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As on Friday, this will also be commissioned by the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of Upper Austria. A total of 500 third-country harvest helpers would still be missing in Upper Austria, Upper Austria LK President Michaela Langer-Weninger said at a press conference on Monday. In addition, around 100 asylum seekers or persons with the right to asylum are currently employed.
Vegetable growers need help
Things are particularly bad for fresh vegetable growers. Helpers from Kosovo would be especially needed. These employees, who have been tested for years, have had an AMS Upper Austria employment permit since the end of February. In principle, special flights would be possible, as would also be the case in Ukraine, but Langer-Weninger explained that the visa was missing because the Austrian embassy in Skopje was still closed.
The 194 Ukrainians in the first special card who are considered harmless to health are already in use during the strawberry harvest. Then they will pick apricots and cherries. Seasonal workers are also urgently needed to pick cucumbers. As Efko’s Managing Director Klaus Hraby said, they ran out of pickled gherkins for the first time today. Demand was particularly high in the first weeks of the crown crisis.
Dry periods worry
The arrival of teams with partial experience in the previous week was “an important first step in alleviating the current emergency situation,” said the president of the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of Upper Austria, Ewald Mayr. But not only the lack of aid, but also the persistent dry season in spring, cause vegetable growers “big headaches,” according to Mayr.
The year 2020 had started so promisingly with a wet month of February, the Councilor for Agrarian State Max Hiegelsberger (ÖVP) looked back. Then the rain stopped and with “Corona everything changed suddenly”. The crisis also showed how important the regional offer is: “The ten percent more regional purchases alone ensures around 20,000 jobs,” he emphasized.
In 2019, a total of 160 farms in Upper Austria carried out a commercial cultivation of agricultural and horticultural vegetables in a total area of around 1,800 hectares. According to the LK, they have 500 family jobs and employ about 800 people throughout the year. There are also 1,500 seasonal workers.
(Source: APA)
