Just sometimes, a video on social media which is not quite what it seems, still makes a valuable point.

Earlier this week, a Kent MP shared a short clip which showed apples hanging from trees in a commercial orchard in the county.

For Labour's Rosie Duffield, a staunch opponent of Brexit, it was the chance to highlight an issue many feared would be a consequence of our split from the EU; namely a shortage in the seasonal workforce to bring in the harvest.

The Canterbury politician told her more than 47,000 followers it was what "many of us in Kent...predicted and warned would happen and nobody voted for it".

She added: "The fruit farmers and food producers of Kent deserve better."

The original video, uploaded by the pro-EU historian Paddy Docherty, had been posted along with the hashtags 'Brexit disaster' 'Tory criminals' and 'Brexit chaos'.

But while there is no denying farmers found 2021 another challenging year due to our departure from the European Union and the loss of a significant number of seasonal workers, compounded by the additional difficulties brought about by the pandemic, the video doesn't, other fruit growers insist, demonstrate it.

Explains a spokesman for AC Goatham, one of the county's biggest apple and pear producers, which has its headquarters in Medway: "Looking at the fruit, this would probably have been left due to poor colour at harvest time.

"It was then not returned for due to the cost of picking such a small amount. It should however have been picked as leaving fruit does not encourage good fruit for the following year."

In a response to the MP sharing his first video - which he had posted late last month after spotting the fruit near his Marden home - the historian posted a follow-up image which appeared to show apple trees being cut down. He shared it adding: "I don’t know if this is part of normal farm management or a reflection of reduced processing capacity."

But this too was dismissed by AC Goatham.

It added: "The second tweet showing a grubbed orchard is just normal orchard renewal and looking at the size of the trunks that are left it was well needed. Most orchards' life expectancy is 20 years; they look double that at least. Therefore nothing to do with Brexit."

When contacted by KentOnline, Paddy Docherty, the historian who took the original footage, said: "I am not a fruit farmer or any other kind of farmer, so naturally am happy to be corrected if that’s normal, but having lived here for a few years it does seem that there is much more wastage this year.

"That’s impressionistic, of course, but it does chime with other anecdotal evidence from Twitter. I saw the chap tweet about how maybe the fruit wasn’t ripe at the time of picking, but surely that would simply mean that, if labour was available, it would just be picked in the following week or two. It seems to me to be an astonishing amount of fruit to be left unharvested just because it needed a few more days on the tree, and I can’t imagine that any business would allow that potential revenue to go to waste if they had the pickers they needed."

It's a fair point.

Regardless of the validity of the brief clip in question, the issue is a pertinent one - and it's not going to disappear any time soon.

The county's rich agricultural history has long relied on pulling in workers from abroad - coming over to reap the rewards of, comparatively, high wages for what can be tough, physical work. And filling jobs, it should be added, which local people have not taken advantage of.

But Brexit threw a spanner in the works - putting off many from returning to our fields - despite a seasonal worker visa scheme being rolled out by the government in order to plug the shortfall. A situation then made worse by the Covid situation which saw borders close and movements heavily restricted.

In the early summer of 2020, Prince Charles made a plea for people to head to the fields in the Pick for Britain campaign - an effort which ultimately failed miserably, despite its heavy use of war-time sentiment to help recruit a 'land army'.

Many growers were left struggling.

Isabel Bretherton, a spokesperson for the National Farmers' Union in the South East explained: "There were shortfalls in harvest labour on the majority of Kent’s top fruit - tree fruit - farms, with an average shortfall of between 15% and 20% during 2021.

"We survey our members and their responses informed NFU evidence provided to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on the labour situation. There was crop wastage and losses, in particular on top fruit farms."

Precise figures for how much that amounted to in Kent are not available, but the problem seems almost certain to continue this year.

Nationally, the organisation believes crop wastage amounted to £61.6million in 2021 and can be directly attributed to the labour shortages being felt. It warned that figure could rise when data on lost winter vegetables are factored in.

She adds: "With a total requirement of 70,000 seasonal workers, and an expected ‘returnee rate’ from EU nationals with settled or pre-settled status being no more than 40%, it is estimated there will be a workforce shortage above 25,000 in 2022."

Just before Christmas, Defra announced 30,000 visas will be made available this year to season workers - with the potential to increase by a further 10,000 if necessary.

The scheme allows foreign workers to come to the UK for up to six months to pick edible and, for the first time this year, ornamental crops, such as flowers.

AC Goatham avoided the worst of the shortages but warns there are dark clouds on the horizon for the sector.

A spokesman for the firm explained: "As a business, we were very lucky. We have a very good long standing relationship with one of the government-approved labour suppliers. To that end we have fared far better than most in the county or country.

"We did have shortages but these were manageable. Many really struggled especially if they didn’t have access to workers from the new seasonal workers scheme. Those who relied on returning EU workers were seriously hampered and fruit was left unpicked due to the lack of staff.

"Although the seasonal workers scheme has been extended for the next two years, we are told it will then be phased out and we as an industry need to either pay more or move over to more robotic harvest methods. We already pay well in excess of £10.50 an hour, way above the living wage, and cannot attract 'local' labour. Robotics are five years away at best.”

The NFU adds that wages for daffodil picking are even higher at an average rate of £12.08 and hour - not that it made any difference, with the sector still experiencing shortage of 33% in the workforce.

It is a situation which needs addressing.

According to the NFU, domestic worker numbers actually fell during 2021, despite concerted efforts to work with JobCentres and the Department for Work and Pensions

The work may come with a reasonable hourly pay rate, but many are put off by the physically demanding work, early starts or simply accessing the often remote rural locations they need to attend.

But perhaps more worryingly, for the many jobs which rely on what, traditionally, has been Kent's economic backbone, is that the labour shortages are just one part of a troublesome series of issues which are creating a perfect storm for the agricultural sector.

The much discussed supply chain issues - spearheaded by the on-going lack of HGV drivers - have meant simply getting crops to and from farms to distribution centres has been problematic.

The Farming Community Network, a charity that supports farming families through difficult times, said it will be a challenge for some businesses to stay profitable.

Mark Thomas, head of services at the FCN, said: “Many farm businesses, such as those operating holiday accommodation, have seen a loss of income due to Covid-19.

"This is in addition to the stresses caused by the every-day pressures involved in farming which are often out of farmers’ control, such as adverse weather.

"Farmers benefit from support from consumers, respecting the countryside and farmers’ land, buying locally-sourced, high-quality food and taking advantage of the leisure and tourism opportunities rural Britain has on offer."

Like so many industries, the rural sector is one we so often take for granted. Living in Kent, we assume the fruit and vegetables grown on the land which surrounds us magically makes it onto our shelves.

Videos on social media can be misleading and, divert the conversation over their validity. But they draw attention to an issue that is significant and one which, it is feared, may just grow and grow.