Harvesting of Bajra (Pearl millet) Cobs by Farm Women of Haryana - An Ergonomic Study

Abstract

In rain fed areas of Haryana, farmers do harvesting of bajra (pearl millet) by cutting its ear heads first from standing crop, followed by cutting of remaining plant later being used as animal fodder for longer duration. These cobs are then collected in a bag hanging on their shoulders and back that causes undue stress on the worker. This activity is primarily performed by farm women which is one of the tedious activities where she adopts unnatural body postures. Field experiment was conducted for 30 minutes on a sample of 30 farm women respondents. On an average, 24 kg of bajra cobs were cut observing average working heart rate of 118 bpm over the resting heart rate (80 bpm) consuming 10 kJ/min of energy and assessing 58 bpm as physiological cost of work. There was 47.5% increase in physiological stress on the women making the bajra cobs cutting a moderately heavy activity. Women reported maximum discomfort at fingers, shoulder joints, upper back, mid back and upper arms. There is a need of intervention of appropriate technology viz. improved sickle and pick bag to the farm women, which would be helpful to carry out the bajra cobs harvesting with lesser drudgery and increased output.