Russian agricultural sector loses 150,000 workers annually; demand for specialists in new professions growing - minister
MOSCOW. Sept 12 (Interfax) - The Russian agricultural sector loses around 150,000 workers annually, mainly due to age, and to maintain high rates of sectoral development it is necessary not only to replenish this figure annually but also to attract an additional 10,000 people to solve the task of increasing production 25% by 2030, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said at the All-Russian Scientific and Educational Forum "Promising Trends in Agricultural Education and Science" in Stavropol on Friday.
"[A total of] 150,000 industry employees leave us on average every year. Primarily not because they are leaving to work elsewhere. We have very aged teams. A lot of people are aged 60+, who can still work until 65, but then they will, of course, leave," she said. "And many people are over 50. Generally, the main contingent is 50+, and they will also leave, let's say, in 10-15 years; we need to replace them," Lut said.
Based on the tasks set for the sector to increase agricultural production 25% by 2030 compared to 2021, the sector requires not only a replacement of the departing 150,000 employees annually but also the attraction of an additional 10,000 new ones, she said. "We must maintain high rates, despite the fact that we are already at a very high base," she said.
The industry's main need is for representatives of working professions, "which, by the way, are paid quite well, often even higher than highly qualified employees," Lut said.
At the same time, there is also a need for specialists in new professions. A survey of employers conducted by the Agriculture Ministry showed that the agricultural sector requires agro-cyberneticists, agro-biotechnologists, precision farming specialists and wine tourism managers. "Actually, enologists are in high demand right now in the southern regions because winemaking is developing," she said.
Commenting on business requests for training drone operators, Lut said that "this should be a service story." But she does not see the need to have such specialists in every farm or agricultural organization. "When the skies open up, drones will process our lands; there is no doubt about that," she said.
As part of the Personnel federal project, the Agriculture Ministry is building an ecosystem for personnel provision - from agricultural classes in rural schools (in 2025, 600 agricultural technology classes with in-depth study of specialized subjects are operating in 67 regions) to higher education (the ministry oversees 44 universities).
According to her presentation, by 2030, the number of agricultural classes should increase to 18,000. It is assumed they will operate in 86 regions. In higher education, the goal is to increase the number of graduates who should be employed in the agricultural sector to 70%.
