Indian Farm Labor - Misaligned policies, Misdirected potential

Disruption of agricultural labor supply always looms close on the horizon for any operations like ours. There are multiple macro and micro economic factors at play so it becomes especially important to ascertain the localized labor availability (risk) that a new agri-operation might face.With increased literacy rates in rural areas coupled with government supported welfare policies, farm labor is becoming scarce. Despite lower education levels, even north Indian rural populace manage to eek out minimum wage due to programs like MNREGA. While higher wages and better quality of life is indeed a desirable outcome - But at what cost and long term impact?

Personally I am not a big fan of the MNREGA program for many reasons, apart from the obvious impact it has on our operations. The program has spectacularly failed in it's primary objective - to provide gainful employment to rural populace. Projects are initiated on paper and workers are recruited, only to be seen congregating under trees, smoking and drinking during the workday - I speak from personal account. The reality is that they do not earn wages for a days work - the poor are being appeased with 'charity' as part of populist political agenda.Thousands of infrastructure and local projects have been created on paper but very few have been concluded with even fewer that have provided the intended social benefit. Wage rates are very disproportionate to the work output, which has skewed local labor rates. In other words, the output is not worth INR120 per day per person. As a result, prevailing agri-labor rates have been artificially elevated. This illustration (inline) is from several years ago, so we can easily imagine that the scheme has much greater proliferation by now.

Unfortunately, individual operations like ours can do little to directly combat the aggressive increase in wage rates and the poorly designed programs promoting them. In Tamil Nadu wages have risen at an average 10% p.a since 2006 - which is almost twice the inflation rate for that period! The genesis of these programs is often well intended but lack of macro level foresight and on-the-ground enforcement translates into huge drain from the national exchequer with little to show for it. Net result is that the tax paying citizen is subsidizing non-productive operations and in return increasing inflationary pressures upon themselves!  Operators like us have to alleviate the current labor constraints with farm mechanization to reduce dependency. At Savera Farms, we are entirely drip irrigated which is a huge savings in time, effort and labor. Investments in chaff cutter, tractor, brush cutter, automated sprayers, power weeders and others form part of our productivity enhancing toolset. 

Apart from mechanization, I would like the community to share their recommendations on combating this huge problem and managing this scarce resource. Do share your ideas around how do you retain the human resource. Insights into availability of 'farm labor' in particular locations or states would be a win-win solution for all.

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