They are looking to recruit 300 tomato pickers to work on a farm in Santa Isabel

The beginning of the tomato harvest began in the southern part of the island, and the farms are looking for labor to harvest as much fruit as possible and to prevent the loss of production.

“We have faced a loss of staff, employees are not arriving and the work is strong and requires a large number of collectors that we do not have. As a result, the number of ropes planted is low, “he said. Guillermo Fernandez, a producer of over 32 years and general manager of the Gargiulo farm in Santa Isabel, one of the largest productions in Puerto Rico.

Fernández indicated that the production projected for this 2021 season is 685,000 boxes. Of these, they seek to export 50%. Before Hurricane María, the Gargiulo farm exported 70% of its production.

The farm has to recruit over 300 pickers these days. However, it has only a third of them. Today 98 workers arrived and in the previous days they arrived a little less.

Due to the lack of labor, the Gargiulo farm reduced production. “From the 800 ropes I had, we decreased production and decreased quantity. Today we have only 280 rows of tomatoes “, said Fernández.

As a requirement to work on picking tomatoes, you just need to have two hands and the desire to work. Pick-up time is from 8:00 to 15:00, Monday to Friday and is paid at USD 7.25 per hour. Each day, each employee could collect 78 buckets, but if they earn more, they will be paid 65 cents for each additional bucket, as an incentive.

Workers will not lose the government benefits they receive Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP). Currently, there are over 6,500 people working in agriculture who enjoy this benefit, according to the administrator of the Administration for the Socio-Economic Development of the Family (ADSEF), Alberto Fradera.

The harvest will last 14 weeks. The stimulation per bucket will increase to 85 cents in the case of the third collection line, after the worker exceeds 78 buckets per day.

In turn, Ramón „Pirul” González Beiró, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, acknowledged the lack of labor in the agricultural sector. “The lack of labor has been a constant challenge in the agricultural sector, and is a fundamental part of the execution of our agro-industries, affecting their production and marketing. We need to promote that more Puerto Ricans want to enter the world of agricultural work, “he said.

González seeks to promote agricultural employability in the vegetable sector during the high harvest season and to promote local fruit consumption in Puerto Rican households. He said that under his administration he would make existing programs available to farmers, as well as new initiatives to increase consumption of local produce, and in turn establish agreements with the various agencies to create strategies to promote agricultural work.

Today, the secretary visited the farm in Santa Isabel with Fradera.

“Our approach is to strengthen marketing and present alternatives for the development of agriculture and the island’s economy, so we try to provide farmers with all available resources to position them nationally and internationally, We emphasize the urgent need of the unemployed to see agriculture as an employment opportunity and to contribute to the development of our lands “, added the secretary.

Those interested in being engaged in picking tomatoes can call 787-845-2530.