Why fruit-picking is ripe for robots to take over

theguardian.com:

I felt compelled to write in response to Nell Frizzell’s article (I’m sure robots are very nice, but I don’t want them picking my fruit, 4 July). I note that she refers to the pleasure of sharing a motel with fruit-pickers in New Zealand, as opposed to the pleasure of actually doing the work. I’m sure the camaraderie of the workforce would be similar to that in any mining community until the 1980s. Possibly the children who were chimney sweeps were quite jolly in their brief leisure time in their brief lives.

I spent a day picking blackcurrants on a farm at the age of 15. It inspired me to stay at school and go to university. I now enjoy harvesting fruit and vegetables from my garden – for about an hour. After that, the boredom and backache become the dominating feature. Of course the produce is fresher and tastier, but the labour involved is enormous.

Viewed from a distance, and for brief periods, such work can seem bucolic. However, it is tedious and poorly paid. The sooner we can automate it, the better.Peter EnglishRuthin, Denbighshire

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