With COVID-19 appearing to worsen around the world, farmers in New Zealand believe if agriculture is going to drag the nation’s economy back into shape, there is a need to fix labour shortages.
While urban centres went into a strict lockdown in the months of April and May – contributing to a 12.2% tumble in GDP, agriculture, forestry and fishing witnessed only a marginal drop of over 2%.
As per NZHerald report, General manager of Yummy Apples Paul Paynter termed agriculture as the “shining light” for keeping the country’s economy going. But as harvesting season approaches, he worried a lot of fruit might not make it to supermarket shelves, as the border remains closed to the seasonal workers who’d usually pick it.