Farm labour in search of greener pastures

When compared to other sectors, agriculture labourers get less wages. For nearly four months during summer, agriculture labourers do not get work. So, they migrate to other places in search of work

Hyderabad: Senior officials in the State Agriculture Department (SAD) are finding it difficult to prevent shifting of agriculture labourers to non-agriculture sectors. According sources, the issue assuming significance against the backdrop of the State government’s ambitious target to bring one crore acres under irrigation by 2019.

Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the SAD said that non- remunerative wages prevailing in agriculture sector, when compared to other sectors, has been driving more and more agriculture labourers to shift to other sectors. And, there exists no method or policy to extend incentives to the agriculture labour workforce to retain them,” he pointed out.

Apart from scarcity of water and other problems, workforce deficit is turning into a major challenge to the agriculture department. Giving details of the current situation, the official said ``There had been a fall of about 19.95 per cent in the gross irrigated area from 2014-15 to 2015-16. Similarly, the net irrigated area showed a declining trend of 13.90 per cent during the same period. And, overall scenario of the current agriculture cycle in 2016-17 is yet to be assessed.”

Similarly, the State stands 11th in the area and 13th in the production of vegetables in the country. Vegetables are being cultivated in about 1.70 lakh hectares out of the total 6.73 lakh hectares of the horticulture crops in the State.

Each individual needs to consume about 300 grams of vegetables in a day as per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommendation. At this rate, the Hyderabad city alone has an annual demand of about 11 lakh metric tonnes of vegetables. Against this, Rangareddy, Mahbubnagar and Medak districts produce about 16.9 lakh tonnes of vegetables; out of which, 6.3 lakh metric tonnes arrive in Hyderabad.

Also, on an average about 1.5 lakh metric tonnes from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh arrive to the city. Still the city has to struggle with a shortage of vegetables resulting in the prices skyrocketing.

Siddipet, Medak, Rangareddy and Vikarabad districts in the State are cultivating vegetables more than other districts. Nearly 86 percent of the vegetable cultivated area depends on water from tube wells and other wells. Fall of water table during leaves a gap in the production during summer months.

Following this, labourers are rendered jobless every year for four months from April to July and they shift to nearby urban areas or cities for work. Most of them are not returning to villages as they get better wages at the new places where they migrate for work, he added.

When contacted, the Director of Horticulture L Venkatrami Reddy said steps have been taken to encourage vegetable cultivation providing subsidy to farmers for erecting permanent pandals, shade net houses, drip and sprinkler irrigation so as to encourage and to expand the cultivable area of vegetables. It was also decided to construct 400 acres of shade net houses to ensure regular supply of vegetables to city during the next summer, “he said.

Agriculture Marketing Director G Lakshmi Bai said that mainly, the State faces shortage of onions and tomatoes during summer and they are sourced from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, she added.

By V R C Phaniharan