Survival of agricultural labour in Punjab: a burning question.

Sukhpal Singh (sukhpalpau@yahoo.com) is with the Department of Economics and Sociology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. recent arrest of over 1,300 agricultural labourers and labour leaders in Punjab necessitates a deeper look into the plight of agricultural labourers, predominantly dalits, in the state of Punjab. A study of farmer and agricultural labour suicides by Punjab Agricultural University for the government of Punjab was released in April 2009. Through a census conducted in the two districts of Bhatinda and Sangrur, the study reveals that during the period of 2000-08, 2,890 suicides were committed by the farmers and agricultural labourers, out of which 1,133(39.2%) were of agricultural labourers. The ratio of farmer suicides amongst farmers and labourers is substantially higher as compared to suicides in other states. Punjab has the highest percentage of dalits among the states of India, comprising over 30% of the total population. The recent arrests are part of a prolonged struggle being waged by dalit agricultural labourers for homestead land and jobs under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (nrega). Led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) [cpi-ml (Libertion)], these labourers belong to 27 villages of Mansa district, seven villages of Sangrur and four villages of Bhatinda. Let us have a look at specific trends within the agricultural sector to contextualise the condition of agricultural labour in Punjab. The structural transformation process in Punjab has reduced income generation in the rural economy, although the population continues to be dependent upon agriculture as the most important source of livelihood. The commercialisation and mechanisation of agriculture have distorted the self-sufficiency of villages, forcibly exposing them to the vagaries of the market economy. The pace of transformation of the livelihoods of the rural population from agriculture-related activities to other sectors of the economy is pretty slow. When profitability from farming showed a downward trend, turning the green revolution pale, the crisis of the rural economy came to the fore. Agricultural labour is one of the most important means of livelihood in the rural economy in terms of numbers, and this has been increasing over time. This can be partly explained by the fact that the marginal farmers, finding their holding inadequate to support the rising number of dependents, join the rank of the agricultural labourers. More importantly, these farmers find capital-intensive agriculture and its high-cost inputs unviable. The principal mode of livelihood has thus shifted from cultivation of one's operational holding to wage labour employment. During the last one and half decades, due to nonviability of farming, about two lakh small farmers have given up self-cultivation in Punjab. It is further alarming that about 22% of these farmers have joined the labour market either as agricultural labourers or as industrial workers (Singh et al 2007). While the peasantry faces a severe crisis, one can imagine the plight of agricultural labourers in the state as their principal means of livelihood have got squeezed. After cultivators, agricultural labour is the largest rural worker category, accounting for 30.5% of total workers, slightly lower than that for India as a whole (31.8%). The demand for human labour in the farm sector in Punjab has decreased significantly since the late 1980s. On the basis of per hectare labour use in the crop sector, the demand for human labour is estimated to have fallen from 4793 million person-days in 1983-84 to 421.93 million person-days in 2000-01. The maturity period of high-yielding variety crops has shortened and harvesting takes place simultaneously. This process has reduced the length of the peak season of employment, resulting in lower labour absorption in the rural economy of Punjab. On the one hand, there is large-scale unemployment prevailing amongst the local labour, while, on the other, there has been substantial inmigration of labour. It is estimated that about 4.2 lakh migrant labourers work in Punjab during the lean period, the number of these labourers doubling during the peak season. It is a general perception that economic development in