Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branches due to a worker shortage. Until a bunch of growers took a risk. Produced by Eva Corlett.

Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers took a chance on guest workers from the Pacific, who also took a chance on them.

"What keeps me coming back? It's another home."

In the early 2000s the orchards and vineyards of central Otago were heavy with fruit. Peaches, cherries and grapes were ready to be plucked, boxed and shipped all over the world. But there was a problem. There weren't enough people to pick them.

Hiring backpackers and students on holiday was the usual practice, but it was risky, James Dicey, the man behind Mt Difficulty wines says.

"I remember a Swedish backpacker who turned up. I did the paperwork, gave him his tools, trained him. He spent two and a half days with me, got enough money to get on the juice and do a bungy jump, then disappeared."

For Basil Goodman, another grower from Cromwell, the staff shortage was becoming demoralising.

"For two of three years, we did get to a stage, where we did not harvest all the fruit we grew. You put your whole year's work into a box of beautiful looking peaches or nectarines and apricots and then they just don't quite get to the box."

Last month, Basil retired after a lifetime in the industry, just a few weeks before his 80th birthday. One of his proudest achievements is starting what is now called the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, or, the RSE.

The government now leads the project and it's become the biggest formal overseas worker scheme in the country. It has two purposes: to fill the labour gap during the busy harvest seasons and to boost pacific economies.

Last year, about 12,000 workers took part, mostly from the Pacific.

And after years of industry begging government, the cap's set to jump to 16,000 over the next two years.

The government is yet to collect thorough data yet on how much money is sent back to the islands. But a 2014 study put the total earnings of just Vanuatu RSE workers at about 130 million, that year.

Meanwhile, the fruit and wine industries' exports are now worth $5.5 billion, more than double what it was in 2005.

But about 25 years ago, finding reliable workers was becoming a gamble. There is a window of only one week before a piece of stone fruit becomes too ripe for export, Basil says.

"So if you didn't do it, you didn't do it. Getting people became our prime focus." …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details