The federal government's ag visa came into effect on October 1 2021 but as yet, no countries have officially taken up the program.

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has placed the delay squarely at the Foreign Minister Marise Payne who he said is yet to complete the bilateral negotiations with the four countries.

"She gave a commitment to both myself and the prime minister, who made a commitment to the NFF and the National Party, that we would have an ag visa as part of the UK free-trade agreement," Mr Littleproud said in a radio interview earlier this week.

"So we're expecting that to be completed in the coming weeks. We've already put the pre-emptive work in, but ... with approved employers and labour hire companies to be able to move quickly as soon as a country signs up."

While talks with Indonesia have become apparent, it is unclear exactly which three other countries are in negotiations.

There is speculation it could be Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia, however an article within Thai newspaper The Pattaya Mail suggests the Thai labour minister Suchart Chomklin has been in discussions to allow Thai citizens to participate in the Australian ag visa program.

THE Australian Workers' Union has called for the scrapping of the ag visa.

The AWU has opposed the introduction of the visa, arguing it would increase the levels of exploitation and abuse in the horticulture sector.

Its understood the AWU has lobbied South East Asian nations to not sign up to the visa.

AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said the meetings the organisation has had with with ambassadors were confidential.

"But if there are nations now formally withdrawing from engagement with the visa I can confirm that is entirely consistent with the the tenor of the discussions we've been having. I would expect to see the others following suit shortly," Mr Walton said.

"Littleproud and his mates in the Nats have been bloviating and carrying on, accusing our union of treason and of being un-Australian.

"Well, the truly un-Australian position is to support the abuse of workers on Australian soil.

"Our union will always fight against the abuse and exploitation of workers in this country and if that means engaging with foreign embassies then that's precisely what we'll do."

Shadow minister for agriculture, Labor's Julie Collins said Labor supports efforts to get more workers on farms but said the Morrison governments ag visa clearly wasn't working.

"The Nationals promised the ag visa would fix everything. But it hasnt done anything. No country has signed up. Not one worker has arrived," Ms Collins said.

"Senate Estimates confirmed just last week that the ag visa will be capped - probably at 1000 people a year - far short of whats needed.

She said the Morrison-Joyce government had dragged its feet on properly responding to labour shortage issues and that reports have been ignored and real action delayed.

"The Morrison-Joyce Government is always about the announcement, but never about the delivery and they are leaving Australian farmers behind," Ms Collins said.

QUEENSLAND horticulture body Growcom has hit back, calling on all farm labour advocates to focus on the "shared goals" of improved worker wellbeing and productivity.

Growcom chief executive officer Stephen Barnard said recent AWU advocacy appears more geared to inflict political damage ahead of an election.

"The AWU scorched earth approach to advocacy, not just with the Australian agriculture visa but farm labour issues more broadly, serves no one except their own narrow self-interest of occupying space in the media," Mr Barnard said.

"Meanwhile everyone else is getting on with the important business of designing a visa program that assures the wellbeing of workers, while also securing long term access to reliable and productive seasonal labour so that our farmers can continue to put food into the nation's grocery aisles.

"You might have thought that at another time, and possibly under different leadership that the AWU would have embraced the ag visa as an opportunity to help shift the reliance of industry away from backpackers and toward a cohort entitled to even better conditions.

"At this point we won't hold our breath for a change in tack, but will welcome them back to the table when they're ready."

A similar tone came from the NSW Farmers vice president Xavier Martin who said the industry has had two years of workforce shortages impacting food supply.

"We need to work together to find ways to get more farm workers, not fewer, because any action that impacts agricultural labour supply will ultimately cost us all by limiting the food we can produce," Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin said NSW Farmers was actively advocating for more agricultural skills training for Australians but a holistic approach was needed to ensure the sector could continue to grow and harvest our food.

"The ag visa is just one part of a broader strategy to resolve the workforce crisis facing the sector, Mr Martin said.

"Attraction, training and retention of Australian workers is part of the solution, but so too is attraction of international workers because the reality is that there are seasonal jobs that Australians are just not attracted to do."

Last month, president of the Bowen Gumlu Growers Association Carl Walker criticised the implementation and uptake of the ag visa, calling it a "white elephant".

"I think it was purely a political ploy rather than an intellectual solution," Mr Walker said at the time.

THE agriculture minister has not held back from taking it to the AWU either, saying the waters have been muddied by the AWU and the Labor Party in the ag visa negotiations, which has made Ms Payne's job harder.

"We need them to take a deep breath and step back. They've (the AWU) openly gone into these embassies and told these embassies not to allow their workers to come here because they will be exploited," Mr Littleproud said.

"That generalisation and demonisation of Australian farmers is disgraceful and the Labor Party need to put their political masters to bed and simply come out and say whether they're going to support an ag visa or not.

"You're going to pay for this because if we don't have a secure labour supply, every Australian will pay at the checkout because farmers are making investment decisions now not to plant and if they don't plant it means they don't supply the grocery stores."

In a February 2 statement, the AWU's Mr Walton said Mr Littleproud has told every regional newspaper and radio station that will listen to him that "the AWU hates Australia, hates farmers, that we're disgraceful, that we're getting in the way".

"Yet, since the visa announcement in June last year, we reached out several times to discuss how we can deal with labour concerns in the horticulture sector," Mr Walton said.

"He's still yet to take a meeting with us."