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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

The forgotten ones: Looking at agricultural labourers -Sukhpal Singh & Shruti Bhogal
-The Tribune

While there are have been debates about the plight of farmers, hardly have we ever heard or read anything about the condition of agricultural labourers. They are the victims of economic downturn in the rural sector.

THE economy of Punjab today, embroiled in various economic issues, is showing signs of crisis in the agrarian sector. We often hear and read about the woes of the farmers who are committing suicides, but little do we think about the ripple effect on the labourers, working on the farmers’ fields. The labourers often have no assets, a meagre income and are completely dependent on agriculture. Agricultural labour is an essential component of the food-production machinery of our economy.

During the year 2011, the rural cultivators in Punjab were estimated to be about 18 lakh and the agricultural labour were estimated to be around 15 lakh. Punjab has the highest proportion, about 30 per cent, of Dalits in the country. The agricultural labourers in the state form a major proportion of this section. Their socio-economic issues fail to draw attention.

Over time, the status of these labourers is deteriorating on the social and the economic front. Permanent agricultural labourers are becoming casual labourers due to the mechanisation of major farm operations, slowdown of agricultural growth, mono-culture of wheat-paddy crops and abundant inflow of migrant labour to the state. The technological evolution of the primary sector in the state rendered many agricultural labourers as surplus. According to the model of development, they were to be accommodated by the non-farm sector but alas, this sector is doing no better.

A survey study reveals that a single agricultural labourer manages to get work in the agricultural sector for merely 47 days a year; and since 1991 their real income, a major proportion of which is used for purchasing just the necessary food items, has declined by about 25 per cent. The percentage of these labourers below the poverty line has also increased from 10.25 per cent in 1991 to 16.47 per cent in 2011. The insufficiency of owned funds, usually to meet the consumption needs, makes them fall prey to the non-institutional sources of credit. In the absence of ownership of any collaterals, they are not considered credit-worthy by institutional sources of credit.

A survey by the Punjab Agricultural University highlighted that of the total suicide cases from 2000 to 2011, about 43 per cent cases were that of agricultural labourers. Of this, 59 per cent were due to indebtedness and 41 per cent due to reasons though not due to debt but due to economic distress. The statistical data highlights the plight of these labourers.

Policies for the betterment of this section would drive a society towards comprehensive development for which the thinkers, economists, representatives of agricultural labourers and policy makers need to come on board. Displaced by the crucial technological evolution, surplus agricultural labourers are exposed to the market forces of demand and supply. In order to avoid exploitation and prevent socio-economic side-effects of this spill, it is required to strengthen the pull factors of the rural non-farm sectors to preserve the natural balance of employment in the rural economy.

Rural industrialisation, with special emphasis on agro-processing industries, has a vital role to play. As a ramification, the surplus labour would get gainful employment. The rural economy would be propelled by value addition to the economic activities through forward and backward linkages which would ameliorate the capacity of rural society. Here the imperative role of the state comes into picture to ensure easy initiation of such projects, creation of infrastructure and assuring a conducive work environment, which would then have trickle-down effects. Crafting of agricultural labour-specific work-welfare initiatives, especially for the rural non-farm sector, can curtail the deterioration of the employment situation of these labourers. Enforcement of laws to avoid exploitation and ensure minimum wages and decent working conditions would attract more rural labour in this sector and help to avoid desperate out-migration.

Employment schemes like MGNREGS were introduced to improve the employment avenues of those below poverty line but have not been able to do so. The effective days of employment per household were as low as 36 days, with Rs 216 wage per day in Punjab. Accordingly, the annual wage per household works out to be Rs 7,776 which is much less than the poverty line limits as per Rangarajan Committee Report of Rs 33 per day per person for rural areas and Rs 47 per day per person for urban areas — which works out to be Rs 12,000 and Rs 17,000 annual per capita, respectively. This further becomes about Rs 60,000 and Rs 86,000 per household annually. Increasing the number of days of assured employment from 100 to 250 days and also the remuneration to Rs 400 under the scheme are crucial to improve the lot of the poverty-stricken. Creation of special cells to cater to the complaints of labourers would build their confidence and be a catalyst for their welfare and security.

Indebtedness is a burden on most economically weaker sections of society.  Easy terms and conditions of institutional sources of credit can be a shield from financial distress. Improving financial health can exponentially augment their economic status and even their social status to a certain extent. Introducing debt-waiver schemes for labourers like those introduced for farmers is a must.

Other than the male head of the agricultural labour households who succumb to economic distress and commit suicides, the females of these households too are severely affected and commit suicide in desperation. There is a need for rehabilitation programmes which guarantee continuous employment or per month fixed allowance, free education of the children up to graduation, free healthcare, providing training for special skills and self-employment programmes to revive the households of the suicide victim families.

Allocation of built-up houses of at least five marlas for a family of five individuals with basic civic amenities like safe drinking water, electricity, sewage connections must be provided. In order to ensure decent levels of living and containing them from being dependant on inefficient and less abundant sources of energy, every agricultural labour household of five members should be given one LPG cylinder on a bimonthly basis.

As per government norms government employees/elderly above 60 years retire and get a fixed pension. However, agricultural labourers often found to be toiling beyond capacity even when old as being physically productive is their only means of survival in the absence of any social security welfare schemes.

It is time to pay tribute to the hard working men and women who toil in the fields of the farmers, the food growers, of our country.

Sukhpal Singh is the Head of the Department of Economics & Sociology in Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Shruti Bhogal is a researcher in the same Department.