Impact of MGNREGA implementation on local labour markets in Kerala by Nisha Nair
Channel: IndiaWater Portal
Date: 2013-02-26

In this talk presented at the IWMI-TATA Annual Partners' meet at Anand, Gujarat in November 2012, Nisha Nair examines the impact of MGNREGA in the context of the pre-MGNREGA labour scarcity in Kerala. She presents statistics about the employment generated through MGNREGA, including the fact that the share of women in MGNREGA is now at 93%. The study presented covered 13 villages in Palghat, where the program was demand-driven. The reasons for its attracting labour more than farms are explained. The resultant shortage in the availability of farm labour and the coping strategies adopted by farmers is explained, including mechanization are described. Farmers' perceptions of the impact of MGNREGA on labour are also listed including their contention of it's making labourers 'lazy'.