Vève is thus "impatiently" waiting for the arrival of fifteen Andalusian workers to harvest his cherries and prepare his vines. So far, the winegrower had managed to meet his needs with locals. School supervisor, canteen worker, carpenter, etc.: “I hired a dozen French people who had never seen vines in their life and who did a great job. But most of these partially unemployed people will gradually resume their activity with deconfinement.
“Welcoming our seasonal workers this year was not easy”
In Reignac, local workers should also see their contract "end by the end of next week," said Jean-Pierre Bouillac. Foreign seasonal workers will move on to other jobs. Those on the 100 hectares of vineyard "which have fallen behind". And all will continue to be accommodated in lodgings or in mobile homes near the large property. "We had to remain vigilant and try as much as possible to enforce health rules," says Jean-Pierre Bouillac, who did not want a "cluster bis" as in the Landes. At Easter, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of New Aquitaine had seen outbreaks of Covid-19 emerge "among seasonal workers who gathered asparagus". Each time, the epidemic declared itself "in places of accommodation or gathering at the break", had warned Dr. Daniel Habold. "The accommodation of promiscuous seasonal workers can no longer take place," insisted the director of the public health department of ARS.
Caroline Bourcier, a viticulturalist in Bordeaux, has chosen to add one seasonal worker per room and to close the common catering room. In Reignac, the workers have not left the farm since the start of the season. The Bouillac couple go shopping "wholesale" each week in Bordeaux and get their fruits, vegetables and meat from butchers and market gardeners in Haute-Gironde. "It's a lot of extra work but we added a string to our bow by opening our mini-market every Saturday to our foreign workers," advises Jean-Pierre Bouillac. Welcoming our seasonal workers this year is not easy. "
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