The war with Russia took approximately 200,000 farmers out of work

Due to Russia's military aggression, Ukraine temporarily lost about 20% of its territory, 27% of which was agricultural land, and forced about 200,000 farmers to be distracted from their daily tasks. According to the Minister of Agro-Industrial Complex, Vitaliy Koval, the agricultural sector currently lacks veterinary specialties, mechanics, and agronomists. Therefore, it is necessary to restart practical training centers in order to quickly train new specialists.

As the government official emphasized, the agricultural sector is not only a production industry, but also a guarantee of social stability and sustainability. Therefore, the Government adopted the Agriculture Development Strategy 2030, which was developed on the basis of the common agricultural policy of the European Union. And on the basis of this Strategy, it is possible to develop a plan for employment of people in rural areas through their retraining. Currently, it is planned that by December 1, agricultural associations will form real needs in specialties for the agricultural sector. Minagro will also cooperate with the International Labor Organization, which plans to consider the possibility of investing in Ukrainian educational institutions to retrain the adult population in a short period of time.

By the way, let us remind you that the project of integration of veterans and women veterans into the agricultural sector "Go2Agro" has already started in Ukraine. Its goal is to facilitate the return of veterans to civilian life through employment, the development of self-employment and starting their own business in the agricultural sector, which is a strategic branch of the economy of Ukraine and is currently experiencing a significant shortage of personnel.

But it is time to think about the future problems of the agricultural sector, because the uncertainty with the reservation process creates risks for the spring sowing of 2025. Despite all the achievements in the production and export of agricultural products, a significant challenge for Ukrainian farmers remains the issue of reserving workers from mobilization. On this occasion, the Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Denys Marchuk, has already emphasized that against the background of success in exports, farmers face difficulties related to the lack of labor force. After all, the issue of booking workers remains unresolved, and it may become critical for preparations for the spring sowing campaign. Currently, according to him, the key issue is the reservation of farmers, because there is a catastrophic shortage of people. Today, farmers do not have clear rules on how to work in the new season, and uncertainty with the booking process creates significant risks for the industry as a whole.

It should be noted that the Government has recently updated the reservation criteria and the criteria for obtaining criticality by enterprises. Therefore, from December 1, all reservations will be made through Diya. Enterprises and organizations will be monitored monthly to ensure that they meet all criteria. Even earlier, an audit was conducted of enterprises and organizations that have the status of critical and have the right to reserve employees. According to the results of the audit, a number of problematic points were revealed. Meanwhile, the agricultural sector is trying to adapt to the shortage of personnel. Many companies have launched retraining programs for both women and young professionals.

As Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Denys Bashlyk told reporters, the state is trying to help solve the personnel crisis that arose as a result of mobilization, including with the help of retraining programs. But the agrarian sector in the conditions of war does not wait for its help, but adapts itself. Already, many companies of various sizes have found funds themselves, launched retraining programs for both women and young specialists. Therefore, for example, if earlier it was very difficult to see a woman behind the wheel of a combine harvester, today it is the norm. For its part, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy advocates the reservation of a certain number of workers in the agricultural sector, because the department understands that the economy must also work.

Meanwhile, the Government will introduce clearer parameters for the reservation of workers after conducting an audit of critical enterprises. After all, the current parameters have already given an opportunity for manipulations. Therefore, there was an urgent need to create transparent, clear and unambiguous reservation parameters. Among the changes that are currently planned in the issue of booking, currently, in particular, there is a fixation of the minimum amount of salary, which will make it possible to book people. Also, other parameters that do not include the possibility of clearance for economy booking will be fixed. The Prime Minister emphasized that this issue is very sensitive, as it is necessary to find a balance between the working economy and the needs of the Defense Forces. After all, it is necessary to make sure that in-demand specialists can work, and that there is a rotation of those who defend the state on the front lines. It is worth noting that problems with reservations threaten a crisis in the economy, in particular in the agricultural sector of Ukraine.

As the Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Denys Marchuk, has repeatedly emphasized, there is currently a system in place in which the Government has allowed the extension of reservations, but only to those who were booked before May 31 in enterprises with the status of critical importance . At the same time, new decisions about the criticality of enterprises are not being adopted. Therefore, those who had reservations before May 31 cannot now receive critical status. And those enterprises that received "criticality" after May 31 cannot book their employees. In fact, the booking process is practically at a standstill. Therefore, speaking about the agricultural sector, the following should be understood: if the reservation problem is not resolved in the shortest possible time, it will have serious consequences for the country's food security and economic stability.

Previously, the president of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, Leonid Kozachenko, in an exclusive comment for AgroPolit.com, emphasized that due to mobilization in the agricultural sector, there is a shortage of specialists directly involved in harvesting. In total, there is currently a shortage of approximately 3 million workers. In particular, Leonid Kozachenko said that the situation is most difficult with tractor drivers, combine harvesters, and agronomists. According to the specialist, earlier this segment also had the most vacancies, but now the indicator has reached 160 vacancies per one specialist. For comparison, before the start of the full-scale war, this figure was 14-16 vacancies per person. The deficit increased more than tenfold.