Agricultural Labour Status and Problems in India: An Analytical Study

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The concept of “agricultural labourer” refers to all those engaged in different agricultural activities like preparation of the soil, ploughing operations, sowing, planting, weeding, harvesting etc. Agricultural labourers made up a significant portion of the workforce. They are generally landless and rely on wage labour in agriculture to survive. Problem like droughts, uncertain monsoons and seasonal periodical nature of agriculture, agricultural labourers often face the problems of unemployment and underemployment, eventually getting trapped by poverty. The scientific agricultural implements, high yielding variety seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, increased irrigational potential would not have shown the desired progress without the assistance of agricultural labourers. Unfortunately, the agricultural labourers are deprived of their legitimate share in the returns. Further, the rural labourers engaged in household enterprises have also been affected as the new industrial products and displaces them from their traditional activities. Female rural labour has also been affected in as much as their wages are lower than those of the male labourer. Rural labour poverty- stricken as they are compelled to take loan from money-lenders and big farmers for meeting their domestic needs. In the wake of their inability to repay the loan amount, rural labour is reduced to miserable status of “bonded labour”- serving as servitors in the houses of landlord - cum - moneylenders. It is also important to note that rural labour often migrate from one place to other in search of employment. It indicates uncertainty of employment at a particular place and at a particular point of time. Majority of the rural population belonging to the categories of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other depressed sections of the society. The problems of these sections are multifarious and peculiar in nature. The women who have been looked down upon for long have also been facing the problems in leaving their lives as agricultural labourers. These labourers are at bottom of society still now.