Picking strawberries in a pandemic

A seasonal worker from Ukraine harvests strawberries in a field during the ongoing coronavirus crisis in Zaluski, Poland. Photo: Omar Marques

Huge impact

The market opened on May 15th. “Coronavirus has caused problems here. The number of strawberries is very small and the demand is huge. In addition, prices are now very high – at the beginning, when we opened the market, it was sometimes even above 30 zlotys (around 6.80 euros) for a kilo. Today the average is 22,” says Wojciech Klik, head of the Municipal Economy and Housing Department in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą. This is the department that also manages the marketplace in nearby Nowe Przebojewo.

The price of strawberries has been affected by the weather – unfavourable temperatures, wind, low sun exposure and long frosts. By this time, the strawberry growing season is around 2.5 weeks late. In addition there is a shortage of workers to pick the fruit. “Every day, someone comes for those jobs, mainly from Ukraine, but these people are unfortunately quarantined. Producers that come to the Nowe Przebojewo market are not happy. The COVID-19 virus is having a huge impact on the strawberry harvest,” Klik has said.

This situation has been confirmed by Michał Borzycki, a strawberry producer who also came to the market with his van, only partially full. “At first, we had problems maintaining the plantation. Now, we are also having problems with collecting the fruit. As of today, I have only 20 per cent of the staff that I should have compared to the previous year. The borders are closed and there are far fewer people who can work with us – be it for maintaining the plantations or the harvest itself.”

Borzycki also employs workers from Ukraine. Today, from the 25 employees who assisted him in production last year, he has only managed to employ six seasonal employees – those who managed to cross the border. He acknowledges that “Consulates are not working as normal. Everything has to be dealt with electronically, and it takes time. But the fruit can’t wait. For some of the strawberries, it will be too late – they will probably rot.”

Migrants work in the fields, bend low on the ground with baskets attached tightly to their bodies. Every now and again, they approach a car parked nearby, where they place their filled baskets. There, another employee diligently notes down the number of baskets delivered by which employee. The worker returns to the field. Compulsory quarantine for foreign employees can also take place in the field, so they can work, as long as the field borders the farm where they live. They are not allowed to go anywhere else. Those farmers who have fields further away from their farms are unable to bring migrant workers there – the strawberries will have to wait until the employees’ quarantine is over.

Those workers who reached Czerwińsk nad Wisłą have faced problems and delays along the way: “I came to Poland two weeks ago, by car, with eight other people. The borders are open to us, but now, transportation to Poland is very expensive. A year ago, the cost of the trip was 50 dollars, and today it is 100. All because of the virus – buses do not run,” says Maksim Andrusiv, a worker from Ukraine.

High costs

Migrant workers also complain about difficulties at the Ukrainian-Polish border. They mention long and exhausting checks, which those with biometric passports have already forgotten. “Many Ukrainians would like to come to Poland, but they cannot. The offices do not work normally, and all documents must be obtained. You also need more money for transport,” Andrusiv continues. “I received the invitation and I applied for my visa to Poland. And just when I learnt that they were starting to let people pass through the border, I went straight away.”

Igor Burban from Ukraine has been working in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą for over 15 years. He helps on the farm and brings seasonal workers from Ukraine to several employers in Poland. This year, however, everything was more complicated. A single journey lasts almost a month for him. He first, travels to Ukraine. Once he arrives there he follows a mandatory two-week quarantine. He then adheres to another two-week quarantine when he gets back to Poland with the other workers.

“I came to Poland as soon as the regulations had been relaxed and then, went back to bring more Ukrainians,” Burban says after returning from Ukraine. “Now I have to quarantine here. I will go through this quarantine, 14 days, and then, when I go to Ukraine again, I will have to quarantine there again. Another 14 days. It takes me a whole month to bring a group of seasonal workers from Ukraine. And the cost of these trips is very high.”

Burban says that everything has been made more difficult by the coronavirus. He recalls previous years: “Now, procedures are very demanding and time consuming. It used to be easier, you could come with a biometric passport. Those who wanted, could stay. They were given a place to live and a job contract. And now, you have to send an invitation, which takes two weeks. Later, the document is sent by post, which again takes a long time. And people in Ukraine are waiting. The pandemic has made the economic situation worse for all of us.”

Burban spends all his days and nights at the farm. He cannot go outside, not even to the store. On the farm where he lives, basic food is provided – potatoes and other vegetables. The employer or those who have already finished their quarantine can go to the shops. Then they bring him more products.

Swabs

Tents are set up in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą, next to the town hall. Soldiers, because they are the ones who are responsible for the initiative here, have been working since the morning. They have set up signs and marked paths. This is where the coronavirus test point for foreign employees is being set up. Fruit and vegetable producers who employ seasonal workers from abroad must bring them to the testing point.

“This is a pilot swab collection point for coronavirus testing,” explains Joanna Bala, director of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund’s regional branch in Warsaw. “People who came to Poland from abroad are surveyed. It is a formal requirement, obligatory for all those who cross the border, also for the employees who work for our farmers, the so-called ‘farmer’s helpers’. Every farmer is obliged to report the arrival of such an employee and the number of people currently on the farm. This employee from abroad must appear for examination no later than the seventh day after their arrival.”

Cars pull up, one after the other. Workers disembark and queue up. Most of them hold Ukrainian passports. They approach the registration area in two metre intervals. They then follow the path to the testing point. After the examination, they return to their cars and from there to the farms. There, without leaving the area, they will be waiting for the results.

“A farmer who has migrant workers on his farm is obliged, according to the guidelines of the Chief Sanitary Inspector, to bring, while maintaining all forms of security of course, the farmer’s helpers and let them be tested,” Bala continues. Depending on whether the result is positive or negative, there are guidelines on how the farmer must proceed. Here, everything depends on how the work is carried out and organised. Usually, employees are divided into groups. If coronavirus is detected in one person in the group, then the whole group must be isolated and subjected to a two week quarantine.

Near the queue stands Tomasz Gmurczyk, a local strawberry producer, observing the situation. “Today I still have enough workers,” Gmurczyk tells us. “But the weather is improving. Most likely, more employees will arrive at my farm around the weekend. But how will it really be? We’ll see. Will they cross the border and reach my farm? I don’t know.”

Gmurczyk emphasises that the situation on his plantation is still under control if – along with the improving weather – migrant workers will start arriving to help him collect the fruit on time. However, not everyone is in this situation. “There are farmers who do have enough employees, but there are also those, who have no one. You don’t know what will happen next, and the season has just begun,” Gmurczyk says.

The Polish economy needs immigrants

At the beginning of the pandemic in Poland, many foreign workers found themselves in a very difficult situation – some lost their jobs overnight and even their accommodation, which is often arranged by employers. Many of them did not have savings to live on in Poland without a job (it was also not known how long the pandemic would last). Not earning money also meant becoming impossible to send financial support back home to families. When other countries began to announce the closing of their borders, many of the migrant workers packed their bags and returned to their native land.

“A lot of people left Poland at the beginning of the pandemic – the companies closed down, so they went home. And now, arranging the trip back is expensive. But also, we cannot come back all at once,” says Maksim Andrusiv. “We cannot all work with strawberries, there are not enough strawberries in Poland! And what about those who left when other companies or factories closed? Where would they come back to work? You have to wait for the pandemic to end.”

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, over two million foreigners worked in Poland. These were two million people who had found jobs and who were needed on the market. This means that they were needed by the Polish economy as well. When the crisis hit – we immediately felt their absence. The economy has long ceased to be simply a domestic issue. People from other countries work in production and in the markets in which these products are sold.

Producers of strawberries from the “Strawberry Basin”, as people tend to call the Czerwińsk nad Wisłą area, often sell their products on a wider scale. Of course, they sell to the local markets, retail or to retail chains, but also to foreign companies that buy Polish fruit and send them westward. These products end up in other European Union countries or the United States. Polish strawberries, mostly harvested by foreigners, reach tables around the world in the form of jams, syrups and wines.

Waiting for employees

Towards the end of May and the start of June, the situation in the “Strawberry Basin” was very difficult. Adverse weather in April meant that this year’s harvest was not as abundant as the previous year. This was the biggest problem for producers. Later, a drought came, but fortunately most strawberry producers in the region had irrigation systems and managed to continue operations without much damage. Later, there were shortages of employees, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus. The producers also had to rely on a smaller pool of labour compared to the previous year. Of course, other harvests, such as cucumbers and other vegetables, have faced similar problems. The lack of seasonal workers casts a broad shadow on agricultural production in Poland in a wider sense.

“The coronavirus outbreak has had a very negative impact on the labour market. The biggest problem is the lack of seasonal workers. After talks with farmers, I assess that the demand for seasonal workers is today (end of May) only being met at 30-40 per cent,” explains Emil Koprowski, head of the Załuski gmina – a locality 50 minutes outside of Warsaw. “Producers probably won’t be able to pick all the strawberries this season.”

The municipality is trying to help farmers during the crisis by seeking solutions on the domestic labour market. “We also try to act ourselves,” Koprowski continues. “We have started a promotional campaign encouraging residents of eastern Poland, living along the eastern borders, to work at the strawberry harvest in the Załuski Gmina. We have sent letters to offices, counties and other localities in those regions. We were able to find farmer’s helpers among Poles. In this difficult economic situation, we should look for opportunities within our country.”

The head of the Gmina admits, however, that finding employees in Poland is not easy and that the help of labour (mainly) from the East is essential for farmers and the proper functioning of Polish farms. “Our work for now is to minimise the losses,” Koprowski concludes.

Magdelena Chodownik is a freelance journalist, photographer and producer.

Omar Marques is a freelance photojournalist from northwest Portugal based in Kraków, Poland. He works as a stringer for Getty Images, Anadolu Agency and collaborates with magazines on editorial and commercial assignments between Central/Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

coronavirus, COVID-19, migrant workers, Poland