“About six thousand labor migrants are not enough in the field of vegetable growing in the Volgograd region due to restrictive measures in the context of the coronavirus pandemic,” this information published in many Russian media at the end of the briefing with the participation of the Deputy Governor of the Volgograd Region - Chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the Volgograd Region B .IN. Ivanova, caused a lively discussion in the chat on the telegram channel of the Potato System magazine (https://t.me/potatosystem).
Vegetable growers in the region called the situation a real disaster and recognized that under the current conditions, many farms are likely to have to seriously reduce their cultivation areas.
As one of the chat participants explained the situation: “The level of mechanization in the“ main garden of Russia ”is 3-5%, the rest has to be done manually.”
Agricultural producers provided their statistics according to which at least 12 thousand migrants are usually employed in the Gorodishchensky district only in the season, and this year only three thousand workers managed to arrive before the closure of the borders.
At the same time, the participants in the discussion do not expect local residents to fill a significant part of the vacancies. The farmers' arguments are simple: the work is hard, in a hot climate, requiring a certain level of discipline (“During the season, workers are employed six days a week from 8 am to 18.00 pm, without delays or absences”). It is very difficult to find people who are ready to work on such conditions among those who today stayed in the countryside. There was no able-bodied population left: everyone who wanted to earn money moved to the regional center.
Luring workers out of the city by promising large salaries is also unlikely to succeed. According to agricultural producers, many simply cannot afford such a step. Farmers' incomes are not very high (now, for example, regulatory services carefully monitor the selling prices for food), and the wages of workers are already expensive (as one of the chat participants writes, last year the cost per migrant worker without qualifications was at least 35 thousand rubles a month - however, this amount also included the cost of paying taxes, meals, etc.).
The authorities hope to solve the problem by inviting seasonal workers from other regions of Russia to the Volgograd Region (during a period of crisis and rising unemployment, such a proposal may be relevant), as well as involving student groups. Although it will be very difficult to do this: according to the regional committee of agriculture, about 50 large organizations and 900 peasant farms work in the field of vegetable growing in the Volgograd region.
If you have an opinion on this issue or want to discuss other pressing agricultural issues, we are waiting for you in the chat on the telegram channel of the Potato System magazine: https://t.me/potatosystem