Seasonal horticultural recruitment firm launched for workers in climate affected regions

An environmental campaigner has set up the organisation to help people whose crops and livelihoods were destroyed in flash floods. 

Naseem Talukdar, of Fishponds, Bristol, established Regency Ltd in response to widespread labour shortages in UK agriculture. Hundreds of people have now signed up for work through the company, including residents of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, where flash flooding has devastated crops, livelihoods and lives.

Talukdar has also been behind a number of other environmental initiatives, including the charity Projects Against Plastic and Plastic Free Ramadan, which reduced the use of single-use plastic at the break of religious fasting. He believes the new recruitment firm can help improve Britain’s workforce and offer people much-needed income and stability.

At one South West farm, a number of Bangladeshi staff have been named among the site’s top 10 strawberry pickers, leading to a tenfold increase in the hire of workers from the Asian country, which has suffered from successive devastating floods, with the most recent hitting earlier this month. 

‘The farming industry in the UK benefits from employees with an agriculture-rich background, while the workers can earn a good wage to reinvest in their family and community,’ said Talukdar. ‘I’ve seen how such opportunities can be beneficial all-round. I am indebted to those who came before me and would like to help others pursue a better life where possible. Workers can earn a good wage in the UK, allowing them to reinvest in their community back home, provide for their families and support their children’s education.’

More than 30million people are estimated to have been displaced through weather-related incidents in 2022 alone, according to the organisation Internal Displacement Monitoring [IDMC]. More than 9million were affected by flooding in India and Bangladesh that year, while UK storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin hit in February, inflicting some £500million in damage. Storm Babet, which hit Britain early 2024, resulted in more damage than all three combined. 

More on climate change and net zero: 

Otters capture enough CO2 to fly New York-Paris 1.2million times

6million Britons at risk from heat and lack of climate protections

WATCH: Marine Conservation Society ‘Marine Values’ documentary series

Image: Tim Mossholder