Agricultural Labourer

When it comes to agricultural work, it’s hard to say what it is. Because if the economy isn’t fully developed in farming, a completely separate class of workers who only get paid for their work doesn’t form. In the words of the National Commission on labour, an agricultural labourer is mostly untrained and unorganised and has little else to make money with but their labour. Thus, people who make most of their money from wages or jobs fall into this category. There are four types of agricultural labour.

In this article, we will discuss the type of agricultural labour, characteristics of Agricultural Labourers, and the main feature of agricultural Labour in India

Type of Agricultural Labour

• Bonded or Semi-Free Labourers 

This group, called “Agrarian Serfs” by Merchant and Wadia, was made up of people who continued to work under almost all conditions. a report by Royal Commission for Labour and Employment, those who were bound were bound by a need to get money.

With no way to protect himself, to begin serving the man who gave him his money,” The money isn’t paid back, and it’s not supposed to be paid back. The borrower is a life-long bondslave of the person who lent him the money. He is treated like a medieval serf since he is paid so little and given so little to eat. Enslavers could buy or sell these enslaved people, or they might even pawn them.

Even worse, the bond was never repaid, and in certain cases, subsequent generations were also chained as a result. Also, if the master was unable to provide work for the labourer, he could not permit him to travel far from his home.

• Dwarf-Holding Labourers:

Small-scale landowners, tenants, farmworkers, and part-time farmers all fell into this category. The fact that they weren’t like the other farmworkers made them stand out from the crowd. They were motivated to work on a farm by the meagre wages from their primary employment.

It was common for women and other family members to labour on farms. It was estimated by Dr. Patel that in 1931, There were 32 million small-scale farmers in India at the time. The majority of them were located in Bihar, Bengal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and other regions.

• Under-Employed Landless Labourers:

The dwarf-holding labourers were attached to the land, whereas bonded labourers became bound to their employers. In all cases, the primary cause was a lack of alternative employment opportunities.

Landless farm labourers were pushed into this form of agricultural work after the landowners or landowners broke their links to them. Regardless of who was responsible for the employees’ release, Thomas and Ramakrishnan argue that the price of their freedom was insufficient to compensate for the lack of a secure living environment.

• Full-Time Landless Labourers:

The group was made up of people who worked on plantations and for wealthy and well-off farmers. Because most farms are located in remote places with low populations, it was hard to find enough workers at first. Because of the slave trade, planters were forced to come up with a new strategy to get workers.

The Plantation workers were almost like bonded or semi-free labourers because they didn’t have a powerful labour union, there was no strong labour union, and owners of plantations knew each other well. 

Characteristics of Agricultural Labourers in India

• Unorganised sector
• Agricultural Labourers are unskilled and lack training
• less bargaining power
• agricultural labourers are scattered
• The most important Characteristics of agricultural Labourers is its unorganised sector

The Main Features of Agriculture Labour in India

They generally obtain low salaries, work conditions are very hard on them, and the jobs they get are very irregular. An important part of Indian rural society is people who work on farms. Their income is low, and their jobs aren’t always steady. Agriculture is a way to grow food. In India, a lot of work needs to be done. An important part of Indian rural society is people who work on farms.

•  Dominance of food crops
•  Labour intensive cultivation
•  Under employment
•   Dependence on monsoon
•  Traditional methods of production
•  Low Agricultural production
• source of livelihood
•  The small size of the holdings

Conclusion

When it comes to agricultural work, it’s hard to say what it is. Because if capitalism isn’t fully developed in farming,  there Are 4 types of agricultural Labour. There are various main features of agricultural labour. A farmer can be a bonded or semi-free worker, landless, or dwarf-holder. They generally obtain low salaries, work conditions are very hard on them, and the jobs they get are very irregular. An important part of Indian rural society is people who work on farms. Their income is low, their jobs aren’t steady, and their wages and working conditions put a lot of stress on them.