Better pay needed to attract farm workers

More financial incentives are needed to attract workers to Prince Edward Island farms because currently many find it more economical to simply draw employment insurance, says the PEI Agriculture Sector Council.

Employment Insurance (EI), social services and other social programs limit access to available labour, Wendy Weatherbie, executive director for the council, told the provincial legislature's Standing Committee on Community Affairs and Economic Development last week.

"When farmers know of people in their community who are sitting home that day because they're getting a check in the mail, they get very frustrated that they can't get people to come and harvest their crop," Weatherbie said.

"It's called the 'PEI. program' and the province of PEI is the biggest user of it," added Ian Simmons, chair of the council, referring the province's use of seasonal labour.

"We've really created a monster," he said.

The council laid out a number of human resource issues facing farmers today. But one of the biggest problems in the industry is a shortage of workers and a lack of young people entering the agriculture sector, Weatherbie said.

In a recent labour market study conducted by the PEI Agriculture Sector Council, it was estimated between 360 and 576 workers would need to be recruited into the industry every year over the next five years to successfully meet industry demand.

The labour crunch is most noteworthy between August and Novemberharvesting time. But due to the shortage of local workers available or willing to work, farmers have been bringing foreign workers into the province during these months through the Seasonal Agriculture Program. Farmers would much rather employ local workers, Weatherbie said.

(This article was originally published in The Journal Pioneer.)