The agricultural sector is struggling to fill workplaces both for seasonal berry-picking jobs and for more tech-skilled agricultural work.
Berry harvests, and those of most other crops, come later in the summer, usually starting with strawberries; workers from so-called third countries (non-EU), particularly from Ukraine, have traditionally filled the bulk of workplaces.
While some berry cultivators have already secured enough workers for the season, many producers are finding it more difficult than in previous years to recruit. Berry-growing organization the Marjakasvatajate Liit says some of its members have not yet found enough workers for the entire season.
“An estimated 75 percent of workers in berry farming come from third countries, while only 25 percent are local. For some reason, fewer people are coming from third countries than usual. The main country of origin is Ukraine, and the reasons people are not coming now include problems at home, as well as scaremongering—speculation about whether it is actually safe to be here,” Kadri Nebokat, board member of the association, told “Aktuaalne kaamera.”
Labor shortages, along with less than ideal weather conditions in places, plus rising input costs, have also led some berry growers to reduce the size of their cultivated fields. The association says countries other than Ukraine should be considered as a source of labor, as a hedge against risk.
Already, berry pickers come to Estonia’s fields from countries as far afield as Moldova and even India. But skilled labor is also lacking in the agricultural sector more broadly, said Professor of Rural Economics Rando Värnik of the Estonian University of Life Sciences (Maaülikool), and this may be harder to fix, since a much greater proportion of these workers are from Estonia itself.
“If I take a look at the job portals, I can see a large number of vacancies: Livestock managers, skilled workers, warehouse employees, and so on. We have several issues. Agriculture is concentrated in the rural areas, where wage levels are somewhat lower. Another issue is that there are simply fewer people available as many have moved away from these regions. It is a structural problem—we do not have as many workers in these areas as the sector needs,” Värnik said.
Grain farmer Romet Rässa, who operates in Kastre Municipality in Tartu County, said he was facing such issues. Employees capable of handling more advanced machinery and coping with, for instance, GPS signal disruptions while accurately sowing in the fields are now having to be trained on site, as no young graduates from the universities or vocational schools have so far found their way to his farm.
“Our employees need to be fairly versatile and able to operate a variety of machines. Let’s say a seed drill being used in a field. The signal accuracy is to two centimeters. If that signal disappears, the drill has no way of ‘knowing’ whether it will ever return. If you have not started sowing using other reference points, the situation can get complicated,” Rässa explained.
Värnik suggested labor shortages in the agricultural sector be alleviated through greater cooperation between business, colleges and local government.
Promoting rural life, for instance by reintroducing scholarship programs for agricultural courses, should also be considered, he went on.
While too early to forecast what conditions will be like for the whole of summer, the current changeable conditions, with sunny and warm days interspersed with rainy ones, look set to continue through to Midsummer at least.
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