The vegetable growers work under difficult conditions because of corona. How it works in practice and why farmers prefer seasonal workers to domestic helpers.
When this season is over, asparagus farmer Fabian Kuhn from Allersheim (district of Würzburg) will have shown that he can also be his husband as a tour operator and hygiene inspector. Kuhn has been working for weeks to ensure that at least some of the foreign harvest helpers he needs per season can enter.
Even though the federal government lifted the entry ban for seasonal workers imposed by Corona at the end of March, it is extremely difficult to recruit and travel there. “Some of the seasonal workers don’t come – out of fear,” says Kuhn.
Seasonal workers: Quarantine for a fortnight
But fear of corona was not the reason why the women hesitated. “It’s the fear of flying,” sighs Kuhn. Romanian seasonal workers are only allowed to fly in with specially chartered machines according to a special procedure. “I have a bus operator on site in Romania who picks people up from home. They will then be medically checked at the airport in Romania, again upon arrival in Nuremberg. And when they arrive here on the farm, they first have to be in quarantine for a fortnight, ”says the asparagus farmer.
Photo: Raul Stef, dpa
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Quarantine on the asparagus farm? How does that work? Kuhn sighs again. It is, “everything is so complex.” At the moment, only around 30 of the helpers needed have arrived at him, they are occupying the quarters that are otherwise sufficient for the entire workforce. “We are just lifting containers for the next ones who are arriving,” says Kuhn.
In consultation with the health department, the newcomers are allowed to work in the fields despite the quarantine requirement, but only in fixed small teams and while maintaining the distance requirement. Not all helpers always paid attention to the distance: “You feel like a bad finger if you have to keep people from getting close,” says Kuhn. Constantly admonishing is exhausting. He wears – how his family too – a constant warning vest: it should remind you that the group of foreign seasonal workers and the group of domestic helpers do not mix.
Particularly difficult: the food. The workers would be catered for on the farm, but the seasonal workers normally served themselves. “Now we have a canteen with food distribution and a plexiglass pane between the kitchen help and the harvest helpers,” says Kuhn Having to eat contagion in different shifts. That makes the whole working day, says Kuhn: “This whole thing goes totally to the substance”.
Domestic helpers: return to university or in original jobs
Asparagus and vegetable grower Jürgen Heilmann from Albertshofen (district of Kitzingen) is forced to work under difficult conditions and with a smaller staff than usual. Heilmann usually employs at least 70 foreign helpers and 20 local sellers; this year he has to get by with 50 foreign and 10 domestic workers.
Unlike some of his colleagues, Heilmann had shown himself very open a few weeks ago when recruiting unskilled local workers. Now he says: “I guess I bet on the wrong horse.” Not because the work performance of the people would have been bad. “But the majority of the students I had are now gone, have to learn and write exams. And the short-time workers from other industries are slowly returning to their jobs. ”
Field work: People with specialist knowledge are urgently needed
What that means? “All the interviews start from the beginning,” Heilmann moans. To make matters worse, some jobs in the field require specialist knowledge. “You can learn asparagus pricking in ten days,” says the vegetable grower. “But I can’t let everyone on the tractor and not entrust everyone with the watering of vegetables. It takes ten weeks to learn that.” Due to the lack of specialists, Heilmann expects “20 to 30 percent loss” this season.
Photo: Heiko Becker
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In Gochsheim (district of Schweinfurt), vegetable farmer Christina Heimrich is trying to manage production with the help of the extended family. Heimrichs grow lettuce. Usually twelve to 16 people help, only eight people are there this year. “We have recruited a few Romanians and Poles who have already been to the country. We are not getting any new people,” says Christina Heimrich and suggests that the seasonal labor market should also be opened up to Ukrainians.
Vegetable cultivation: The producers do not yet know whether the work will pay off
They also wooed workers in the region. A German helper had come, the Gochsheimer hopes to be able to hold him. The employment agency also sent a refugee, but the minimum wage of 9.35 euros in agriculture did not seem sufficient to him.
“Well, the whole family is now working until they drop,” says Heimrich. The cabbage, kohlrabi and leek plants are in pallets in the courtyard. “They have to get out now, otherwise it will be too late.” Whether their whole work Heimrichs do not yet know how to pay off. “We sell to a wholesaler who otherwise mainly supplies the catering trade,” says the vegetable farmer. However, this dealer also serves grocery stores, so at least the sale of part of the production is guaranteed.
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