Agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy, contributing 13.7% to
national GDP and providing employment to more than half of the population.
Indian economy witnessed a colossal change in the last three decades. External
reform measures were adopted during mid-80’s followed by the comprehensive
economic liberalisation in 1991.
We observed declining dependence on the
traditional agricultural sector along with a structural change. After
liberalisation, the employment growth in India has increased from one percent
per annum to nearly 3 percent. These remarkable changes may have impact on
economically and socially disadvantaged groups, especially, farmers. Agriculture
in India defines familial tradition, social relations and gender roles. Farmer
in the agricultural sector, whether through traditional means or industrial,
for subsistence or as an agricultural laborer, represents a momentous
demographic group. Agriculture is directly tied to issues such as economic
independence, decision-making abilities, agency and access to education and
health services and this manner has created externalities such as poverty and
marginalization, and compounded issues of wage inequality.
This study mainly focuses on two issues
1. Employment
in Agriculture.
2. Regional
disparities in Agricultural Wages.
Employment in
Agriculture:
Data from various NSSO rounds was taken and it was
found that employment in agriculture is decreasing for both male and female
over the years. But decrease in male is more than female. Migration rate to
non-farm employment is high for men than women. This may be due to the fact
that male members more liberty in society and have high opportunity to migrate
to other occupations. This indicate high rate of migration to non-farm
employment for male laborers.
Table 3:
Employment in Agriculture
NSSO Round
|
Male (percent)
|
Female
(percent)
|
32nd (1977-78)
|
80.6
|
88.1
|
38th (1983-84)
|
77.5
|
87.5
|
43rd (1987-88)
|
74.5
|
84.7
|
50th (1993-94)
|
74.1
|
86.2
|
55th (1999-00)
|
71.4
|
85.4
|
61st (2004-05)
|
66.5
|
83.3
|
66th (2009-10)
|
62.8
|
79.4
|
68th (2011-12)
|
59.4
|
74.9
|
Regional Disparities in Agricultural
Wage:
Regional
disparities in agricultural wages are one the major problem of Indian
agriculture. The major factors responsible for wage discrimination across
regions are economic status of area and government policies. States like Kerala
and Punjab are above in pace of development whereas states like Bihar and
Orissa are far below them. So developed states are showing high level of real
wages and developing states low level. These disparities can be overcome by
same developing each state, which can be done by effective and efficient
government policies. Data from Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Agricultural Wages in India (different
issues) Ministry of Agriculture, was taken from 2005-06 to 2009-10. This
nominal wage data was converted into real wage data using Consumer Price Index
for Agricultural Labour (CPIAL). 2005-06 was taken as base year.
Data for 14 major states was taken for
male agricultural labour (field labour/ploughman). Growth rate and coefficient
of variation was calculated for different states.
Main findings of the analysis are:
• Punjab, Haryana & Kerala showed a high average
level of real money wages.
• Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Bihar showed low level of
real money wages.
• Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh & Maharashtra showed
negative growth rate.
• Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu showed
high growth rate.
• West Bengal, Karnataka, Haryana showed low growth
rate.
Table 7: Real wages for male
agricultural labour (field labour/ploughman)
(Base year: 2005-06)
States
|
2005-06
|
2006-07
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
Growth rate
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
61.7
|
63.79
|
73.53
|
82.42
|
86.22
|
39.7
|
Bihar
|
63.06
|
69.34
|
62.12
|
73.07
|
69.4
|
10.1
|
Gujarat
|
98.15
|
89.14
|
81.06
|
87.66
|
80.03
|
-18.5
|
Haryana
|
116.44
|
107.18
|
110.68
|
127.30
|
127.74
|
9.7
|
Karnataka
|
67.89
|
67.11
|
65.82
|
84.83
|
73.35
|
8.0
|
Kerala
|
218.4
|
234.09
|
247.70
|
236.80
|
244.21
|
11.8
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
55.24
|
53.71
|
55.06
|
62.36
|
64.61
|
17.0
|
Maharashtra
|
51.19
|
46
|
56.22
|
51.13
|
-
|
-0.1
|
Odisha
|
50.09
|
62.44
|
46.00
|
49.21
|
56.00
|
11.8
|
Punjab
|
95.52
|
88.50
|
86.69
|
100.01
|
124.67
|
30.5
|
Rajasthan
|
67.43
|
98.98
|
101.49
|
97.17
|
96.68
|
43.4
|
Tamil Nadu
|
76.71
|
65.82
|
73.68
|
74.92
|
100.10
|
30.5
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
79.09
|
56.29
|
70.90
|
73.36
|
72.40
|
-8.5
|
West Bengal
|
78.69
|
81.59
|
84.30
|
85.50
|
82.30
|
4.6
|
C.V.
|
51.1
|
55.0
|
57.1
|
50.4
|
49.7
|
Conclusion:
The overall conclusions of the study are:
Labour participation in agriculture has decreased over
the years. Female labour participation was high in agriculture as compare to
male because male has comparatively higher opportunities in non-farm jobs so
has high migration rate. States like Punjab, Haryana & Kerala showed a high
average level of real money wages. Odisha, Madhya Pradesh & Bihar showed
low level of real money wags. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu
showed high growth rate. West Bengal, Karnataka, Haryana showed low growth
rate.
References:
Ghatak,
S. (2012), Regional and Gender Disparities in Agricultural Wages, Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi.
National
Sample Survey Office (various issues), Employment
and Unemployment Situations in India, MoSPI, Government of India.
DES
(various issues), Agricultural Wages in
India, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
How
much important is agriculture growth in India’s GDP?
How
India can overcome such regional disparities in efficient way?
What
can be done to make Indian Agriculture system more advanced?
What are the real problems of Indian
Agriculture system and how those could be resolved?
(Written by Bhoopesh
Punera, currently Research Fellow at IARI (Indian Agricultural Research
Institute), New Delhi)
Follow @SocioCosmo
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