Landless Labourers Research Articles

Caste Inequality, Land Relations and Agrarian Distress in Contemporary Agrarian Economy of Bardhaman, West Bengal

The contemporary agrarian economy of rural West Bengal is characterized by distinct division of the farming community along caste and class lines. Unlike the belief that the communist regime in the state has significantly reduced instances of caste and class inequalities, the present article based on a fieldwork in Paarhaati village of Memary II block of Purba Bardhaman district argues in favour of the persistence of such inequalities till date. With the help of narratives collected and instances captured in a year-long fieldwork in the village, the present article attempts to bring forth the existence of domination of economically and politically powerful castes of landowners, deprivation of agricultural and landless labourers, formation of factions at the local party level, lack of initiative from the panchayat and increasing intervention of merchants, traders and middlemen that is hindering social, economic and political developments in these regions. The article argues that the ‘change’ proclaimed by the new regime has done nothing exceptional for the contemporary rural economy than the previous regime.

The Politics of Land Acquisition in Haryana: Managing Dominant Caste Interests in the Name of Development

ABSTRACT Anti-Special Economic Zone (SEZ) mobilisation in Haryana failed to generate a mass movement. This is despite the political strength of farmers and their deep resentment of the government’s policy to build up land reserves for industrial purposes. This article argues that there are two main reasons for this outcome. First, the state government put in place a series of significant policies to compensate landowners and give them a stake in the industrial project, primarily through payment of an “annuity.” Second, the main anti-SEZ movements were led by dominant landowning castes who did not incorporate the concerns of landless labourers and tenant farmers who faced equally or even more dire consequences from the government’s land acquisition policy. Moreover, mobilisation relied on traditional caste institutions such as khap panchayats and farmer unions strongly associated with Jats, rather than adopting a more broad-based approach. Entrenched caste animosity and pre-existing conflicts of interest between landed Jats and Dalits, who have traditionally worked as agricultural labourers, further explain the limited scope of the mobilisation among rural groups. The analysis underscores how hierarchical relations shape social movements, define the claims they make and ultimately impact their effectiveness.

Problems Faced by Agricultural Landless Laborers in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu: A Status Analysis

India is the second the largest part populous country of the world and has changing socio-economic condition and political demographic and morbidity patterns that have been illustration global thought in current years. Though in recent times enacted MGNREGA, 2005 provides 100 days guarantee of employment in a year, there is great deal of fraud in issuing job cards. Moreover, gather rolls are not maintained accurately and work is not provided to job seekers who really are in need of such support. The problem of agricultural landless laborers is part of the wider problem of unemployment and under-employment in rural areas. Research is primarily a study of how the problems of agricultural workers face. The study is conducted among the farmers in the Parangipettai block in Cuddalore district. Multi-stage purposive sampling method was adopted for selection of the respondents. In this, contexts were selected from 3 select villages of Parangipettai block, Cuddalore district. Size of the primary inclusion is 120. Hence the agricultural landless labourers play an important to role in agriculture sector where the production depends on both the agricultural landless labourers and landowning farmers.

Rural labour employment and livelihoods in tribal villages of eastern India

This study examines the changing employment and livelihood patterns of rural labour households in tribal villages of eastern India. The study is based on the high frequency panel data collected under the ICAR-ICRISAT project on Village Dynamics Studies in eastern India from 2010 to 2014. The findings revealed that the work participation rate of landless labour households had a declining trend whereas that of land owning labour households had a mixed trend in tribal villages of Jharkhand. The employment in the farm sector declined for males but increased for women. Employment in non-farm sectors registered an increase in both the genders and the magnitude of the increase was higher in the non-farm sector as compared to the farm sector. Similar trend was observed for wage rate which showed faster growth in the non-farm wage compared to the farm wage. Both the sectors witnessed an increase in the labourer’s wages during the past four years, however, the increase was much higher in the non-farm sector than the farm sector. The study also indicated that male labourers were employed at higher wages than their female counterparts in both sectors but the difference was narrowed down during last four years. A wage determinant analysis revealed that a healthy, educated, landowning adult male labour is likely to get higher wages than others. Non-farm wage employment is emerging as the most important source of income on labour households contributing 63 to 74% to their total income. The survey further revealed that income from farming constituted only 6 to 13% of the total income of labour households, but it showed increasing trend due to implementation of various mega agricultural development projects in the state.

Field Study on Growth Performance of Pre-Weaned Stall Fed Local Kids Supplemented with Organic Zinc

Small ruminants especially goat plays an important economic and sustainable income to the Indian farming community especially small, marginal and landless labourers in the country. Wants of human been raising to meet the food requirements of the increasing population. But in the other side the nutritional status of these animals plays a vital role in their production performances. Among the essential micronutrients Zinc influences metabolism, immune system and overall health condition, deficiency of which can result in growth retardation, and other health related problems leading to huge economic losses. Hence the current study was carried out to assess the effect of organic Zn supplementation on growth rate of pre-weaned stall fed local kids. Twelve twin local kids of one week age were divided in to two equal groups of six in each group (Control and Treatment) with the average body weights of 2.20±0.01kg (Control) and 2.16±0.03 kg (Treatment). The Control group animals were allowed to suckle mother during first three weeks of study. Then along with suckling, they were provided with tree leaves (Neem and Sesbania), horse gram and chopped fodder maize till the completion of study. Whereas, the animals in Treatment group were also offered same diet as that of control group, additionally these group was supplemented with organic Zn (Zn acetate) @ 1 mg/kg body weight. Weekly body weight of both groups was recorded for 10 weeks and the data so collected was analyzed statistically. The results showed that the Average Daily Gain (ADG) (g) of kids supplemented with organic Zn was higher (89.73 ± 0.57) than the control (44.38 ± 1.23). This shows that the supplementation of Zinc in the form of Zinc acetate has a significant influence on growth and development of kids; hence study recommends the supplementation of zinc for young small ruminants mainly kids.

A Case Study of Milk Processing Plant of Parag Dairy Faizabad

India is endowed with a largest livestock population in the world having a total bovine population of 304 million compared to the world total bovine population of 1400 million. There has been a major improvement in milk production, which increased from 17 mt in 1951 to 127.9 mt during 2011–12. Per capita availability of the milk has reached a level of 290 g day−1 during the year 2011–12, which more than the world average of 284 g day−1. Most of the milk in the country is produced by small, marginal farmers and landless laborers. In order to increase milk production, the government has approved national dairy plan phase-1 (NDP-1) in February, 2012 with a total investment of about 2242 core to be implemented from 2011–12 to 2016–17. Department of animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries, ministry of agricultural Government of India is also implementing “national program on bovine breeding and dairy development (NPBBDD) from 2013–14 to 2016–17 through the state implementing agencies/end implementing agencies/participating agencies. The organized dairy sector (both cooperative and private) is presently handling about 15% of the total milk production in the country. Dairy products form one of the fastest growing segments in livestock product export. India's export of dairy product was 25928.52 mt to the world for the worth of 4318.53 cores during the year 2015–16.

Limits of Conversion: Caste, Labor, and the Question of Emancipation in Colonial Panjab

This article explores the contradictory history of lower castes converting out of Hinduism yet not out of lowliness or casteism in early twentieth-century Panjab. It begins by contextualizing what B. R. Ambedkar's undelivered 1936 Lahore speech on annihilating caste might have meant to an audience of largely landless agricultural laborers. Next it examines the changing constellation of caste names and occupational designations for these groups amid the emergence of the Ad Dharm movement and its struggle to impart equality, dignity, and community to Panjabi Dalits. To situate this new sense of identity in the context of actual labor practices, the article then analyzes the fraught relationship between landholding cultivators and landless laborers working side-by-side while continuing to be separate and unequal. That a large proportion of lower castes could adopt religions other than Hinduism or even start their own and yet remain excluded and exploited reveals the limits of a politics centered on conversion, as well as a different horizon for emancipation.

The labor of social change: Seasonal labor migration and social change in rural western India

In this paper, I examine the relation between seasonal labor migration in rural western India and social change in the home communities of the migrants. The phenomenon of seasonal migration has been studied from the lens of remittance flows and net-loss-and-gain-of- labor between regions. However, there remains a paucity of studies that examine how marginalized people employ their personal experiences, ideas, and sensibilities in the process of circulating between their home and destinations to contest their historic, unequal power relations in their home villages. This research is an effort to fill that gap.Based on research conducted in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra in rural western India during summer 2014 and summer through fall 2015 and drawing on Gramscian concepts of counter-hegemony, I claim that in rural Maharashtra, seasonal labor migration has caused ripples in the social lives of the villages, impacting landowning farmers, landless laborers, and relations of production. These changes are visible in quotidian politics: in new farmer and laborer subjectivities, challenges posed to the common sense of social conduct, and migrant politics of resistance visible in the migrants' “war of position” against landowning farmers. While migration and development policy, both in India and globally, has focused on the integration of internal migrants in their destinations, the quotidian political conflicts in the home communities of internal, circular migrants continue to remain largely unexamined. By studying migration as a social process, this paper exhorts policy analysts to situate “home” as an appropriate avenue to understand how communities transform through migration.

Women, work, and wage equity in agricultural labour in Saiss, Morocco

ABSTRACTThis article documents wages and working conditions for landless female and male agricultural labourers in Morocco. We found that higher-paid, equipment-intensive tasks were predominantly assigned to men, whereas women often performed lower-paid, time-intensive tasks. Women were systematically paid less than men even when they performed the same tasks. Enforcing existing legislation in Morocco to ensure equal pay for women is an essential first step towards enabling women to benefit equitably with men from their agricultural labour contributions. A revalorisation of the importance of agriculture is also necessary so that agricultural labour is not perceived as an occupation of last resort.

Maize avoidance? Colonial French attitudes towards Native American foods in the Pays des Illinois (17th–18th century)

ABSTRACTFrench colonists in seventeenth century New France were introduced to maize, the staple of the Native American diet. In the eighteenth century, when French agriculturalists settled along the Mississippi River, they grew maize but preferred not to eat it themselves, as fur traders and soldiers had previously done. Maize avoidance reflected the changing socio-economic framework of French settlement. Fur traders were concerned with integrating themselves into Native American kin networks, while farmers elaborated distinctions between “French” and “Indian” in the domains of housing, clothing, and food, symbolized by the opposition of wheat bread to maize mush, while readily adopting other native foods – game, pumpkins, maple sugar, even bear oil. Maize was shipped down the Mississippi to Louisiana, but also used to feed the sizeable slave population as well as landless French laborers. Food choices reflected race and class differences, rather than set cultural preferences.

Life Writing "from Below" in Europe: Introduction

The term life writing “from below” is intended to be broad (accommodating) in a double sense: as regards the social status of authors, but also the genre of writing. The phrase “from below” draws on an analogy with the now well-established formulation “history from below” (Sharpe; Hitchcock). In the first instance it refers to authors from low down in a class or status hierarchy. Depending on the society and period in focus, such authors may be slaves, serfs, peasants, crofters, landless labourers, artisans, industrial workers … and may be referred to as—or may designate themselves—plebeians, the labouring poor, the common people, the popular classes, artisans, proletarians, the working class. For the early modern period, James Amelang explains his choice of the term “popular autobiography”:

Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity

This introduction to the special issue deploys a framework, inspired by realist synthesis and introduced in Section 1, that aims to untangle the contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes associated with investments that link poverty reduction and rural prosperity within a broad agri-food systems perspective. Section 2 considers changes in contexts: Where are agricultural research investments most likely to be an engine of poverty reduction? Over the past 25 years, there have been profound changes in the development context of most countries, necessitating an update on strategic insights for research investment priorities relevant for the economic, political, social, environmental, and structural realities of the early 21st Century. Section 2 briefly surveys changes in these structural aspects of poverty and development processes in low-income countries, with particular attention to new drivers (e.g., urbanization, climate change) that will be of increasing salience in the coming decades. In Section 3, we turn to mechanisms: What are the plausible impact pathways and what evidence exists to test their plausibility? Poor farmers in the developing world are often the stated focus of public sector agricultural research. However, farmers are not the only potential beneficiaries of agricultural research; rural landless laborers, stakeholders along food value chains, and the urban poor can also be major beneficiaries of such research. Thus, there are multiple, interacting pathways through which agricultural research can contribute to reductions in poverty and associated livelihood vulnerabilities. This paper introduces an ex ante set of 18 plausible impact pathways from agricultural research to rural prosperity outcomes, employing bibliometric methods to assess the evidence underpinning causal links. In Section 4, we revisit the concept of desired impacts: When we seek poverty reduction, what does that mean and what measures are needed to demonstrate impact? The papers in this special issue are intended to yield insights to inform improvements in agricultural research that seeks to reduce poverty. History indicates that equity of distribution of gains matters hugely, and thus the questions of “who wins?” and “who loses?” must be addressed. Moreover, our understanding(s) of “poverty” and the intended outcomes of development investments have become much richer over the past 25 years, incorporating more nuance regarding gender, community differences, and fundamental reconsideration of the meaning of poverty and prosperity that are not captured by simple head count income or even living standard measures.

The UN World Water Development Report 2016, Water and Jobs: A Critical Review

The UN World Water Development Report 2016, <i>Water and Jobs</i>: A Critical Review

Ambedkar's relation with Jatavas (Landless Labourers) of Agra

Ambedkar's relation with Jatavas (Landless Labourers) of Agra

The Phenomenon of “Razboy” in Russia in the Early 17th Century: On the Typology of Rebel Movements

This article considers the robbers’ (Rus. razboy) movement, a social phenomenon of the early seventeenth century that has not been studied thoroughly. The author conducts a critical review of the existing historiography, providing a comprehensive analysis of the facts concerning the government’s reaction to the rebel movement, the dynamics of enslavement in the lands of Novgorod, and the spread of famine in Russia between 1601 and 1603. The author puts forward a hypothesis explaining the reasons why military servitors left the suites of boyars and nobles. The heirs of a deceased master did not hire their predecessor’s military servitors, nor did they agree to provide them with serfs corresponding to their status (amounting to 15 roubles). The article provides facts testifying to the low prices for bread in the patrimonies of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, proving that the famine was by no means nationwide. The author proposes a new explanation for why expeditions were dispatched to fight brigands in the late autumn of 1602 or in the winter of 1602–1603. In late autumn, the robbers left the forest by road, as they could no longer count on the abundance of vegetation that protected them from being noticed in summer: they stayed in their accomplices’ houses, waiting for the frost to end and haggling over their trophies. The author concludes that the robbers formed a network, which meant the inclusion of peasants and townspeople into the insurgent bands. Additionally, the author compares the robbers’ movement and the activity of peasant militias in 1609, emphasising the fundamental difference between the two phenomena. Relying on renegade peasants and landless labourers (perhaps the poorest) from villages and suburbs, the robbers’ movement of 1602–1603 opposed communities of feudal tenants owing obligations in labour and in kind. The actions of peasant militias in 1609 were based on a key social institution of the pre-industrial era, i. e. the community, and were driven by the ideology of royal pretendership.

Level and pattern of income of farm households and agricultural landless labourers in rural Punjab

Level and pattern of income of farm households and agricultural landless labourers in rural Punjab

Knowledge of goat husbandry practices by goat keepers in Amravati district

The present study was conducted in Amravati district of Maharashtra state. The sample was drawn from the three takula viz. , Chandur bazaar, Morshi, Chandur Railway where functional goat keepers in larger numbers were in existence. Thus, 80 goat keepers were selected which constituted the sample respondents for the present study. Data were collected by personally interviewing the respondents with the help of pre-tested structured interview schedule in face to face situation. Collected data were tabulated. Correlation and regression analysis for interpretation of the findings were calculated. Two hypotheses were set for the study and were tested for acceptance or rejection.Results obtained after analysis were summaries as below. In case of personal profile of the goat keepers revealed that majority (58.75%) of the goat keepers were middle in age, over (11.25%) were illiterate. Majority (66.25%) of goat keepers belonged to medium family size (4 to 6 member) with majority of (56.25%) nuclear family type. Majority (70.00%) of the goat keepers had medium herd size (between 16 to 27 goats) having goat keeping + landless labour occupation (56.25%) with annual income upto Rs. 50,000. Nearly half of the (42.05%) of goat keepers had low social participation, moderate (72.05%) access to the infrastructural facilities. Majority of the goat keepers had knowledge about extensive method of rearing, housing management, goat insurance, duration of feeding of colostrum. However, majority of goat keepers lacked knowledge about selection of descript breeds of goat, heat symptoms, diseases of goats, feeding of concentrates to milking goat and breeding buck. Results of the relational analysis revealed that age, education, family type, family size, herd size, occupation, annual income, social participation and infrastructural facilities were significantly associated with knowledge of goat keepers.

Problems faced by members and non-members of Dairy Co-operatives in adoption of improved management practices in district Saharanpur of U.P.

The present study was made to sort out the problems related to breeding, feeding, veterinary care, marketing and financial management practices faced by the members and non-members of dairy co-operatives of weaker section's communities and to suggest suitable measures to overcome these problems in Saharanpur district of U.P. in the year 2008-09. The data were collected from 75 members and 75 non-members of dairy co-operatives of weaker section's families (small, marginal farmers and landless labourers) through interview schedule. The major problems reported by members and non-members of dairy co-operatives were related to breeding i.e. lack of availability of improved breed, distance location of artificial insemination centre and another problem was related to feeding i.e. lack of knowledge about balanced feeding, nonavailability of green fodder throughout the year, the other problem was related to veterinary care i.e. distant location of veterinary hospitals, no knowledge about vaccination schedule and another problem related to marketing and finance i.e. lack of finance for working capital and low price of milk and lack of marketing facilities in the village were perceived as the most serious problems faced by members and nonmembers of dairy co-operatives. The non-members of dairy co-operatives face major problems with high severity in comparison to members of dairy co-operatives. Thus, there is a need to remove these problems to increase dairy business through weaker section's families to raise their income.

The gender agenda: NGOs and capitalist relations in highland Cambodia

ABSTRACTCambodia’s mountainous northeastern province of Ratanakiri, which only twenty years ago was home to mainly indigenous minority groups largely focused on subsistence production, has undergone rapid ecological, social, and economic transformation. Deforestation and land alienation in the context of large-scale plantation agriculture, land speculation, and smallholder cash cropping have led to concerns that indigenous communities are being alienated from their land and not benefitting from economic changes. This has resulted in a significant number of NGO and government programs that attempt to protect and “empower” indigenous people, particularly women. This article examines a one-year research project which explored the relationship between indigenous women and land change in two indigenous villages. It discusses how indigenous women as well as Khmer and landless Cham immigrants have dealt with the commoditization of land and labor. It focuses on the differentiated way capitalist relations have pushed men, women, landless laborers, and increasingly wealthy landowners on increasingly divergent life trajectories. Compelled by donors to focus on gender and indigenous women as an object of governance, the NGO that directed this project struggled to keep up with the realities of capitalist relations on the ground.

Knowledge and adoption level of animal scientific practices by milk producers in Chhotaudaipur district of Gujarat

Livestock are an integral part of agriculture in India and are likely to be the instruments of future growth and development of the agricultural sector. They generate employment, provide draught power, manure and earn foreign exchange through exports. Additionally, livestock make substantial contributions to environmental conservation and provide domestic fuel to save on the use of petro-products. Although the per capita consumption of foods of animal origin is low in India, demand has been rising due to the growing human population, sustained growth in per capita incomes and increasing urbanization. Dairying is an integral part of the Indian economy providing subsistence to small and marginal farmers and landless laborers. Most of the rural farmers, who keep dairy animals, do not follow modern dairy management practices. This study was conducted on knowledge and adoption level of improved animal husbandry practices. Result revealed that majority of dairy farmers (53.00 %) had medium knowledge level, whereas 22.00 per cent and 25.00 per cent dairy farmers were having low and high knowledge level about improved animal husbandry practices, respectively. Majority of the members (51 %) were found to be medium adopters, while 27 per cent members were low adopters and 22 per cent of the members were high adopters.