A French appeal for seasonal workers to prevent products from rotting

France launched an appeal on Tuesday for workers made redundant by the coronavirus crisis to help farmers pick fruits and vegetables. Without this support, fruits and vegetables would rot in the fields due to a shortage of seasonal workers.
Farmers predict a nationwide shortage of around 200,000 farm workers and seasonal workers during the harvest period, as tight border restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus make recruitment much more difficult overseas, a shortage which is raising the prospect of strawberries, asparagus and other crops rotting in the fields.
A prospect that urged the French Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume to launch a rallying cry to what he called The “ghost army” of France to save the agriculture.
An army that used to be composed of 63% foreigners, who used to come from central and eastern European countries as well as from Morocco and Tunisia and who cant currently join the harvest forces due to the Schengen border closure and movement restrictions.
To speak numbers, the agricultural sector needed 45,000 workers and seasonal workers in March and will need 80,000 seasonal workers in April and May to help farmers, mainly for harvesting fruit and vegetables.