School Leavers Asked to Pick Fruit due to Pandemic

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)

With the impacts of the pandemic still affecting international borders, school leavers are being encouraged to rethink their gap year and consider fruit picking instead. An initiative launched by Thankful4Farmers is linking young people up with work placements and offering training, in part to address the agricultural labour shortage. So far, one Victorian farm is on the list of participating farms, the Yarck-based Koala Cherries.

Environmental science student Daphne Tripodi has been working on the orchid for two seasons now after deciding to move home to Eildon from Melbourne. She stated that she had come across many people at the orchard who had not been able to travel overseas during their gap year. During this time, she was seen travelling around the country picking various fruits. Even though this job is physically demanding, it provides a hoard of learning opportunities. Since there are no backpackers around, the help is greatly appreciated by farm owners.

Riverina-based Barham Avocados director Katrina Myers said school leavers had the potential to provide support during the picking season but were not a long-term solution to the worker shortage. She believes that this initiative is a great start to solve the problem but it is far from eradicating the actual issue. Nevertheless, the temporary helping hands are filling the gap that is caused by the pandemic. The 40-acre orchard is still developing but produces around 300 bins of avocados a year, which equates to a couple of hundred tonnes. Usually, about five extra casuals are put on to help during the picking season, but this year 11 were employed.