HR Conference in the Agricultural Sector: Personnel Shortages vs. Systemic Solutions
On April 24, an industry conference, "HR Transformation in the Agricultural Sector: New Approaches and Effective Solutions," was held in Moscow. The event brought together HR directors from agricultural holdings, HR managers, owners and top managers, and leading labor market experts.
BRICS Mobility, a project with extensive practical experience in attracting foreign personnel to the agricultural sector, was a speaker at the conference. For the agricultural sector, where the labor shortage is particularly acute and turnover in line positions reaches 50-90%, we have something to offer: the managed migration model we developed over 10 years is now showing stable results and reducing turnover to 10% per year.
The industry's pain points: facts and figures
According to data presented at the conference, the labor shortage in 2025 was estimated at 2-2.5 million people. The Ministry of Labor's forecast is bleak: by 2037, this figure could rise to 3.1 million. Moreover, the shortage has a specific structure: the most acute shortage is not of "specialists in general," but of line operators, general laborers, warehouse personnel, and loaders.
Significant changes have occurred in the migration structure. Although 90% of labor migrants still come from three countries—Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan—starting in 2022, demand for "visa" workers will grow: from India, African countries, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. Quotas for hiring foreign workers have increased by 89% over two years.
Key insight from the conference: traditional recruitment channels are overheated. The market has begun to diversify its labor sources. The main risk for the agro-industrial complex is not simply a shortage of people, but the unmanageability of labor flows. As many representatives of agricultural enterprises noted, the patent system (visa-free hiring) doesn't tie employees to employers, which leads to turnover, disrupted plans, and HR overload.
Why Companies Fear Foreigners, and How to Overcome It
At the conference, a frank admission was made: many companies are afraid to hire foreign personnel. The fears are understandable: the site isn't ready, there's no experience working with migrants from far abroad, and the risks of legal violations are high.
HRBP (Africanist) Agafia notes: "We've addressed these objections. We have a business readiness checklist to check how ready it is to accept foreign workers before the project begins. Because the system only works when both parties—the candidate and the employer—are ready."
The conference focused on the need for employers to adapt. It's not enough to prepare the candidate; you need to prepare the site. BRICS Mobility is developing guidelines for clients on how to welcome, accommodate, and integrate foreign employees into production processes.
Country Selection and a Systematic Approach
The discussion focused, in particular, on the challenges of working with personnel from India, a target market for many recruiting companies today. Short stature, dietary habits, and lack of physical strength among candidates are all limitations for industries that require heavy physical labor. Based on BRICS Mobility's experience, Africa offers more resilient personnel capable of withstanding intense workloads. However, the key factor in success is not the country, but the quality of selection and training.
Case Study: From Chaos to Stability
At the BRICS Mobility conference, he shared a specific example of working with a large agricultural enterprise. The initial situation: 50% turnover, complete dependence on outsourcing, and unstable shifts. Solution: a pilot project with 12 employees, systematic pre-deployment training, psychological testing, and contracts of 1 to 3 years. Result: Today, over 300 foreign employees are working in three regions of the Russian Federation. Employee turnover has dropped to 10% per year. Production shifts are consistently staffed, and the HR burden has decreased.
The time for spontaneous hiring is ending.
Both speakers and conference participants agree that the labor market in the agricultural sector has finally entered a phase of structural shortage. "Hire quickly and cheaply" methods no longer work. The winner will be the one who builds a systematic recruitment process, diversifies recruitment countries, and implements closed selection models tailored to specific production tasks.
BRICS Mobility has several successful cases in the agricultural sector. Employers who have begun collaborating with us are satisfied with the results and are interested in scaling up their projects to attract foreign personnel. Their experience confirms that the main value today is not cheap labor, but the manageability and predictability of the workforce.