Kalamata (Greece) (AFP)

In the midst of ancient ruins overgrown with vegetation, Nikos Argirakis is busy collecting olives from his domain in the Peloponnese.

This year, the harvest will be delayed due to a lack of seasonal workers due to the pandemic.

"About a hundred agricultural workers survey the region every year at harvest time. This season, there are no more than fifteen," said Mr. Argirakis.

Travel restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the virus have severely impacted the movement of farm workers, many of whom are immigrants.

The closure of the border with Albania and the obligation to obtain a certificate are causing a shortage of manpower in a sector which relies mainly on seasonal workers, who are rarely declared.

At the exit of the village of Aghios Andreas, in the southwest of the Peloponnese, the domain of Nikos Argirakis extends over one hectare and has nearly a thousand olive trees.

"We are late so we are trying to pick up quickly. After a while, the product may lose quality," said AFP Mr. Argirakis.

Usually completed at the end of November, the harvest will extend until the end of December for this producer, also a waiter in a café in Kalamata.

The branches of the olive trees are stripped by hand and the small green and purple balls fall on the nets lying on the ground.

The burlap bags fill up in a methodical and orderly ballet.

Two men from Bangladesh and an Albanian couple, present in Greece before the borders were closed, finally joined the estate of Nikos Argirakis.

"Many Greeks refuse to do this painful and little valued work," sighs the producer with a lean and slender physique.

“I had to put my mom and my sister to work,” he says.

"This is how our grandparents did, harvesting has always been a family affair", relativizes the 40-year-old man, half of whom take care of the family estate.

- "What if we are infected?"

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In the village of Messini, Panayiotis Outsikas also has to rely on his family to help him.

"There are no workers, we will have to harvest ourselves", plague the shepherd, surrounded by his sheep.

As far as the eye can see, thousands of olive trees roll down to the sea the arm of land located in the south-west of mainland Greece.

The Messenian Peninsula, in the Peloponnese region, concentrates the largest production of olive oil in the country, a sector valued at 790 million euros in 2019, according to Eurostat data.

"Many estates are family-owned and the population is elderly, it is difficult to harvest the olives and the harvest time is likely to triple", comments Ioannis Andriopoulos.

This employee of the agricultural cooperative of Messinia, which combines agricultural work and a delivery job, is worried about an exceptional situation which undermines an already faltering model.

“It's hard to trust undocumented workers. They haven't been tested for fear of being arrested, but what happens if we are infected?” Asks the 50-year-old.

Normally, four people come to work on the cooperative's olive groves.

This year, Ioannis Andriopoulos is working alone.

"Workers and producers have taken precautions to protect themselves from the virus," continues Giannis Pazios, general secretary of the cooperative.

- The unprofitable olive oil -

"But less labor means an increase in the price of labor and therefore in production costs," Pazios added to AFP.

Sold for 2.40 euros per liter on average, olive oil becomes unprofitable for farmers.

And "the closure of the catering sector in Greece but also lockdowns around the world is reducing demand and therefore activity", he has already observed.

A pungent and intense smell escapes from the press of Madéna, a few kilometers from Kalamata, the capital of Messinia.

Tractors slalom between piles of bags filled with olives in a skilfully orchestrated choreography.

"Right now, we can't sell to restaurants or grocery stores, and exports will slow down this year," laments Dimitris Karoumpalis, the owner of the wine press.

These accounted for 60% of the country's total production last year.

"We have a small margin of maneuver but we have to succeed in turning to new markets, such as Russia," suggests Mr. Karoumpalis.

He worries more about outlets than about his harvest.

Because "one way or another, the olives will end up being picked up."

© 2020 AFP