A $350,000 support package for the hard hit horticultural sector has been announced by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor.
The package will go towards addressing the labour crisis that has crippled fruit growers this season, as well as contributing towards wellbeing training programmes.
However, political party ACT has attacked the relief fund as a slap in the face for a sector that faces losses of hundreds of million of dollars.
The joint initiative between the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry for Social Development will initially offer the wellbeing training to growers in Hawke's Bay, but it will be extended to Gisborne, Tasman and Central Otago. It is expected to kick-off in April.
“I understand it’s challenging at the moment. The pandemic has led to national workforce issues and orchardists down south have suffered crop losses caused by weather events,” said O’Connor.
“This package significantly boosts funding and resources to support affected growers and their staff.”
A New Zealand Apples and Pears (Nzap) forecast released on Friday showed the export share of the national crop will be 19.3 million cartons, 3 million cartons fewer than last year, because there was not enough labour to pick the fruit. This would result in a $95 million to $100m fall in export earnings.
Some growers think the prediction is “optimistic”.
Nzap chief executive Alan Pollard said the funding would build on work already being done to boost training and development to help growers attract, recruit and retain staff.
“Many of our members are under considerable stress, and we all need to look out for each other. This comprehensive package of workshops, training and events will greatly assist with that,” he said.
The support package is part of a raft of measures being funded to help address labour challenges across the horticulture sector.
O’Connor said there was a big focus on connecting people looking for work with roles that needed to be filled, noting a campaign he launched last year aimed at attracting 10,000 kiwis into food and fibre jobs over the following four years had attracted 3121 so far.
ACT primary industries spokesman Mark Cameron and immigration spokesman James McDowall said the relief package was a slap in the face for the sector, which needed workers, not workshops.
Horticulture and viticulture growers faced losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Cameron said.
“To get this pitiful news in a week when it’s become clear that Hawke’s Bay is short of thousands of workers and estimates its apple losses alone will run to between $100 and $200 million this year is just sickening.
“The Government doesn’t seem to understand the lifecycle of plants, having rationalised that a sector that had ‘had it good’ for a number of years could suck up one rotten harvest.
“But winter pruning is just around the corner and a substandard job along with too few workers will impact next year’s harvest too,” Cameron said.
McDowell noted that Pacific Island nations economies’ would also suffer, as the reduction in workers from the usual 15,000 down to just 2000 this year would mean less money going back into their economies.
The Government should have expanded the MIQ facilities to accommodate the Pacific Island workers, he said.
“The Government must open a quarantine free passage with Australia and increase the numbers of Pacific Island workers who can travel here so this critical sector of the New Zealand economy can flourish,” he said.