Don’t let a labour challenge decimate our industry
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s recent suggestion that we could import our soft fruit from abroad to override the labour issue has caused a lot of irritation in the UK horticulture and agriculture sectors.
Whatever the economics or opinions on this, the bigger picture needs to remain firmly in sight, which is the significant contribution of the soft fruit industry, and wider food and drink production, to the UK economy, food security and jobs throughout the supply chain.
There’s no denying that labour availability in agriculture is an ever-mounting challenge, whether it’s help on a family beef farm or for businesses growing thousands of tonnes of carrots or soft fruit. What we must avoid is looking at labour in isolation.
Skilled agricultural practitioners will always be needed, but AI can support humans to help mitigate some of the labour challenges.
Farming businesses have always had to adapt, often through necessity. In every sector, technology is taking away reliance on human input. This is part of where the future of UK agriculture lies: the interface of human and robotics or AI. The nature of the industry doesn’t lend itself to being full roboticised, but this powerful combination can help make it leaner.
I’m fortunate enough to be working with a pioneering ag-tech start up, FruitCast, which is using AI and technology to forecast soft fruit yields and maximise output from labour hours. Growers can anticipate when they need labour and target it to its most productive effect.
There has been extraordinary investment in the soft fruit industry over recent years to extend seasonality to meet UK market demand, from mega glasshouses to breeding, and it would be sacrilege to jeopardise this, either by inhibiting labour flow or under-investment in ag-tech.
We need to look at the labour crisis through a different lens. Yes, we are challenged by it, but we must leverage what we’ve got: integrate the right technology and people in the right way to drive the future of UK food production.
FruitCast was invited to showcase innovation and why the UK is the place to invest at the Global Investment Summit with the prime minister and 200 global investors last week. It validates what we and others in our sector are doing.
We have the brains, the technology and the understanding of practical agriculture here in the UK, and if we can tap into more external investment, we’ll continue to innovate to overcome what can at times seem overwhelming problems to solve – and potentially create new kinds of jobs in the process.
Richard Willlamson, a strategic consultant for large agricultural businesses and agritech start ups.
He works with ambitious agricultural and land-based businesses to build a bold strategy to sustain their profitability and leadership in the industry.