Shagaida N. I. Is it possible to quickly eliminate labor shortage in Russian agriculture? // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 139-152.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-139-152

Annotation

In November 2023, the First Deputy Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut estimated the shortage of workers in agriculture at 200,0001, obviously implying agricultural organizations. According to Lut, one of the reasons for such a shortage is low salaries: the limited effective demand for products does not allow agricultural organizations to increase the selling price of produce, which limits the wages of agricultural workers. However, the number of people employed in agriculture declines almost everywhere — this is a common situation in many countries. On the one hand, this decline is determined by an increase in labor productivity, i.e., a reduction in the number of workers is the desired result; on the other hand, many agricultural enterprises suffer from the lack of needed workers. Therefore, it is necessary to understand why there is a shortage of agricultural workers in Russia, focusing on the details of this situation. Based on the Federal State Statistics Service’s data, the author considers this situation, in particular the number of employed in agriculture, main reasons for such a labor shortage in agriculture and national economy in general, possibilities and limitations of the reliance/ dependence on labor migrants (especially from the post-Soviet countries) and on unemployed in the Russian labor market, regional differences in the available workforce, finally providing some recommendations to change the current situation.

Keywords

Labor shortage, agriculture, agricultural organizations, wages, unemployment, labor migrants, regional differences.

About the author

Shagaida Natalia I., DSc (Economics), Head of the Center for Agro-Food Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp, 82, Moscow, 119571.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The article was submitted on 22.02.2024.

Kisliy O. A., Isaeva M. A. The position of labor migrants in agriculture under the pandemic // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2021. V.6. №4. P. 125-135.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2021-6-4-125-135

Annotation

Many countries face a shortage of labor resources and try to provide agricultural employment by attracting labor migrants from abroad. A ‘review’ of the role of labor migration in the development of agriculture requires a thorough analysis of migration statistics, since illegal migration is widespread, and there are no statistical records on seasonal workers. Therefore, migrants seem to make up an insignificant part of those employed in agriculture. However, the current global situation —the coronavirus pandemic—revealed a shortage of workplaces for labor migrants. In the pre-pandemic period, millions of foreign workers entered the Russian Federation every year. Under the pandemic, to attract migrants to agriculture and food production system of other countries became difficult, which highlighted their important role in the economic development. Therefore, the impact of the pandemic on the foreign labor market entered the agenda of international politics and measures to combat the covid-19 that limited migration, thus, determining a shortage of workers in agriculture and the underestimation of their contribution to national economies of other countries.

Keywords

Migration processes, migration policy, pandemic, covid-19, agriculture, national economy, labor migrants, foreign labor force, labor migration.

About the authors

Kisliy Oleg A., PhD (Pedagogy), Assistant Professor, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82 Moscow, 119571.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Isaeva Maria A., Officer, Division for Control in the Field of Migration, Main Directorate, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Moscow 115035, Sadovnicheskaya St., 63, bldg. 7.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.