The expert told how the agricultural sector is fighting against the staff shortage

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the situation with human resources in the agricultural sector has become much more complicated, which has been affecting the efficiency of the agricultural sector for three years now. This problem is particularly acute during the sowing and harvesting campaigns, when agricultural enterprises face a shortage of drivers of large machinery, agronomists and combine operators. This was stated by Denys Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, in a commentary to a journalist of UNN.

The situation with personnel has been difficult since 2022, as drivers of large-sized equipment have become very necessary in the war. We have been struggling with the staff shortage for the 3rd year of the war, and it is mostly felt during the sowing and harvesting campaigns, as there is a shortage of agronomists and combine operators at these times

He says that there is also a shortage of hands on dairy farms, where there is an acute shortage of milkers.

This greatly affects the work of enterprises. In fact, some companies are going out of their way to hire IDPs or people of retirement age. They are looking for people all over the country. There is no longer a regional focus on employees, companies are looking for workers from any region to work

According to him, there is currently a shortage of drivers, as the harvesting campaign is underway and grain needs to be transported.

In some places, the delay in removing grain from the field caused negative factors when it was necessary to take the grain away in the July heat to prevent it from burning

Marchuk says that due to the hot weather, the volume of corn and sunflower may decrease, and this will affect exports.

"As for the grain groups, we have a good harvest, it is less than last year, but the difference is not significant. We harvested more than 30 million tons of early grains, including 21 million tons of wheat," added Mr. Marchuk. 

According to the Employment Service, as of January 1, 2024, the number of workers employed in agriculture is lower than in trade, repair, and transportation.

The total number of people working in agriculture is 2.7 million. Most vacancies in this sector are offered for animal care workers, agricultural maintenance workers, and farm workers. There is also a significant demand for drivers, tractor drivers, and forklift operators.

Also, according to the results of the survey of the Ministry of Employers on the labor market in Ukraine and the situation of enterprises, the surveyed agricultural enterprises indicate mobilization as the main reason for the shortage of workers. The survey showed that 31% of employers tried to solve the problem of staff shortages by raising wages.

Recall

Dmytro Solomchuk, MP and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy, said that due to the failure to recognize small and medium-sized farms as critical to the economy and mobilization, the situation with jobs in the agricultural sector is critical.