Robot maker Cerescon has invented a machine to find and pick asparagus which it hopes will be in use as early as next year.

Asparagus is notoriously difficult and labour-intensive to pick and the sector has been struggling to find pickers.

A machine which can process a row of asparagus in one go would give the sector a much-needed boost, broadcaster NOS writes.

‘The robot can do two important things,’ Cerescon’s technical director Ad Vermeer told the broadcaster. ‘Our machine has sensors with which to detects where the asparagus are and which are long enough to be picked by another part of the machine.

‘It is a more accurate process, with fewer damaged asparagus and a bigger yield,’ Vermeer said, adding that the better quality asparagus can be sold for a higher price.

The robot will replace some 60 to 75 people per forty hectares. The machine needs two people to operate it. The effects on employment would be minimal, however, because the sector is having a hard time finding workers. ‘Some producers are even moving to low wage countries’, NOS quotes Vermeer as saying.

Asparagus has been grown in the Netherlands since the 19^th century. White asparagus, or ‘the white gold’ of Limburg, is particularly valued. The asparagus season started officially on April 11.

Vermeer says he hopes the new machines, which cost some €500,000 will be operating in some asparagus fields in the 2018 season.