Ind. Jn. ofAgri. Econ. Vol.56, No.3, July-Sept. 2001 Summaries Page

1. Structure of Employment and Casualisation in• K. Hanumantha Rao 554 Rural during Pre- and Post-Reforms Regime and K. Rajyalakshmi 2. Economic Liberalisation, Multi-National Agri- Sukhpal Singh 554 businesses and Rural Employment in Punjab 3. Effects of Changes in Output Prices, Land Use K.S. Birari, 555 and Cropping Pattern on Farm Income and D.S. Navadkar and Employment in Western Maharashtra D.V. Kasar 4. Determinants of Agricultural Employment in K.N. Rai, S.P. Singh, 556 India S.N. Singh and R.K. Grover 5. Diversification of Agriculture in District R.B.Singh, 557 Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh (An Economic Anurag Saxena, Analysis) S.R. Yadav and YS. Chauhan 6. Agricultural Wages and Employment during Post- A. Narayanamoorthy 558 Reforms Period: Statewise and Cropwise and Atul R. Evidence Deshpande 7. Impact of Economic Reforms on Rural R. Rajesh and 559 Employment in Tamil Nadu — An Analysis N. Chitra 8. Changing Scenario of Employment in Agriculture B. V. Pagire and 559 and Allied Sectors in Maharashtra H.R. Shinde

9. Changing Scenario of Rural Employment in Dalvir Singh, 560 Diversified Agriculture U.K. Pandey and R.S. Tripathi 10. Impact of Economic Reforms on Rural A.S. Solanki and 561 Employment — A Case Study of Jhakam Irrigation P.M. Sharma Project,

11. Status of Diversification, Wage Rates and R.K. Khatkar, 562 Employment in Agriculture in Haryana V.K. Singh and B.S. Tomar 12. Effects of Economic Reforms on Female Employ- Usha Tuteja 563 ment in Rural India Ind. Jn. ofAgri. Econ. Vol.56, No.3, July-Sept. 2001 Structure of Employment and Casualisation in Rural India during Pre- and Post-Reforms Regime

K. Hanumantha Rao and K. Rajyalakshmi*

The impact of new economic reforms was studied following a comparative static framework using several indicators, viz., rates and growth of labour force and workforce, status of employment, incidence of casualisation among different categories of employed, distribution of workforce across sectors, average number of days employed and (real) wage rates of casual workers. The main database for analysis is National Sample Survey Organisation's Employment and Unemployment Surveys for the years 1983, 1993-94 and 1999-2000. The fall in female labour force participation rates (LFPRs) in some of the major states and in all age-groups resulted in a decline in of LFPRs in 1999-2000. The improved school enrolment rates of children and adolescents could be some of the plausible reasons for the fall in LFPRs. The deceleration of employment growth and rise in un- and under-employment rates during the reform period, more so, among females were observed. The high levels of casualisation among female workers and rural labourers are some of the adverse consequences of reforms, regime. Though real wages had gone up in the 1990s, the gender disparities in wages, both in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, confirm that female workers were utterly at a dis-advantage. In fact, the ratios of agriculture wages to non-agriculture wages have been rising for male (casual) workers during 1983 to 1999-2000 while there was a noticeable decline for female workers confirm- ing the gender discrimination. Economic reforms, on the whole, have been found to be unfavourable especially to female workers.

Economic Liberalisation, Multi-National Agribusinesses and Rural Employment in Punjab

Sukhpal Singht

In the new economic environment of liberalisation, privatisation and globalis- ation, the role of the Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) has come under scrutiny once again as their record in the past in terms of contribution to development in , and rural development in particular, has been less than satisfactory. The

* National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad-500 030 (A.P.). t Associate Professor, Institute of Rural Management, Anand-388 001 (Gujarat IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT 555

agribusiness MNCs are Perceived to be harmful to domestic production and social systems as they affect large sections of the rural economy and society by intervening in the rural production systems. This study looks at the role of two MNCs in employment generation in the agriculturally grown, but stagnating since the early 1980s, rural economy of Punjab. The state was subjected to contract farming under these MNCs in the early 1990s for improving rural employment and incomes. It is found that the MNCs have hardly generated any employment of the kind which was required. Most of the employment generated is on the farms, which is seasonal and low paid and hence, more for women and children. This kind of employment may also disappear as these MNCs are opting for more and more labour saving farm practices. Also, the MNC projects are perpetuating many of the existing problems of the farm sector in the state. The study concludes by suggesting more pragmatic' approach while dealing with the MNCs in terms of not being too optimistic about their contribution to rural development, and argues for regulation of such projects and state participation in development projects.

Effects of Changes in Output Prices, Land Use and Cropping Pattern on Farm Income and Employment in Western Maharashtra

K.S. Birari, D.S. Navadkar and D.V. Kasar*

The paper attempts to examine the impact of changes in the output prices, land use and cropping pattern on farm employment and income in Western Maharashtra. The exercise was based on the data collected from 100 farm families each for the years 1993-94 and 1997-98 under the Centrally Sponsored Comprehensive Scheme for Studying the Cost of Cultivation of Principal Crops in Maharashtra. The results indicated that the area sown more than once recorded 118 per cent increase during the period under study. The output prices of the entire crops rose from 1993-94 to 1997- 98 with different magnitudes resulting in direct relationship with the area under bajra and gram. The area under these crops increased by over 135 and 71 per cent respectively. A somewhat different trend was noticed in the case ofjowar. There was a tremendous increase in the cropped area of wheat (400 per cent). The farm income showed two-fold increase from 1993-94 to 1997-98. The wage earning increased by 99 per cent and 205 per cent contributed by human labour and bullock labour respectively. Over the period under study, the days of employment for crop production increased for owned and hired human labour by about 31 and 523 per cent respectively. Hired bullock labour employed for crop production increased by 41 per cent in 1997-98 over 1993-94. There was also increase in the employment of hired

* Field Officer, Assistant Statistician and Professor and Head, respectively, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413 722, Dist. Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). 556 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

human labour for livestock management. It can be concluded that the economic reforms as impacted by changes in output prices, land use and cropping pattern have positively influenced the income and employment of the farm families in the Western Maharashtra region.

Determinants of Agricultural Employment in India

K.N. Rai, S.P. Singh, S.N. Singh and R.K. Grovert

In India the share of income from agriculture in national income declined from about 50 per cent to 26 per cent in 50 years since 1950. However, the dependence of labour force on agriculture in total labour force showed only a small decline. The result is a declining labour productivity in agriculture. More recently, there has been a modest gain in labour productivity in agriculture and a slow transfer of labour away from agriculture. Very few attempts have been made to examine the growth of agricultural employment. Similarly, few attempts have been made to examine the impact of barter terms of trade in agriculture, agricultural wealth and per capita income on agricultural employment and the effect of economic liberalisation on rural labour force. This paper is an attempt in this direction. . The present study is based on the secondary data collected from different published sources. The statewise detailed data on labour households in total rural households were drawn from Sarvekshana, Government of India publication. Data on agricultural workers in total workforce in different states as well as the country as a whole were taken from the Census of India. Data for the non-census years and for the year 2001 were generated through successive annual growth rate method. Data on fertiliser prices and procurement prices of agricultural commodities were collected from the publication Fertiliser Statistics for different years, published by Fertiliser Association of India. Diesel and tractor prices data were scanned from the records for the different years maintained by the Director (Farms), CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. Information on gross capital formation at 1980-81 prices were drawn from the publication National Accounts Statistics, published by Central Statistical Organisation, Department of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, Government of India. Per capita income data at 1980-81 prices were collected from different issues of Economic Survey, a Government of India publication. Tabular analysis and regression equations were applied to draw inferences from the study. The share of agricultural labour force in total labour force has declined over the years but the pace of decline was much lower than the decline in its share in total national income. The prices of both agricultural inputs and outputs have increased continuously over the years. However, it is net income from an enterprise, which is ploughed back and which provides incentive to use borrowed capital for its further

t Directorate of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana). IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT 557

development. But the terms of trade in physical and monetary terms indicate that either it had gone against the agricultural sector or fluctuated year-to-year inducing a measure of instability. The findings further revealed that favourable barter terms of trade in agriculture has positive and significant impact on agricultural labour force. Also, gross capital formation in agriculture on private as well as public account,and per capita income exercise significant positive impact on agricultural labour force. No conclusive inference could be drawn on the impact of economic liberalisation on agricultural employment. It may be that post-liberalisation period is too short to yield some valid inferences.

Diversification of Agriculture in District Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh(An Economic Analysis)

R.B. Singh,* Anurag Saxena,t S.R. Yadav* and Y.S. Chauhan**

An attempt has been made in the paper to examine the scope for diversification with other allied activities, based on analysis of data collected from a sample of 150 farmers selected from 15 villages in three blocks of Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh. Agricultural diversification through horticulture crops, vegetables and commercial crop has a huge potential for employment and income generation on farms of the study area. Vegetable cultivation due to its labour intensive nature is more beneficial for marginal and small holdings where family labour availability per unit of land is higher as compared to large farm holdings. This is the reason that the percentage area devoted to vegetable crops increased with decrease in farm size. The linkage between crop composition and economic performance of crop enterprise does justify the rationale for crop diversification as a strategy for improving the economic prospects of small farms. Since crop composition among marginal and small farms is strongly influenced by non-economic factors like farm specific resources endowment and household specific consumption needs, crop diversification faces serious economic resource related and institutional obstacles. The findings of the study showed that the income and employment prospects of these farm groups can be considerably enhanced by changing the size and composition of crop and milk production enterprise in favour of high value crops and high milk Yielding animals. It may be suggested that financing institutions should come forward to provide medium-tem credit on easy terms to small farmers to diversify their arable farming With dairy enterprise. There exists the scope for diversification with other allied activities like poultry, fisheries and mushroom production. However, it will require finance, infrastructure and marketing facilities. The need for imparting training in

* Associate Professors, t Ph.D. Scholar and ** Professor and Head, Department of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, C.S. Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur-208 002 (U.P.). 558 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

these fields is identified along with processing and management of horticultural products.

Agricultural Wages and Employment during Post- Reforms Period: Statewise and Cropwise Evidence

A. Narayanamoorthyt and Atul R. Deshpande

One of the important issues that emerged against the background of the economic reforms is whether the reforms have helped to accelerate employment and real wages for the agricultural labourers or otherwise. Though some studies have made an attempt to answer this problem at the aggregate level using the National Sample Survey (NSS) Employment-Unemployment Surveys for 1993-94 and 1999-2000, not • much attempt appears to have been made to study this problem at the crop and state level. Since the degree of process of implementation of economic reforms is not the same across the states, the impact of economic reforms on agricultural wages and employment is expected to be not the same. In this paper an attempt is made to study (a) the real wage- rate of agricultural labourers, and (b) cropwise labour use and-yield- labour relationship during the pre- and the post-reforms period across the states. The impact of economic reforms on real wage of agricultural labourers across the 16 states has been studied by using wage data of the pre- 0985-86 to 1990-91) and the post-reforms (1990-91 to 1995-96) period collected from the reports of Agricultural Wages in India. The cropwise labour use and yield-labour relationship have been studied in connection with six important crops (paddy, wheat, gram, groundnut, rapeseed and mustard and sugarcane) selected from different states. The cost of cultivation surveys data available from Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Government of India have been used to study the cropwise labour use. The study found that out of the 16 states considered for analysis, the growth of real wage of field labour (male) either decelerated or declined in 11 states during the post- reforms period when compared to the pre-reforms period. To our surprise, the real wage of carpenter (skilled labour) has declined in 12 states and decelerated in two states during the post-reforms period. Tamil Nadu is the only exception where the real wage rate has accelerated for both field labour and carpenter during the post- reforms period. As regards the cropwise employment, our results show that despite a considerable increase in the productivity of different crops, per hectare use of labour (man-hours) has declined in all crops, except rapeseed and mustard where human labour use has marginally increased during the post-reforms period.

t Reader, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune-411 004 and t Head, Department of Economics, H.V. Desai Senior College of Commerce, Arts and Science, Pune-400 002 (Maharashtra). IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT 559

Impact of Economic Reforms on Rural Employment in Tamil Nadu — An Analysis

R. Rajesh* and N. Chitra**

This study attempts to evaluate the impact of economic reforms on the market for agricultural labour in determining wage rates. As part of economic reforms, with modern technology, productivity of labour is enhanced by the use of complementary inputs such as seeds of high-yielding varieties of crops, fertilisers, machine power used for thorough tillage, and plant protection measures by proper support price, subsidy cuts and partial decontrol, besides the autonomous factors like domestic demand and resource endowments. The analysis of the index number of wholesale prices indicates significant increase over the period 1992-93 to 1996-97. Rural work participation rate in Tamil Nadu according to usual status was as high as 54 per cent when compared to the national level at 44 per cent. Money wages increased noticeably over the years. The rates of growth in real wages are very disparate. There is not much difference in the levels of wage rates as between operations, contradicting the common perception that peak season activities like harvesting and sowing are paid much better. Minimum wages have been revised upwards, they are often not implemented and workers are paid wages much lower than the prescribed minimum. This confirms the existence of imperfection in the labour market, which could be rectified to a maximum extent by improving the bargaining power of the landless agricultural labourers, for which formation of Labour Co-operatives is one of the best ways.

Changing Scenario of Employment in Agriculture and Allied Sectors in Maharashtra

B.V. Pagire and H.R. Shindet

The new economic reforms which India has adopted since 1992 onwards need to be evaluated in terms of employment situations both at the national and state level. The share of agricultural employment was high in the 1960s and 1970s when green revolution was at its peak. But with the introduction of liberal policies in the economy of the country, the industrial growth picked up. And this has led to absorption of surplus agricultural labour force. Whether new opportunities have been generated in the wake of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation in both

* Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai-625 104 and ** Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Mathematics, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai-625 021 (Tamil Nadu). t Assistant Professor and Jr. Research Assistant, respectively, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri-413 722, Dist. Ahmednagar (Maharashtra). 560 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

agriculture and industry needs to be examined critically. In the present study, the employment status in the state of Maharashtra has been examined with the changed scenario based on analysis of the secondary data published in various Government publications and reports. The study revealed that the number of workers increased with the rise in the population and this increase was 79 per cent in 1990-91 as compared to 1960-61. The average daily employment in the state increased at a faster rate after 1970-71 (i.e., 27.61 per cent) to 57.77 per cent in 1980-81 and further to 73 per cent in 1997-98. According to the 1981 Census, the economic classification showed that the cultivators constituted 35 per cent and agricultural labourers, 26.62 per cent. .However, in the 1991 Census the cultivators formed 32.81 per cent with almost no change in the proportion of agricultural labourers. The employment in the public and private sector enterprises was stable in the state (i.e., 19.65 per cent) during 1973-74 and 1984-85; however, an increasing trend with higher magnitudes was noticed upto ' 1995-96. The rise in the employment in the food products, beverage and textile products industries was noticed from 1961 to 1997 in the state. Of the total number of enterprises, 11.76 per cent were in the agricultural sector accounting for 5.96,per cent of the total working persons. In Maharashtra, the total employment generated through the Khadi and village industries was 4.76 lakh in 1996-97 as compared to 0.29 larich in 1960-61 with a major share from village industries. The growth rate of employment generated through the Khadi and village industries in the state was highly significant for the overall period of 27 years (11.83 per cent) and it was the lowest at 2.54 per cent for the period of 1990-96. The study thus indicates that though the employment in the state was observed to increase since 1960 in various fields, it has not kept pace with the increase in its population growth. The rate of increase in the employment in the state was higher during 1980s and 1990s, but thereafter it declined in agriculture and related industries. This could be due to the impact of liberalised economy in slowing down employment in the agricultural sector in the state.

Changing Scenario of Rural Employment in Diversified Haryana Agriculture

Dalvir Singh, U.K. Pandey* and R.S. Tripathi**.

The present study is based on secondary data for the years 1988-89 and 1998-99 collected from Statistical Abstracts of Haryczna and also compiled from the survey data presented at Agricultural Officers' Workshops by the District Extension Specialists (Farm Management). The specific objectives of the study were to examine

* Department of Agricultural Economics, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 and ** Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132 001 (Haryana). IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT 561

the pace of crop diversification across regions in Haryana, and to study the trends in cropwise levels of employment and wages in the state. The analysis of data revealed the fact that although the area under cereals during the last decade across regions and in the state increased, the area under pulses declined. There was a marginal decline in the area under pulses, oilseed and other crops in the eastern region but the area under these crops in the western region and Haryana increased during the period of study. Amongst various crops, potato, sugarcane, cotton, wheat, rice, bajra and maize respectively had higher levels of employment while moderate level of employment existed in pulses and oilseeds. Wages did not differ for the cultivation of crops at the state level but they varied marginally across regions. Over the period of the study, wages paid increased by about three times which may be attributed to inflation and partly due to economic reform.

Impact of Economic Reforms on Rural Employment -- A Case Study of Jhakam Irrigation Project, Rajasthan

A.S. Solankit and P.M. Sharma

Economic reforms through canal irrigation played a vital role in determining the magnitude of labour absorption for crop production. This study aims to find out the impact of economic reforms on employment in 1993-94 through extension of canal command area in Jhakam Irrigation Project in Rajasthan. The 'with and without approach' of impact analysis was used. Two villages were purposively selected for detailed study of rural employment, viz., one village selected from the irrigated command and another village from the unirrigated command. A sample of 50 farmers from the irrigated command and an equal number from the unirrigated command were selected randomly. The study revealed that the total labour use in crop production activity in the command area was higher by 21.48 per cent at 311 hours per farm (average farm size being 1.74 ha) as compared to the non-command (256 hours). The increased use of family labour, attached labour and casual labour per farm was to the extent of 39.43 hours, 16.83 hours and 2.89 hours respectively over the labour use in the non-command area per farm. The labour use in terms of per hectare of cultivated area was found to be higher by about 34 per cent at 266.54 hours in the command area than that of the non-command area (186 hours). The labour use in crop production, livestock rearing activity and other farm activity was estimated as 1,428 hours per farm in the command area as compared to 2,084 hours per farm in the non-command area. The share of female workers in total labour absorption in crop production was found to be 42.45 per cent per farm in the command area and 30

t Assistant Professor (Agril. Economics), Department of Soil and Water Conservation Engineering, College of Technology and Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur and Professor and Head (Retd.), Department of Agricultural Economics, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur-313 003 (Rajasthan). 562 INDIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS

per cent in the non-command area. Therefore, the results revealed a significant impact of economic reforms on rural employment through irrigation. In the absence of irrigation, the farmers shifted from crop production to livestock rearing or hired out activities for meeting out their household'requirements. The labour in non-command area which was left out of irrigation suffered diversification from crop production and diverted to other activities in search of gainful employment.

Status of Diversification, Wage Rates and Employment in Agriculture in Haryana

R.K. Khatkar, V.K. Singh and B.S. Tomar*

Based on the data pertaining to pre-reform period 1976-77 and post-reform period 1994-95 taken from two research bulletins of the Department of Agricultural . Economics, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, it was observed that diversification in terms of crop as well as occupation has increased in the post-reform period. Three measures of crop diversification were used, each defined on acreage proportion. These measures of diversification, viz., Index of maximum proportion (DI), Herfindahl Index (D2)and Entropy Index (D3)ranged from 0.21 to 0.49, from 0.16 to 0.43 and from 0.41 to 0.88 respectively, indicating the presence of crop diversification in the study area during the post-reform period. The extent of crop diversification on the basis of different diversification measures was observed to be the highest on large farms mainly due to adequate availability of land and other resources. Similarly, occupational diversification among small, medium and large farmers has increased in the post-reform period as the values of DI and D2 decreased and the value of D3 increased in comparison to the pre-reform period, as is desired for diversification. On an average, values of DI, D2 and D3, were 0.7221, 0.5692 and 0.3253 respectively during the pre-reform period. The corresponding values for the post-reform period were found to be 0.6019, 0.4426 and 0.4107. Unlike crop diversification, enterprise or occupational diversification has inverse relationship with the size of holding. This change may be attributed to conducive environment as well as economic compulsions of those engaged in agriculture due to shrinkage in the land base. • The employment in livestock (22.57 per cent) and non-agricultural sector (40.11 per cent) has also increased in the post-reform period as compared to crop farming (37.32 per cent). The wage rates of agricultural labourers increased manifold in the post-reform period over the pre-reform period, from Rs. 7 in 1976-77 to Rs. 55 in 1994-95. It indicates the positive relationship between structural reforms in the economy and diversification, employment as well as wage rates in the study areas.

* Department of Agricultural Economics, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana). IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON RURAL EMPLOYMENT 563

Effects of Economic Reforms on Female Employment in Rural India

Usha Tutejat

The economic reforms in India were initiated in 1991 in response to economic crisis and to improve the welfare of the people. There has been a debate whether economic policies pursued during the nineties have adverse effects on employment. This paper focuses attention on changes in female employment in the rural areas. Five aspects related to this issue were analysed: (i) workforce participation rates, (ii) nature of employment, (iii) sectoral distribution of employment, (iv) industrial‘ distributiOn of employment and (v) unemployment rates. The following conclusions emerge from the analysis. First, the workforce participation of women in the rural areas, covering both principal (main) and subsidiary (marginal) workers was found much below the corresponding rate for men during the nineties. The figure for women was only 29.9 per cent during 1999-2000 , against 53.1 per cent for men. Second, usual subsidiary status employment for females is much higher than that of males. Third, in the case of rural females, the difference between the usual status rate, on the one hand, and the current daily status rate, on the other, is the widest. Fourth, the proportion of self-employed and regular employees among rural female workers has declined during the reform period while the share of casual workers has increased substantially. Fifth, female workers in the rural areas are still concentrated in low productivity primary sector. A declining trend which began in the eighties was reversed in the nineties. The occupational structure of females is less diversified than that of male workers due to limited options, lack of spatial mobility,and lower educational levels. The above findings clearly demonstrate that rural female workers have not benefited through the policies pursued during economic reforms. Instead, they have been losers by indicating - reduction in work participation rates, increase in casualisation and decreased share of non-agriculture sector in their employment. A policy implication, which emerges from the present study, is that education and skill upgradation in the case of rural female workers should be given priority. This can be best achieved through vocational and technical training. It would reduce increasing casualisation of female rural labour force as well as increase their participation in non-agriculture sector. The results of this study display a dismal picture regarding female employment scenario in the rural areas. This is contrary to the expectations. Therefore, India should follow a cautious approach in implementing reform policies. It also calls for searching policy options for the creation of employment opportunities for women in rural India.

t Fellow, Agricultural Economics Research Centre, University of Delhi, Delhi-110 007.