Farmers face labour shortage and rising wages before kharif season
Nagpur:
is around the corner, and farmers are complaining of labour pains. Even though fields are to be prepared for sowing before the start of monsoon, farmhands are scarce, they say.
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Normally, workers used to approach farmers looking for work, but now the equations have reversed.
The landed growers have to run after the workers, who only agree at a higher wage, said sources in the hinterland.
As against Rs350 earlier, a male farm worker is charging as much as Rs500 for a day's labour. Women too are demanding increased wages at Rs300 to Rs350 a day from Rs200 last year, say farmers. Rather, women are reluctant to work as farmhands, say growers.
Ladki Bahin is also one of the reasons, say sources.
"Mostly, women are employed to clear weeds before the sowing season. These days, the womenfolk are not too keen to work. Even if they agree, none works for more than a couple of hours," said a farmer in Yavatmal.
Instead of a day's wage, the farmers are now proposing to take up work on a contract basis, said Ganesh Nanote, a farmer from Akola. Farmers also attribute it to Ladki Bahin dole effect.
Akola is also a groundnut belt, and farmhands are now asking to take up pre-sowing work for as much as Rs9,000 to Rs10,000 and are not keen to take wages on a daily basis, he said.
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