How COVID Has Affected Agriculture Recruiting

It’s no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has affected many industries in different parts of the globe. Due to lockdowns and social distancing in place, the usual routines and day to day living have been disrupted. Face to face interaction is discouraged, and any official transaction should be done at a distance

While the travel and tourism industries bear the major brunt of the pandemic, most people tend to forget that the food and agricultural business is greatly affected too. In fact, agriculture is one of the most affected industries. It affected not just the production of goods, but also the agriculture recruiting, logistics, and manpower as well.  For a better understanding, here’s how the global pandemic affected agriculture recruiting.

Reduced Manpower

Because of the pandemic, the agricultural industry was forced to downsize its manpower regardless of the job position or level. This had to be done to adapt to the new safety measures that were required and carried out by authorities.

Furthermore, manpower also had to be reduced due to the decreasing demand of production. Hence, agricultural recruiting was slowed or temporarily stopped. Since agriculture recruiting was stopped and several agricultural workers were dismissed, this resulted in a massive number of unemployed people and farmers. It was simply both hard for the agricultural company and the workers themselves.

Employment Housing Options

Before the pandemic, agricultural workers were free to travel in and out of their workplaces whenever their task requires them to. They were also allowed to work with other groups and departments when the job demands it. However, due to the strict implementation of social distancing and lockdowns, this practice was stopped. 

Some agricultural recruiters took it to themselves to shoulder the cost of housing for farmers who are willing to work in the area. But not all have adopted this measure because it entails additional costs and upkeep. However, it is indeed a great way to reduce workers from going out of or traveling from one place to another which only puts them at a higher risk of contracting the virus.

Increasing Budget For Health Safety

Now that the globe is fighting an invisible war with this virus, agricultural employers had to be more attentive to their employee’s safety too. Prior to the pandemic, agricultural recruiters and employers only had to take care of the employees’ basic protective equipment such as safety goggles, face shields, earmuffs, gloves, and head protection helmets. These were needed in order to protect their employees from any freak accidents at work. 

But with the pandemic, agricultural employers now have to provide their workers with efficient safety equipment against the virus such as surgical face masks, gloves, and disinfectants. Aside from that, they must also strictly implement social distancing measures even if it meant reduced productivity.  All of these add up to the employer’s expenses, and many had no choice but to operate at a loss for several months.

Final Thoughts

Agricultural companies may now be struggling with high unemployment rates and an overworked and expensive production, but this is not going to last forever. The question now is, until when can things go back to normal? Until when could agricultural companies hold off longer? Well, the future is looking bright and hopeful with the release of vaccines that have more than 90% efficacy rates. Although mass distribution is yet to be seen, the creation of an effective vaccine has given hope to many individuals and businesses. 

Agriculturalists still don’t know when will their business operations go back to normal. This kind of uncertainty means that agriculture recruiters must strategically plan for the best and worst possible situations in the company and industry, and inform their workforce on what would that mean for them.

All industries and the labor workforce are facing this crisis that none has experienced before. However, the agriculture industry needs to be sustained, because even in the midst of a pandemic, people would still first and foremost need food. It’s times like these that remind you of the importance of the agricultural industry, and the people working in it.