Abstract
Essentially, equity and efficiency are integral parts of any economic activities of sustainability though the correlation and causation between those two constructs are not considered significant. This study intends to evaluate if the contract farming system is a sustainable solution to the prevailing socio-economic aspects of the labor productivity problem in the tea estate sector of Sri Lanka, where female workers are highly depressed. This study has employed the survey strategy within the instrumental case of a selected tea estate to assess equity and efficiency of women-empowered contract farming system. The analytical results for gender equity on input and performance indicators have proven that gender equity is maintained in contract farming at the sample tea estate. The efficiency analysis results revealed that the output elasticity of tea bushes is significantly lower for female farmers than male farmers. However, there is no such significant difference revealed in the output elasticity of labor between gender groups. These findings explicitly reveal that the female workers in the tea estate sector are capable of managing labor although they are dominated by males in the domesticity. It further implies that a transformation of the male-dominant culture of the tea estate community would enhance the entrepreneurial and leadership capabilities of female workers if they are provided with equal opportunities and freedom.
Highlights
The problem of low productivity in the tea estate sector of Sri Lanka is attributed to both land and labor input factors, as those factors complement the production process
The results show that the output elasticity of tea bushes is significantly lower for female farmers than male farmers
The primary reasons for the poor performance in the tea estate sector of Sri Lanka have been known to be the labor shortage and low labor productivity attributed to the existing traditional labor-management system
Summary
The problem of low productivity in the tea estate sector of Sri Lanka is attributed to both land and labor input factors, as those factors complement the production process. Sri Lanka is renowned for producing high-quality teas to the world market, this industry’s land and labor productivity is significantly less than that of other competitive tea growing and exporting countries such as India and Kenya (Shyamalie, Welala, & Godage, 2013). These two productivity perspectives are crucial in enhancing competitiveness as this industry is exceedingly land and labor-intensive. The tea estate sector of Sri Lanka is in various political and economic discussions at the national level for different reasons.
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