Agriculture Laborers and Farmers in India

Agriculture Laborers and Farmers in India

As we live in India and as we all know India is a country of diversity. In India, there are different regions and their effect on the work people do, the kind of plants, trees, crops, or things that become important to them. People in villages and urban areas there are different ways in which people earn their living. What do you think do people have equal opportunities to earn living? Now let have look at similarities in their life situations and the problem that they face.

People here do any type of work such that making baskets, utensils, pots, bricks, etc. Some people serve as blacksmiths, doctors, nurses, teachers, and many others. And we know India is an agricultural country. We have the National Statistical Office’s Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households(SAAH) report for 2018-19. It pegs the country’s “agricultural households” at 93.09 million-plus to almost 150 million farmers. Most families earn a living through agriculture.

There are 80% of people who are farmers Nearly two-fifth of all rural families are agricultural laborers in our country. Some have small plots of land while others are landless. Not being able to earn money throughout the year forces people in many rural areas to travel long distances in search of work. This travel, or migration, takes place during particular seasons.

Farmers have to carry their crops to their houses. One family has just finished harvesting their field. They don't own much land. They manage to do all the work on their own. At times, especially during the harvest they take the help of other small farmers and in turn help them harvest their field.

The trader gave them seeds and fertilizers as a loan. To pay back this loan they have to sell their crop to him at a somewhat lower price than what the farmer would get in the market. He has sent his agent to remind farmers who have taken loans that they will sell the crop only to him. They will probably get many bags of crops from their field. Some of this they will sell to settle the loan. The rest will be used in their home. But whatever they have will last only eight months. So they need to earn some money. They work in a trader's mill. Here they help him collect crops from other farmers in the neighboring villages. They may have a hybrid cow; whose milk they sell in the local milk cooperative. This way they get a little extra money for their everyday needs.

As you've read above, very often farmers like them need to borrow money to purchase basic things like seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. Often they borrow this money from moneylenders. If the seeds are not of good quality or pests attack their crop there can be a major crop failure.

As you saw in the story poor families in rural areas often spend a lot of time every day collecting firewood, getting water, and grazing their cattle. Even though they do not earn any money from these activities they have to do them for the household. The family needs to spend time doing this as they are not able to survive on the little money they earn. Nearly two-fifth of all rural families are agricultural laborers in our country.

Some have small plots of land while others are landless. Not being able to earn money throughout the year forces people in many rural areas to travel long distances in search of work. This travel, or migration, takes place during particular seasons. The crops can also be ruined if the monsoon does not bring enough rain. When this happens farmers sometimes are unable to pay back their loans. And, for the family to survive, they may even have to borrow more money. Soon the loan becomes so large that no matter what they earn, they are unable to repay.

This is when we can say they are caught in debt. In recent years this has become a major cause of distress among farmers. In some areas, this has also resulted in many farmers committing suicide.

In addition to land, some big farmers own a mill and a shop selling seeds, pesticides, etc. For the mill, they used some of their own money and also borrowed from the government bank. They buy the crops from within the village and from surrounding villages. The crop that is produced in the mill is sold to traders in nearby towns. This gives them a substantial income.

In India, nearly two out of every five rural families are agricultural laborer families. All of them depend on the work they do in other people's fields to earn a living. Many of them are landless and others may own very small plots of land. In the case of small farmers,, the land is barely enough to meet their needs.

In India, 80 percent of farmers belong to this group. Only 20 percent of India's farmers are big farmers. These large farmers cultivate most of the land in the villages. A large part of their produce is sold in the market. Many of them have started other businesses such as shops, moneylending, trading, small factories, etc. Apart from farming, many people in rural areas depend upon collection from the forest, animal husbandry, dairy produce, fishing, etc.

For example, in some villages in central India, both farming and collection from the forest are important sources of livelihood. Collecting manual, tendu leaf is an important source of additional income. Similarly selling milk to the village cooperative society or taking milk to the nearby town may be the main source of livelihood for some families.

In the coastal areas, we find fishing villages. Let us find out more about the lives of a fishing family. In many areas, people earn their living by fishing. Their houses are close to the sea and one finds rows of catamarans and nets lying around. At about 7 o'clock in the morning, there is a lot of activity on the beach. This is the time when the catamarans return with their catch and women gather to buy and sell fish. In their catamaran. It is possible that they were caught in a storm.

They will auction the rest. The money they get from the auction will be divided into four shares. One each for each person who went fishing and the fourth one is for the equipment. Since they own the catamaran, engine, and nets, they get that share too. They have taken a loan from a bank and purchased an engine, which is fixed onto the catamaran. Now they can go far into the sea so that they can get a better catch.

The women who buy fish here will carry it in baskets to be sold in nearby villages. Then there are others like traders who buy for the shops in the town. They'll only finish this auction by noon. In the evening they will untangle and repair their nets. Early tomorrow morning around 2 a.m. they will set out to sea again. Every year, for at least about four months during the monsoon, they cannot go to the sea because this is when the fish breed. During these months they survive by borrowing from the trader. Because of this, later on, they are forced to sell the fish to that trader, and cannot do their auction. Those lean months are the most difficult.