Lok Sabha Question No. 3868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-12
Subject: Labour Shortage in Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Shri G Kumar Naik

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3868

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 12 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## LABOUR SHORTAGE IN AGRICULTURE

3868. SHRI G KUMAR NAIK:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण मंğी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  labour  shortages  in  agriculture  have become  a  growing  concern,  with  a  15%  decline  in  rural  workforce  participation  in agriculture over the last five years, according to recent reports from the National Statistical Office;
- (b) the impact of this shortage on agricultural productivity and how it is affecting the overall food production, especially during peak seasons such as sowing and harvesting;
- (c) the measures being taken by the Government to address these labour shortages, including  any  skill  development  programs  aimed  at  increasing  labour  availability  for agriculture; and
- (d) the steps the Government is taking to help poor farmers reduce dependency on manual  labour,  including  the  provision  of  modern  machinery,  financial  incentives  and support  for  mechanization,  to  ensure  that  they  can  continue  farming  sustainably  and improve their productivity?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE

कृ ͪष एवं ͩकसान कãयाण राÏय मंğी

(SHRI RAMNATH THAKUR)

- (a)  &  (b):      As  per  the  latest  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  annual  report  by National  Statistics  Office  (NSO),  Ministry  of  Statistics  &  Programme  Implementation (MoSPI), the percentage of rural workforce engaged in agriculture and allied sector has been increased from 58.4% in 2022-23 to 59.8% in 2023-24. Further, there has been a marginal decline in rural workforce engaged in agriculture and allied sector over the last five years-from 61.5% in 2019-20 to 59.8% in 2023-24, as detailed below:

|   S. No. | PLFS Survey Year   |   Percentage of workers engaged in Agriculture & Allied sector* in Rural |
|----------|--------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | 2019-20            |                                                                     61.5 |
|        2 | 2020-21            |                                                                     60.8 |
|        3 | 2021-22            |                                                                     59   |
|        4 | 2022-23            |                                                                     58.4 |
|        5 | 2023-24            |                                                                     59.8 |

Source: Annual Reports, Periodic Labour Force Survey, MoSPI. (2019-20 to 2023-24)

*Includes Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

The Government has implemented various  policies,  reforms, and  development programs, covering the entire spectrum of the agriculture sector. These initiatives focus on promoting mechanization, enhancing skill development, and ensuring farmers' access to  modern  agricultural  equipment.  Programs  such  as  the  Sub-Mission  on  Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), and targeted skill development schemes  are  empowering  farmers  to  adopt  timely,  efficient,  and  technology-driven agricultural practices. As a result of these efforts, productivity of food grain crops  has increased and food grain production has seen a substantial increase-from 297.5 million tonnes in 2019-20 to 353.96 million tonnes in 2024-25 (as per third advance estimates). Similarly,  horticulture  production  has  risen  from  320.47  million  tonnes  in  2019-20  to 367.72 million tonnes in 2024-25 (second advanced estimates).

(c) & (d): The  Government  is  committed  to  support  farmers  by  strengthening  the agricultural workforce and promoting sustainable farming practices to improve productivity through  initiatives  emphasizing  skill  development,  supporting  mechanization,  providing financial incentives and ensuring access to modern agricultural technologies. To support these  objectives,  several  targeted  schemes  have  been  implemented-such  as  the  SubMission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM), Agri Fund for Start Ups & Rural Enterprises' (AgriSURE),  Skill  Training  of  Rural  Youth  (STRY)  program  under  the  Sub-Mission  on Agricultural  Extension  (SMAE),  Support  to  State  Extension  Programs  for  Extension Reforms' popularly known as ATMA, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), ,among others.

Additionally, Government has taken various initiatives to promote farming as a viable career option for youth, among which the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has  set  up  731  Krishi  Vigyan  Kendras  (KVKs)  in  the  rural  districts  of  the  country  for dissemination  of  new  technologies  of  agriculture  and  allied  sectors  through  technology assessment, demonstration and capacity development among the extension functionaries and  the  farmers  of  the  concerned  district.  The  KVKs  perform  following  activities  for  the purpose:

- i. on-farm testing  to  identify  the  location  specificity  of  technology  under  various  farming systems;
- ii. frontline  demonstration  to  establish  the  production  potential  of  improved  agricultural technologies on the farmers' fields;
- iii. capacity development of extension functionaries and farmers for knowledge and skill up gradation;
- iv. production  of  quality  seeds,  planting  materials  and  other  technology  inputs  for  the farmers;
- v. extension activities to develop awareness of improved agricultural technology among the farmers.

*****

.