Migrant Farmworkers Whose Harvests Feed Europe Are Blocked at Borders

“In less than 24 hours, the minister of health tells us to stay at home to save lives, the prime minister tightens sanctions and the minister of agriculture tells the French to go to work in the fields,” Julien Odoul, a regional councilor for the far-right National Rally party, wrote on Twitter, referring to the French government’s appeal. “This government is confined to the kingdom of amateurism.”

That hasn’t stopped a call to arms that is spreading across Europe.

In the Spanish province of Huelva, Europe’s biggest producer of blueberries, the main farming union opened a recruitment drive for residents to make up for the expected loss of about 9,000 seasonal workers from Morocco, locked out by border closings.

Spain’s Almería Province, host to some of Europe’s largest greenhouse farms, is experiencing a boom in demand from supermarkets. Farmers there have a more steady supply of workers because the greenhouses operate year-round, allowing for a resident work force to live on-site, albeit in basic conditions.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/business/coronavirus-farm-labor-europe.html