Business news from Ukraine

International support, the development of vocational education, and the rapid implementation of practice-oriented educational solutions are critically important for maintaining the competitiveness of Ukraine’s agricultural sector, which, despite the war, remains a key source of foreign exchange earnings and one of the drivers of the economy, stated participants at the press conference “International Partnership for the Development of Education in Ukraine’s Agricultural Sector.”

During the discussion, speakers emphasized that the agricultural sector is increasingly facing a shortage of personnel, the need for staff retraining, adaptation to new EU standards, and demand for modern digital knowledge—from post-harvest grain processing to artificial intelligence technologies in agricultural production.

Maksym Urakin, founder of the Experts Club information and analytical center and deputy director of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, emphasized that under current conditions, the development of education in the agricultural sector is directly linked to issues of the country’s economic stability.

“Today, Ukraine’s economy depends to a significant extent on assistance from international partners, and this must be stated plainly. But Ukraine cannot build its future solely on external support, so we need industries that generate foreign exchange revenue, sustain employment, and form the tax base, and the agricultural sector remains precisely such a sector,” he emphasized at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Tuesday.

According to Urakin, one example of such a practical partnership is the launch of the online course “Application of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Agricultural Production,” implemented by Experts Club in collaboration with AgriAcademy at the initiative of the EBRD as part of food security support programs. He emphasized that solutions allowing Ukrainian farmers not just to talk about innovation but to translate it into concrete business tools are particularly important.

“The goal of this course is to shift the conversation about artificial intelligence from the level of abstractions to the level of concrete business solutions. Today, Ukraine needs a new system for training farmers—one that is more technologically advanced, systematic, and combines international best practices, business expertise, and applied tasks,” noted Urakin.

In turn, Oksana Yurchenko, project coordinator at the FAO Investment Center in Ukraine, emphasized that the labor shortage in the agricultural sector is a chronic problem that has not disappeared either after the pandemic or amid a full-scale war, and therefore, accessible remote learning formats are becoming one of the few realistic ways to quickly improve workers’ qualifications.

“The shortage of skilled workers in the agricultural sector has been, is, and will continue to be one of the key challenges. It is often difficult for farm workers to attend in-person training due to their schedules and the remote locations of their farms, so the industry needs accessible, practical, and flexible training that can be completed without taking time off from work,” she noted.

Yurchenko noted that the AgriAcademy platform was created in response to a request from major agribusinesses and international partners for systematic training for the sector amid the war. According to her, the platform already hosts over 40 courses, which are developed in collaboration with businesses, Ukrainian and international experts, and adapted to the sector’s current needs. Particular emphasis is placed not only on crop production but also on livestock farming, where requirements for biosecurity, animal health, welfare, and compliance with European standards have risen sharply.

“If we look at the number of diplomas and certificates issued by the AgriAcademy platform, we’re already talking about over 3,500 documents. At the same time, the number of registered students who are still taking courses or plan to complete their studies is approximately three times higher, which indicates a steady growth in interest in the platform,” Yurchenko reported.

She also noted that as of January 1, 2026, mandatory animal welfare requirements will apply to all agricultural enterprises that keep animals, and therefore the demand for specialized training will only increase. According to the expert, the courses on the platform are not yet legally mandatory, but they are effectively becoming an important practical tool for the correct interpretation and implementation of new regulations at enterprises.

Rodion Rybchynskyi, Director of the “Flour Millers of Ukraine” Association and a grain sector expert at the UN FAO, noted that the staffing problem affects not only agricultural production but the entire agri-food sector, including processing and the food industry, where automation of many processes cannot yet replace human labor.

“The labor shortage in the food industry is even more acute today than in agricultural production itself. Unmanned combines or tractors can already be used in the fields, but no one has figured out how to produce bread, grains, pasta, or other food products without people, so the issue of staff quality and knowledge is the number one challenge here,” he added.

Rybchynskyi emphasized that in the context of European integration, food industry enterprises must not only seek out employees but also quickly upgrade their qualifications in accordance with new regulations, technological requirements, and quality standards. That is why, he said, educational platforms such as AgriAcademy must develop in parallel with formal education.

The expert also noted that a course on post-harvest processing and grain storage is already available on the platform, and a course on processing grain crops is expected to be released soon. At the same time, as the expert emphasized, the main goal of such programs is to provide specialists with a solid foundation, without which innovation is impossible.

Maksym Hopka, head of the “AgroKebeti PRO: Grains and Oilseeds” project at the UCAB association, stated that retraining, short applied programs, and training with a practical component are currently among the most effective tools for addressing the labor shortage in the agricultural sector.

“Today, the agricultural sector in Ukraine is facing a serious labor shortage, so rapid, practice-oriented educational solutions are becoming crucial. Our approach is not just about training, but about developing a new quality of human capital for the agricultural sector by combining theory, practice, and direct interaction with businesses,” he noted.

According to Hopka, nearly 984 people registered for training under one of the programs, and 552 have already completed it. Some participants also completed the practical component, after which some graduates found employment or continued working in a related field within the industry. He noted that special attention in such programs was given to internally displaced persons, youth, people with disabilities, and war veterans.

Gopka also emphasized that it is important not only to create new educational products but also to ensure their close connection with higher education institutions. He reported that, as part of educational projects, more than seven memorandums have already been signed with leading agricultural universities, and certain programs are being implemented as supplements to master’s degree courses with the involvement of business representatives and foreign educational partners.

Serhiy Shylko, founder of TATFooD and a recruitment media agency, commenting on the situation in the labor market, noted that for employers in the current conditions, the main challenge is not simply finding a specialist, but the ability to retain an employee by offering them stability, clear working conditions, and opportunities for professional development.

“Today, success in the agri-food business is determined not by the search for the perfect specialist, but by the ability to become an integral part of a person’s life, providing them with stability and a sense of purpose. A production technologist must now serve as both a mentor to line staff and a process manager, so training platforms should help adapt specialists to new working conditions,” he said.

Shilko also emphasized the importance of the concept of lifelong learning and noted that the market already needs programs that employees can complete alongside their work, without a prolonged interruption in the production cycle. In his view, public and private initiatives in this area should not duplicate one another but rather address different segments of demand—from blue-collar professions to modern digital competencies, which are currently lacking even in formal retraining programs.

During the discussion, the speakers also focused on the state of academic education. They noted that the traditional system of workforce training in many cases is no longer keeping pace with the pace of change in the industry, particularly due to a weak material base, low teacher salaries, and a lack of sufficient resources for laboratories and modern equipment. At the same time, as the participants noted, it is precisely the alliance of business, universities, and professional associations that can become the model capable of producing tangible results.

Rodion Rybchynskyi cited examples of involving faculty from specialized Ukrainian universities in developing and teaching courses, as well as business collaboration with universities in creating modern laboratories, particularly at specialized higher education institutions. Participants in the press conference agreed that without such a partnership, a full-scale renewal of the workforce for the agricultural sector would be impossible.

A separate topic was the issue of potentially bringing foreign workers to Ukraine amid a labor shortage. Representatives of the processing sector noted that there is already some demand for such workers, but in practice, it often runs into obstacles due to immigration laws and organizational challenges. At the same time, according to Oksana Yurchenko’s assessment, while such a scenario is partially feasible for processing and certain production sectors, it is unlikely to become widespread in the livestock segment.

Overall, the participants of the press conference concluded that, given the war, demographic pressures, and tougher competition in foreign markets, the agricultural sector can no longer rely solely on traditional approaches to workforce training. In their view, international partnerships, digital educational platforms, short practical programs, business involvement in training, and the modernization of academic education should form the basis of a new workforce model for Ukrainian agribusiness.