AI Is Reshaping Russia’s Blue-Collar Labor Market
Demand for agricultural workers with artificial intelligence skills has surged by a record 112 percent.
Russia’s agricultural sector is entering the AI era. In 2025, demand for farm workers with artificial intelligence skills doubled compared with 2024. The number of similar vacancies for shift-based workers rose by roughly one-third. The figures were provided to Izvestia by recruiting services.
Intelligent Optimization
Professions once dominated by manual labor now require an understanding of digital systems and data analytics, experts say. According to a major job search platform, the number of vacancies requiring AI and automation skills grew by 34 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year. The sharpest increase came in agriculture, where demand for such specialists jumped 112 percent.
The fastest growth was recorded for machine-milking operators, with openings for dairy workers rising 2.1 times year over year. Today, these workers are expected not only to care for animals but also to operate high-tech equipment—reading sensor data, analyzing monitoring system signals, and making rapid decisions.
AI tools are being deployed across multiple layers of agricultural work. Agronomists assess fields using satellite maps, machinery operators analyze routes and determine fertilizer application rates, and greenhouse operators manage microclimate control systems.
According to Zmazneva, AI is most effective where large volumes of data must be processed quickly to generate forecasts. It is also increasingly common in physically demanding jobs. Combines are now being equipped with computer vision systems to monitor harvesting, while drones and edge devices—peripheral sensors—analyze data in real time. This reduces water and fertilizer consumption and supports higher yields. The shift goes beyond automation to what experts describe as intelligent optimization, requiring integrated equipment, digital twins, and rapid data processing.
Hybrid Workers
Workers do not need to become highly specialized AI engineers, said Sergey Bolovtsov, director of the Artificial Intelligence Research Center at the Presidential Academy. A basic understanding of how AI systems function is sufficient. He described this as a new form of literacy, comparable to learning how to use a computer in previous decades.
By 2026, a significant share of large enterprises will have integrated AI systems into production processes. Employers, in turn, are beginning to frame job requirements with future technology adoption in mind.
In agriculture, AI is used not only by milking operators and automated farms but also by operators of unmanned machinery. Computer vision systems monitor herd health and fertilizer precision in real time. According to industry data, a class of “hybrid workers” is emerging—employees who use AI prompts to process invoices and reports directly in the field, saving time. The rollout of AI in the real economy is no longer experimental but is becoming the primary way to scale production as traditional labor resources are increasingly exhausted. As a result, the ability to work with AI tools is becoming a core component of competitiveness across manufacturing, agriculture, and other skilled trades.
Izvestia previously reported that the expansion of AI adoption in Russia is giving rise to new professions.
