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"We are concerned, especially for the period after this month and the beginning of May, as the borders with Albania have been closed, where most of the qualified land workers come from. We are working to find formulas and come up with them, but also take care of prophylaxis measures to avoid the spread of the virus.
They come organized, it is understood that we will make the procedure very simple. It would be good for a few days to get into a quarantine form, or to do the tampon to be safe and then go out into the fields. Farmers agree, while we are organizing with the epidemiology institute to do these tests. What will be needed and is urgent, is an agreement with Albania that the opening of the borders be done in coordination with the maintenance of control measures," concluded Voridis.
Greece needs more than 50,000 seasonal workers a year in the agricultural sector and as much in the tourism sector. For the most part, the 'armies' are from Albania, Romania and Bulgaria. Although there are more than 40,000 Syrian migrants in the country and from North African countries, they refuse to work in these sectors and prefer to receive a payment of 400 euros per family, which is provided by the support mechanism for war refugees.
If Albania does not open its borders, then thousands of hectares of seasonal fruits, peaches, apricots, cherries, and thousands of hectares of vegetables per season will remain uncultivated. Farmers' associations in the north of the country, but also in Crete, Larissa and the Peloponnese, have reacted to the situation, employing thousands of seasonal workers each year.