WILTSHIRE farmers have welcomed a recruitment drive, calling for a modern-day “land army” to prevent millions of tonnes of food going to waste.

Farmers across the UK need around 70,000 workers to cover the jobs usually carried out by seasonal migrants, according to the British Growers’ Association.

A spokesman for Defra said that proposals are being drawn up whereby furloughed workers - those on 80 per cent of their pay but not working due to Covid-19 - will be allowed to take on seasonal jobs such as fruit picking and vegetable harvesting.

Wiltshire National Farmers Union delegate Mark Jeffery said: “The situation is developing quickly as we move into the growing season.

“Some of the horticultural producers will need extra help pretty soon as salad plants are in, and certain types of potato will need picking and sorting.

“We are half way through the lambing season now, and farmers have really coped by just putting in very long days, and relying on family members to fill the need.”

He added that the agricultural sector in Wiltshire will start to need more people as the early harvests begin in early July, when travel and movement restrictions caused by the pandemic will be most felt.

Wiltshire has around 700 NFU members.

“Many of the roles are temporary and are manual labour jobs,” he said. “I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we would be happy to give them the right training.”

Adverts appeared in newspapers and across social media using the slogan “Feed Our Nation” last week.

The aim of the Land Army is to make the workforce and employers accessible to each other within minutes, minimising disruption to production and, wherever possible, keeping people in work. Farms and workers can put themselves on a map and see where local opportunities are.

This method takes out the need for lengthy recruitment processes and centralised vetting from agencies, leaving the farms to recruit at the speed required.