Farmers can work despite the curfew. OVA signs an order allowing 24-hour operation. However, in anticipation of new mobilization conditions, the agricultural sector has become tense, because managers need to work in the fields 24/7, as well as overcome the crisis of human resources shortage in the same way.
The October campaign started early last year in the Ternopil, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv and Odessa regions. In particular, in the Dnepropetrovsk region, the first to start work were in the southern Krivoy Rog region and one of the farms in the Pavlograd region, OVA head Sergei Lysak reported. Gradually others will join them. Focus “There is no one to plant grain. Will the catastrophic human shortage in the agricultural sector affect the future harvest?”
“They will start planting barley and legumes. In general, they plan to plant various products on more than 1 million hectares of land. It will be completed by the end of May,” Lysak wrote.
At the same time, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agricultural Rada and Chairman of the Association of Milk Producers Andriy Dikun, who recently visited the Dnepropetrovsk region, noted that this is not the first time the shortage of qualified personnel has been felt in the region. industry, and not just at the beginning of the planting season. Farmers have been working in the fields for the third year in a row since the beginning of all-out war. However, they are currently waiting very nervously for the decision regarding mobilization and dismissal of employees.
“Thanks to the early arrival of spring and favorable weather conditions, people went to the fields and started planting from the end of February, because we have no other choice. I recently visited the Dnepropetrovsk region and met with farmers who work there for 5-8 days. In the fields many kilometers away from the front line, they say, “Yes, it is scary.” It flies. , “crashes” but you have to live for something, you have to pay rent”… From a moral point of view, they see that the Armed Forces of Ukraine protect…” shares Andrei Dikun .
Farmers have been working in the fields for the third year in a row since the start of all-out war
Reducing the number of employees in enterprises: as statistics prove
According to the estimates of the State Labor Administration, the “labor shortage” factor in the agricultural sector will start to increase in 2023, breaking the record of the last 10 years. There was an exodus of personnel both in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and abroad and in quieter regions.
“The discrepancy between the needs of education and the private sector has become a serious problem. Priority sectors such as information technologies, agro-industry, energy, transport and the military-industrial complex require a significant number of specialists,” says the State Labor Organization.
The situation in the agricultural sector can be called critical – there are not enough personnel, as the graph of expected changes in the number of workers in agricultural enterprises shows.
Interviewed Focus Industry experts state that waiting for soil and planting means we have to work, but the uncertainty is very stressful.
“Right now, reservations are ending, so we are a little nervous at the moment because we understand: most businesses in the agricultural sector are running out of reservations, somewhere they meet us and let us make reservations, and many business managers are already behind the tractor itself because there is no way out. A graduate of an institution, a driver’s license I have examples where they took school graduates who had the right to take them, they got behind the wheel – they taught. Someone is teaching women and girls. We can’t stop because the planting season continues. This is already the third year of the war and our third planting season, so we understand that we need to prepare for it. Now we are waiting for the mobilization decision to have an understanding of who we can book, because today you trust a person and you can book him for two years, but tomorrow there will be no booking – they will take him away and it will be a huge problem. That’s why we want these processes to speed up a little,” says Andrey Dikun.
The shortage of qualified personnel in the agricultural sector, which existed before the war, is now felt especially acutely.
UCAB Director General Oleg Khomenko agrees with him. According to that, The shortage of qualified personnel in the agricultural sector, which existed before the war, is now felt especially acutely.
“There was always a need for machinists, drivers and line staff specialists. These are categories that are always critical. With the beginning of a large-scale occupation and the mobilization of the population, the exodus and resettlement of people abroad, the famine worsened. There is a question that agricultural manufacturing companies use the reservation facility, which makes it possible to reserve up to 50% of those responsible for military service, but in reality, unfortunately, very little of it is reserved and producers have to look for replacements. Other ways to attract people, attract young people, retrain specialists, rotation in technology. People need to work non-stop and actually if we are talking about planting, there is a serious staff shortage when planting takes place at all hours of the day, so we need to look at options and attract outside experts or just stop,” he notes.
Let us remind you that during mobilization in Ukraine, some enterprises were able to separate their workers from compulsory military service. However, this does not apply to all citizens liable for military service. Focus I have previously written that there are two categories of men who are prohibited from conscription.
Source: Focus
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