Mandeep Singh Azad, Kawardeep Kour
If it takes 15 minutes to read and reflect on this article, in just that much time 25 farmers would have lost their land. Clearly this is not a sustainable situation for any farming system that is largely based on small holdings. That is why India must find ways and means to move towards more sustainability. Let us consider these statistics in more detail: Data from the 2011 Census and the one preceding it in 2001 shows that there were 127.3 million (1,273 lakh) landowning farmers in 2001 whose numbers reduced to 118.7 million (1,187 lakh) in 2011. In other words, in those 10 years the number of farmers declined by a whopping 8.6 million (86 lakh). On the other hand, there was an increase in the number of landless farm workers. “The number of landless agricultural workers in India as per Census 2001 was 10.67 crore and as per Census 2011 it was 14.43 crore. Therefore, millions of farmers and, to some extent, artisans moved to the category of landless workers over the same period. The reduction in the numbers of farmers is therefore higher than accounted for by the increase in the numbers of landless farm workers. Therefore, we can reasonably assume that all or most of the nearly 8.6 million or 86 lakh farmers moved from the category of farmers into landless farm labour or other work over this decade. This means a loss of 0.86 million (8.6 lakh) owner-farmers every year, which is around 72,000 in one month and 2,400 in one day. This is how 100 owner-farmers could be moving into the category of landless farm workers every hour in India. Of the 10.6 crore agricultural labourers recorded in Census 2011, 4.9 crore (38.9% of the total number of female workers in the country) are women, and their role is hardly ever recognised. Out of these 119 million people are land-owning farmers while 144 million are landless workers and peasants. Unfortunately, nobody speaks for these 114 million landless peasants or farm labourers.
According to estimates from the International Labour Office (ILO), some 170,000 agricultural workers are killed each year. This means that workers in agriculture run at least twice the risk of dying on the job as compared with workers in other sectors. Agricultural mortality rates have remained consistently high in the last decade as compared with other sectors, where fatal accident rates have decreased. Millions of agricultural workers are seriously injured in workplace accidents with agricultural machinery or poisoned by pesticides and other agrochemicals. Furthermore, due to the widespread underreporting of deaths, injuries and occupational diseases in agriculture, the real picture of the occupational health and safety of farm workers is likely to be worse than what official statistics indicate. Landless agricultural labourers constitute a very important section of Indian rural economy. The base of Indian social pyramid comprises the landless agricultural labourers. Despite the spectacular progress achieved in agricultural production in the country during the past few decades, the landless agricultural labourers continue to form the weakest link in the rural economy.
The rural society in India typically consists of two broad sections, the landless and the land-owning households. The landlessness has increased in recent years, and has become a source of great public concern. Agricultural labours are mostly economically and socially backward people. They are divided into four types: a. Landless labourers who are attached to the landlords b. Landless labourers who are personally independent but who work exclusively for others c. Small farmers with tiny bits of land who devote most of their time working to others land d. Farmers who have economic holdings but who have one or more of their children and dependents working for other prosperous farmers
Why farmers are turning landless labours in India?
Landless labour in India faces several serious problems. These issues lead to the unemployment of many in the sector. Also, these people are unable to make a good living. Most of the people are under the poverty line levels in this category. It puts added pressure on them while working on low wages and long hours.
The major reasons of farmers turning into landless labourers are:
* Marginalization of agricultural labour: It is expensive and risky to own land. That’s why, over the years, many people have turned to landless labour. This income source was viable when the people were lower. However, more and more people now rely on landless labour. It is because of migration and loss of land due to debt or natural hazards. The increase thus led to the casualization of this occupation. The landless labourers are available in abundance and are thus not paid adequately.
* Unskilled and Untrained: These farm labourers are mostly considered unskilled/untrained and as a result are not considered fit for any skilled jobs. This leaves them with the only option to work as farm labours.
* Unorganized sector: The landless labourers are unorganized. Most of them also don’t know the laws and their rights. It prevents them from understanding what they should demand. The illiteracy and disorganization of this sector is a huge problem.
* Indebtedness: Landless labourers usually don’t earn enough to fulfil their expenses. Such workers have to take loans to complete their daily needs. But, such loans charge high-interest rates as these labourers don’t have any security. It puts them in a debt cycle. They can’t pay back and are often held up doing free labour for the lenders.
* Women labourers: The female landless labourers are paid significantly less than the men. They often work for a similar time and work type. Landless labour is thus not equal to women.
* Child labour: The landless labour sector also sees several children. These children are engaged in labour work from a young. It is often to contribute to the family income. Such children lose out on their education and further get trapped in working in similar conditions.
* Migration: The landless labourers are often forced to move to other areas. It is because of a lack of work and wages. Areas with higher rain levels usually pay better to the landless labourers.
The land reforms in Jammu & Kashmir post 1947 is said to be the best not only in India but many agrarian experts say this Land to Tiller Policy was the the best in South Asian. The Big Landed Estates Abolition Act 1950 passed by the J&K Govt placed a ceiling of land ownership at 186 kanals (22 acres) for agricultural land. This was seen as an end to the Jagirdari and Zamindari system in J&K. The rest of the land of a landlord was redistributed among the share-croppers and landless farm labourers without any compensation to the landlord. The fact underlying Jammu and Kashmir’s better than national average human development indicators is that along with the land reforms, there was a massive debt write-off undertaken. It is because of this that the incidence of indebtedness in Jammu and Kashmir is at the second lowest. Landless labour in the state is nearly absent and land ownership translating into economic empowerment has led to more than 25% of the household earnings in Jammu and Kashmir coming from own cultivation. As a result, the incidence of poverty in the state is remarkably low with households living below the poverty line at 10% against the all-India average of 22%.
Major developmental goals for landless farm labours:
The problems of landless labourers are still prevalent in India. They’re often exploited with low wages. Also, landless labourers face social discrimination in rural areas. The government must ensure the betterment of working conditions, wages, availability, and education levels. It will help in making the lives of the landless labourers easier. Some of the major goals for development can be:
Availability of work: Landless labourers should find work almost every day. The major problem is that they get seasonal or no jobs. It impacts their income. The government should come up with policies to provide regular work to these labourers.
Wage limits: The landless labourers must earn a minimum income. The government should set these standards and ensure that wages are implemented.
Literacy: Literacy among landless labourers and their families is necessary. It will help the labourers understand their rights and have better future opportunities. The government must promote measures to ensure that these families have a better literacy rate in the future.
Social equality: The landless labourers are often in an exploitative position. They’re not treated well or as a lower class. A development goal should be to eliminate this discrimination. It will help earn more powerful positions.
Housing facilities: A necessary development goal is the availability of food, electricity, and clean water for all landless labourers. It will help provide them with necessities.
(The authors are scientist at SKUAST-Jammu)
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