Mechanisation and disguised unemployment in agriculture: a case study of Punjab
Student name: Ms Karman Kaur
Guide: Dr Nidhi Pande
Year of completion: 2013
Host Organisation: TERI University
Abstract: Agricultural mechanization implies the use of various power sources and improved
farm tools and equipment, with a view to reduce the drudgery of the human beings
and draught animals, enhance the cropping intensity, precision and timelines of
efficiency of utilisation of various crop inputs and reduce the losses at different stages
of crop production. By definition it replaces human and animal labour with machine
power, with the motive of cutting the cost of production in two ways- increasing
productivity per head and secondly, by economising on labour. Thus large scale
mechanisation leads to large displacement of labour. The gravity of the displacement
effect of mechanisation surmounts to the fact of considerable dependence on
agriculture for employment and abundant supply of labour along with inadequate
alternative employment opportunities for the agriculture labourers. This leaves the
displaced labour redundant and get disguisedly unemployed on their small farm due
to skill barriers to enter other activities and time lag to get an alternative employment
opportunity.
It can be hypothesised that large farms are commercialised, mechanised farms,
mainly employing hired/casual labours, and employ labour to the profit optimisation
level. The small farms are considered to be family farms, where household and
production activities are fused, and aim to optimise revenue per head of the member.
Thus the study here conceptualises the difference in the rationality on hiring labour
by the two sets of farm operators which worsens the displacement effect of the
mechanisation on labour, as labour displaced from the large farms resorts to their
family farms for employment, thus affecting the overall productivity. This study
pertains to Punjab and analysis for effect of mechanisation on labour is done at block
level. The Cobb Douglas production function is then used to compare the marginal
and average contribution by the labour on the two set of farm holdings. Interestingly,
results show significant variations between large and small farms, along with the fact
that large amount of labour was displaced in the state in the period under
consideration.
