Migrant workers from other parts of India are slowly making their presence felt in the agricultural fields in the Cauvery delta, in Tamil Nadu, often referred to as the granary of South India. The development comes amid there being a severe shortage of farmhands.
The gradual influx of migrant workers in agriculture has, however, not set alarm bells ringing as yet among trade unions or local labourers as the numbers in the farm sector are not as high when compared to the situation in the industrial and other sectors in Tamil Nadu.
The shortage of labour still remains a common complaint among farmers in the delta, as the younger generation has turned away from farming, leaving the elders to shoulder the burden.
“It’s becoming really hard to find labourers to tend to the crops,” says R. Anandan, a farmer from Parasanallur in Mayiladuthurai district.
From India’s east
Migrant labourers have been filling this gap in some places. They move across the State in groups during the agricultural seasons and are largely hired for the transplantation or the harvesting of paddy as far as the delta region is concerned. Many of them are from West Bengal and Bihar, and are skilled in paddy transplanting and other agriculture activities. They are sought after by farmers here for their swift work and at relatively lower costs.
“For the past three years, we have been working in different districts across Tamil Nadu,” says Deva Mondal, a Bengali labourer, who was part of a group engaged in transplanting paddy seedlings in Mayiladuthurai district, recently.
Deva highlights the demanding nature of their work. The group, he says, works from dawn to dusk, transplanting paddy seedlings on four to five acres per day. “We charge ₹4,500 to ₹5,000 for planting an acre as a group (of 13 workers), whereas local labourers are paid ₹600 per day for the same work. By covering more area in a day, we earn more,” he says.
“Farmers who hire us say that there is shortage of labourers locally and fulfil their requirement. However, this is not yet a widespread phenomenon in the delta,” he add.
Labour unions too agree. “The issue of engaging migrant workers for farm operations in the delta districts is not as alarming as [it is] in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu. Many farmers are going in for government-supported farm mechanisation. Besides, local youngsters are opting for jobs with a steady income. These factors are contributing to the decline in local labour in agricultural fields,” observes V. Jeevakumar, a CPI(M) cadre and Vice-President, All India Agriculture Labourers Union, Thanjavur.
Migrant labourers can be seen engaged in farm activities in some parts of the delta region, particularly in the urban or semi-urban pockets. This is because there are opportunities available for them during the off-season period, says G. Sethuraman, a progressive farmer with the sizeable landholding in Dharasuram near Kumbakonam.
“Workers from other States usually avoid areas with a significant labour population and focus on villages near urban/semi-urban areas where there is a shortage of labour,” explains A. Baskar, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Agricultural Workers’ Union. “Although there haven’t been any conflicts between workers from other States and locals, so far, possible disputes can be averted by ensuring equal pay for all labourers,” he says.
Socio-economic changes and MGNREGA
Ayalai Siva Suriyan, District Secretary, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, Tiruchi, attributes the shrinkage of the agricultural workforce to larger socio-economic changes. “Earlier, those who completed standard 8 or standard 10 took up agricultural work, but now they want jobs in cities. Middle aged and old people largely constitute the farm workforce in many parts of the State. Hiring workers from outside is inevitable,” he says.
Though the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is blamed by a section of farmers for the shortage of labour and rising wages, not all agree. “Last year, most beneficiaries got only 40 days of work under the scheme in Tiruchi district, far from the promised 100 days and the decline has been consistent over the years,” claims Mr. Siva Suriyan.
If the implementation of MGNREGA is confined to the non-cultivation season, there would be no need to scout for migrant labourers, Mr. Sethuraman argues. The labour unions in the delta region, which are strong, had for long ensured that the local labourers got priority when it came to hiring. Farmers, irrespective of the size of their landholdings, were dependent on the local labour to carry out all cultivation activities, right from aerating the soil to harvesting. There was stiff resistance from farm labour unions towards mechanisation and hiring outsiders. “Farmers had to run behind the local workforce, who called the shots,” says L.N. Renganathan of Kamalapuram near Mannargudi.
But the advent of the MGNREGA changed the situation during the first decade of this century. As farmhands relished the advantages of being a “stakeholder” in the scheme aimed at enhancing their livelihood security, the grip of labour syndicates on local agricultural operations tapered off, paving the way for the gradual increase in the mechanisation of agriculture operations, he says.
Decline in agricultural labour
Agricultural labourers in the delta continue to complain of unemployment and many, such as Indira Jeevanantham, struggle to make ends meet. The 68-year-old woman, from Parasanallur panchayat in Mayiladuthurai district, says that she could get jobs only for three months during the samba paddy cultivation season. For the rest of the year, her situation is precarious as she searches for small jobs to sustain herself and her husband who is ailing. At the same time, Indira’s plight is a reflection of the broader picture — of the decline in agricultural labour in Parasanallur panchayat, where the once robust workforce of 750 people has dwindled to a mere 75, most of whom are older women like Indira.
The relationship between farmers and labourers is intricately linked to the caste system, with landowners and agricultural workers typically belonging to different castes, at times leading to tension. Nevertheless, Tamil Nadu’s impressive gross enrolment ratio of 47%, the highest in the country, indicates that almost half the population pursues higher education and is unlikely to return to agricultural labour.
venkatasubramanian.v@thehindu.co.in
nacchinarkkiniyan.m@thehindu.co.in