Workers coming to agrifood jobs should be exempted from border closure.Ottawa—Agrifood groups are working with federal officials to ensure that foreign workers can still enter Canada to work on farms and food facilities.President Mary Robinson said the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is participating in an Employment Department Emergency Preparedness Committee “focusing on what needs to be done to ensure farmers have access to predictable and timely farm labour for the upcoming planting season.”As well Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has created a roundtable of industry leaders to discuss the impacts COVID-19 is having on the food supply chain. The discussions are being conducted in almost daily telephone conference calls.Robinson said that “Given the importance of a stable food production and distribution system throughout the pandemic, CFA will ask the minister and government to make food production and distribution the highest priority next to controlling and treating COVID-19.“We will ask government to ensure farmers have access to temporary foreign workers, while developing a viable contingency plan that would provide for this year's upcoming labour needs,” she said.“We will also request that the government apply an agrifood lens to all future measures it may consider taking to control the pandemic, to ensure they account for any potential negative impacts these measures may have on food production and distribution.”Beth Connery, chair of the Canadian Horticulture Council's labour committee, said the discussions will continue for some time. The annual influx of workers for the fruit and vegetable sector is already underway and will grow as planting season approaches.It's estimated that about 50,000 foreign workers are needed in the horticulture sector and at least another 10,000 foreign workers are needed in crop and livestock production.The foreign workers are essential to ensuring a safe and continuous supply of food for Canadians, Connery said. While there are some calls to fill the jobs with Canadians left jobless by the economic dislocation of COVID-19, that hasn't worked in the past. Connery said farmers “would be left high and dry when those people returned to their regular jobs.”She said was almost important to point out that most foreign workers having been coming to Canada for years and are “experienced, well trained and have the skills we need.”Like many others in the agrifood sector asked about this issue, Connery said, “There are no current disruptions to the food supply and that industry is working with government on potential, immediate solutions for now.”The Western Canadian Wheat Growers says that 60,000 foreign workers for the agriculture sector, over 1,400 specifically for oilseed and grain farming. Most of the TFWs hired for grain farming bring expertise and experience which has been in short supply in rural areas.“All the same self-isolation measures should continue to be in place for any TFW coming into the country, similar to any Canadian that is returning to Canada,” said Kenton Possberg, Saskatchewan Director. “The challenge is that many remote grain farms cannot operate without Temporary Foreign Workers as a part of their crew. The importance of our food value chain cannot be under-estimated for both our domestic or international markets.“Seeding season is just around the corner and cannot be delayed,” he said. “It is imperative that the federal government address this issue immediately.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.