1.3.5. Who will provide the labour?

After land, labour is the next necessary factor for production. Farming requires a great deal of hard work. Small farmers along with their families cultivate their own fields. Thus, they provide the labour required for farming themselves. Medium and large farmers hire farm labourers to work on their fields.

In farming, labour is essential as it involves significant physical work. Small farmers often rely on their family members to help cultivate their lands. However, larger farmers usually do not have enough family members to meet the labour demand, so they employ external workers, known as farm labourers. This system allows for production on a larger scale because medium and large farmers can manage more land with hired help.

Think of a family-run restaurant where the owners do all the cooking and serving. This is similar to small farmers who rely on their families. In contrast, a large hotel employs numerous chefs and waitstaff to operate smoothly, just like larger farmers who hire outside labour to manage their extensive fields.

Farm labourers come either from landless families or families cultivating small plots of land. Unlike farmers, farm labourers do not have a right over the crops grown on the land. Instead, they are paid wages by the farmer for whom they work.

Farm labourers are typically individuals who do not own land and often come from low-income households. They can also come from families that own very small plots of land. Unlike farmers, these workers do not have rights to the crops they help harvest. They earn wages, which can be in the form of cash, food, or sometimes housing, depending on their employment situation.

Imagine a worker at a factory who helps produce toys but does not own any of the toys made. Just like that worker, farm labourers do their jobs and receive a wage but have no claim to the fruits of their labour, which belong to the farmer who hired them.

Wages can vary widely from region to region, from crop to crop, from one farm activity to another (like sowing and harvesting). There is also a wide variation in the duration of employment.

The earnings of farm labourers are not fixed and can change based on several factors including geographical location, type of crop being harvested, and specific farm operations (like planting versus harvesting). Some labourers might only get a few days of work in one season, while others may find steady employment throughout the year, leading to instability in their income.

Think of how a seasonal worker might get hired at different rates during various times of the year. For instance, a gardener might earn more during spring and summer when demand for landscaping is high, compared to winter when there is less work available.

Dala is a landless farm labourer who works on daily wages in Palampur. He must regularly look for work. The minimum wages for a farm labourer set by the government is Rs 300 per day (March 2019), but Dala gets only Rs 160.

Dala represents the struggles of many farm labourers. He continuously searches for jobs each day, highlighting the precarious nature of farm work. Although there is a minimum wage set by the government, due to high competition and a surplus of labour, he ends up receiving much lower pay, which affects his quality of life. This situation illustrates the economic vulnerabilities farm labourers face.

You can think of Dala as someone working part-time at a local shop; they might expect a certain pay, but because there are so many people looking for jobs, they settle for something less, which makes it hard for them to manage their expenses.

There is heavy competition for work among the farm labourers in Palampur, so people agree to work for lower wages.

The saturation of the labour market means that many individuals are competing for a limited number of jobs. This excess supply pushes wages down, as workers are willing to accept lower pay to secure employment. The competitive job environment forms a cycle where low wages perpetuate poverty among farm workers.

Imagine a job fair where many skilled workers apply for the same few positions. Because of their competition, each might accept a lower salary just to secure employment, reflecting how farm labourers face similar challenges in rural areas.

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