Corsican Clementine Harvest Saved as Moroccan Workers Flown In Despite Pandemic

The Corsican clementine harvest was at risk of taking a big hit, in the absence of seasonal workers from the Maghreb. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and border crossing restrictions, they were unable to make the trip this season, to the great dismay of the island’s citrus growers, who were deeply concerned.

At the end of September, a solution came from the French authorities. Thus, the interministerial crisis center, attached to the Prime Minister, adopted a protocol that allows the transport to Corsica of 902 Moroccan agricultural workers, by air, because it is "an imperative" to save the harvests, according to the director of the French Office for Immigration and Integration, Didier Leschi, quoted by franceinfo.

Five flights financed by Corsican farmers ensure the travel, between October 9 and 28. The first flight from Casablanca was expected on Friday noon at Bastia-Poretta airport. The Moroccan nationals will be tested for Covid-19, at departure, on arrival, and seven days after their arrival. Their contracts should last between three and four months and they will be paid "according to French regulations", assured François Xavier Ceccoli, manager of a clementine packaging station.

The total cost of the operation is estimated at nearly one million euros, of which more than half is allocated for the purchase of round-trip tickets alone, according to the same source. It should be noted that the clementine market represents the second economic power in Corsican agriculture. The harvests alone employ between 1,200 and 1,400 seasonal workers each year.