With the Northern Territory’s mango harvest just getting underway, the call has once again gone up from farmers … ‘grey nomads, we need you!’
The NT News repost that, after a couple of tough years for growers, favourable conditions are set to deliver a bumper harvest, and the challenge will be finding the labour to get the fruit off the trees and on the supermarket shelves.
There is a pool of workers available via the East Timor and Pacific Island jobs program, so there should be enough core workers for the harvest but the missing ingredient will be the backpackers, who are still to return in numbers after the Covid years.
The NT News says grey nomads may once again pick up some of the harvest slack.
Would you like to help out with the mango harvest? PIC: Abdul Sameer / Pexels
Matthew Palise, a director of mango farming company, Red Rich Fruits, said it could be a good job for many.
“Picking fruit helps the primary producers of Australia and you can make good money,” he told the NT News. “The fruit industry is a good industry if you’re prepared to work … good pickers can make $200 to $400 a day depending on the product and employer.”
He said that while the work was rewarding, it could appear daunting to some.
“Entry into the industry seems to be a challenge because it’s a bit daunting to go and pick mangoes in 30-degree heat,” he said.
The NT News reports that the Australian Mango Industry Association is expected to release sector forecasts in the next fortnight. The Territory’s total harvest in the 2021-22 season was 2.4m trays in Darwin and 2m trays in Katherine.
We like eating them, not picking them.
I’d give it a go…it could never be any worse than picking Shiraz grapes off a low trellis! I have picked oranges many years ago, but never mangoes…maybe I’ll try my hand at fruit picking again while on the next big trip…
Picking fruit for a job, or picking ground plants is a young persons job today, an e4arly demise, is awaiting an oldie if they do this job for any length of time. I did it when I was in my twenties, and it was a bloody hard job, even when I was fit and healthy, old and broken today, like most retirees, not really possible. Plus the penalties you would get financially if you were on a pension.
There are a lot of unemployed persons in the N T enjoying a non working existence via the generosity of Centrelink. Surely these people through encouragement and inducements could assist with the labour shortfalls.
$200—$400 a day how long would that take to stop your pension.If the government thought about it and let pensioners keep what they earnt or close they would solve a lot of problems.Yes that sort of work is not for everyone but a lot would have a go.It would clear up a lot of labour issues and help a lot of pensioners with a few bills,as we have been getting absolutley no interest on our money for the last how many years.Also if I remember correctly of our time in business the older our employee the more honest,reliable and productive they were.Let alone the in valuable experience they have and life skills they can pass on.Oh sorry that all sounds like too much sense to me.
I would definitely give it a go.