Labor Shortage Threatens French Strawberry Harvest as Moroccan Workers Delayed

"We risk losing half the production, because I was supposed to receive Moroccans who were supposed to pick up this half," explains to France info a farmer in Controis-en-Sologne, whose strawberry production is spread over 20 hectares. His neighbor, James, an organic farmer, who uses Moroccan and Bulgarian agricultural workers for his 8-hectare strawberry production, is in the same situation. He needs 45 foreign seasonal workers for this high season 2022 (May-June). "This staff shortage can be fatal for my business as for many businesses," he worries.

The visa applications are blocked by the French consulate in Casablanca. Contacted by France info, the ministries of Foreign Affairs, then of the Interior, assure that they are fully "mobilized on the file to meet the demands of the agricultural profession which are very important, particularly at this spring period." Not enough to reassure the producers. They are planning a demonstration to alert the authorities to the urgency of the situation.