Q.Explain the present conditions of Agricultural Labourers.

Agricultural labourers, the landless workers who depend on farm wages, are among the poorest groups in India. They face low and irregular wages, seasonal and underemployment, indebtedness, poor housing and little social security, and often migrate for work. This is an AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics topic on agricultural labour.

Agricultural labourers are those who own little or no land and earn their living mainly by working on the land of others for wages, in cash or kind. Their present conditions may be described as follows:

1. Landlessness. Most are landless or own only tiny plots, so they must depend on wage work on others' farms.
2. Low wages. Wages are generally low, often below the statutory minimum wage, and are sometimes paid partly in kind.
3. Seasonal work and underemployment. Farm work is available only during sowing and harvesting, leaving labourers idle for long periods, so they suffer seasonal unemployment and underemployment.
4. Indebtedness. Low and irregular earnings force them to borrow from landlords and moneylenders, keeping them perpetually in debt and, at times, in bonded conditions.
5. Lack of social security. They have little protection against sickness, old age, accident or unemployment, and few benefits such as provident fund or insurance.
6. Poor living standards. Their housing, nutrition, health and education are poor because of low incomes.
7. Migration. Many migrate seasonally to towns or other rural areas in search of work, facing uncertainty and hardship. …