4. METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the methodological issues involved in completion of the present study. It explains the need, the problem and the objectives of the study, justification for selection of the area, selection of sample, methodology adopted for collection of data and analytical tools used in the study.
4.1 Need for Research on Seasonal Migration
Seasonal migration is considered as an important feature
of rural scene. Seasonal migration of agricultural labour
affects the rural economy both in place of origin and of
destination. It is an important mechanism by means of
which the pressure of labour force in the village labour
market is getting relieved to a larger extent. The labour
migration hi&lps the farm economy and rural development.
Seasonal migration is symptomatic of basic economic and
social changes. In developing countries, rapid economic
and social changes are accompanied by population
redistribution between two areas. The migration flows
have a bearing upon several problems of the development
process such as employment and regional development.
Therefore, it is necessary to study social and economic
consequences of migration.
The studies of seasonal migration of agricultural labour
covering economic aspects are few and far between. Still
more limited are perhaps those linking seasonal migration
and rural development. Many researchers in literature
122 emphasised on the need for taking up the socio-economic
research in this area of migration. There is need for
studying migrant behaviour both at the place of origin and
the place of destination (two-ended studies) and
explaining it in the context of both communities. Most of
the studies on seasonal migration of agricultural labour
were conducted at one point of time. Such studies failed
to reveal the changes in migratory movements in response
to changes in socio-economic characteristics of the place
of origin as well as the place of destination.
Most significantly, the phenomenon of migration on
seasonal basis from backward areas to more developed areas
seems to be on the increase. In recent years, studies on
migration have started getting recognition though their
contribution to economic growth was acknowledged in
economic theory longback. An increased understanding of
the seasonal migration process can aid the formulation of
development policies. In this situation, the studies on
seasonal migration of agricultural labourers assume
significance in a labour surplus country like India.
4.2 The Problem
After Independence, sugar industry in Maharashtra has
grown up rapidly. Particularly, in Western Maharashtra
region, it developed rapidly due to assured irrigation
water and favourable agro-climate conditions. As a
result, it has provided seasonal employment to the
agricultural labour in this region. As already pointed
123 out, every sugar factory provides employment to nearly
5000 persons in the cane crushing season and 1000 persons are fully employed. During the crushing season of 88-89, there were 100 sugar factories actually engaged in production in the State. Hence, sugar industry in
Maharashtra provides seasonal employment to about six
lakhs labourers who are engaged in harvesting and transport of sugarcane to the factories.
The harvesting and transportation of sugarcane provides
seasonal employment to large number of agricultural and
landless labourers. There is continuous flow of migrant
labourers from backward and dry area of the state to the
sugar factories every year during the harvest season. The
sugarcane harvesting and transporting is exceptionally
labour intensive job which is left to hired hands. In
Maharashtra, seasonal workers who are brought in from
distant parts have for many years formed a substantial
part of the labour force during the harvest season. Most
of these labour households are small farmers and landless
labourers belonging to the drought prone area of the
state, especially Western Part of the Beed district, some
part of Osmanabad and Aurangabad districts and dry part of
Ahmednagar and Solapur districts in Maharashtra. The
migrant workers belong to an area which is situated in the
rain-shadow of Maharashtra. Much of the land in this dry
agriculture zone is also of a very poor quality. Apart
from scattered patches which are irrigated, cultivation
124 remains mainly limited to crude grains such as bajara and jowar.
The rural population for the most part consists of small peasants and landless labourers for whom, after the harvest of kharif crops at the end of the rainy season, there are hardly any possibilities for earning of living.
It is common that drought occurs once in three or four years, on an average, in these areas. Their poverty forces them to hire their labour elsewhere for large part of the year. It appears that the lack of possibilities of employment within and outside the farms owing to dry nature of agriculture, uneconomic units of cultivation, poor resources base and surplus family labour compel them to migrate seasonally during their off season to the sugar factories in Western Maharashtra where they get a sufficient employment and income for family and fodder for animals. They migrate to the sugar factories along with their surplus family labour, bullock labour and some animals during October-November and return back to their native villages in Apri1-May.
There are social and economic problems associated with seasonal migration of agricultural labour. The study of these issues associated with migration is essential to understand the process of migration. The first issue is, who are the people that dominate the seasonal migration flow and why do they migrate. The remaining two issues are, what are the socio-economic characteristics of
125 seasonal migrant households and what are the effects of
seasonal migration on income and employment of the migrant
households ? A careful analysis of the process of
seasonal migration can properly evaluate the effects of
seasonal migration on the migrant households. It will
help to take some necessary steps and actions to reduce
the poverty by increasing employment opportunities in the
rural areas.
Though it is recognised that seasonal migration is rural
to rural and is dependent on complementary peaks of labour
demand, not much detailed studies are available. Hence,
it was decided to take up the present investigation viz.,
a study of Socio-economic aspects of seasonal migratory
agricultural labour working in sugar factories with
reference to Pathardi Taluka (Dist : Ahmednagar,
Maharashtra)
4.3 Location of the Study
The present investigation is carried out in the area of
origin of migrants, i.e. Pathardi Taluka, an eastern part
in Ahmednagar district of Western Maharashtra.
Simultaneously, the area of destination of seasonal
migratory agricultural labourers is also studied. The
area of destination is 21 sugar factories in the state of
Maharashtra, where these labourers from Pathardi Taluka
migrate-, seasonally during the crushing season. Some of
these sugar factories were visited personally to study the
nature of work and working conditions. The area of origin
126 and the area of destination are shown on the map of
Maharashtra.
4.4 Selection of Ahmednagar district
The district of Ahmednagar, lying between 18°.2' and
19°.9' north latitude and 73°.9' and 75°.5' east
longitude, is situated partly in the upper Godavari basin
and partly in the Bhima basin. The district is bounded on
the north by Nasik district, on the north-east by
Aurangabad district, on the east by Beed and Osmanabad
districts, on the south by Solapur district and on the
south-west by Thane district. With total geographical
area of 17,035 Sq.Kms., the district ranks second in the
state when the area is considered, while in terms of
population it stands fifth. Ahmednagar district is
comprised of 13 talukas i.e. Nagar, Rahuri, Shrirampur,
Newasa, Shevgaon, Pathardi Jamkhed, Karjat, Shrigonda,
Parner, Akole, Sangamner and Kopargaon.
The Godavari and Bhima are the major rivers of the
district. The Pravara is the tributary of the Godavari
river. The Mula, the Adhala and the Mahalungi are the
important contributories of the Pravara. The southern
part of the district, consisting of Parner, Pathardi,
Nagar, Shrigonda and Karjat talukas, constitutes the Bhima
basin with the tributaries Sina, Kukadi and Ghod. Among
these rivers the Pravara, the Mula and the Godavari have
been a boon to this district. At Bhandardara in Akole
Taluka on Pravara and at Baragaon Nandur in Rahuri Taluka
on the Mula, irrigation dams are constructed.
127 FIG. 1. MAP OF MAHARASHTRA, SHOWING THE AREA OF ORIGIN AND THE AREA OF W)RK OF THE SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS
NJ 00 The canal irrigation system on these two rivers along with the water available from the Godavari has transformed the agricultural economy of talukas such as Shrirampur,
Kopargaon, Rahuri, Newasa and some part of Sangamner from one of the subsistence into that of prosperity and plenty.
On the other hand, in 7 out of 13 talukas in the district, not even one-tenth of the cultivable area is irrigated.
These talukas are Nagar, Karjat, Pathardi, Parner,
Jamkhed, Akole and some part of Shevgaon. Under this situation, the district is divided into two parts i.e. the northern and the southern. The northern part is developed with assured irrigation water facilities while the southern part is found to be prone to scarcity conditions.
The Ahmednagar district gets rain from the South-West
Monsoon, but the distribution of rainfall is uneven. It has been the experience that out of 5 years, 3 years are scarcity years.
During 1987-88, out of the net area under irrigation,
38.64 per cent area was under surface irrigation and 61.36 per cent area under well irrigation. Out of the irrigated
area, 15.99 per cent was under the sugarcane crop.
Especially, cultivation of sugarcane was increased in the
northern part of the district with the availability of
canal irrigation facilities. This resulted into
establishment of a number of sugar factories in the
northern part of the district. Out of the 18 sugar
factories in Ahmednagar district, 14 sugar factories are
129 established in the northern part. These sugar factories
provide employment to the thousands of the workers during
the crushing season.
The southern part of the district is drought prone area.
The land can not support the existing labour force
throughout the year. Such surplus labourers are forced to
migrate seasonally to the sugar factories located in the
northern part of the district. It is observed that
nearabout 50,000 labourers get seasonal employment in the
sugar factories in the northern part of the district
during the crushing season. Seasonal migration of
agricultural labourers is a common phenomenon in
Ahmednagar district. Hence, Ahmednagar district is
selected for the purpose of study.
4.5 Selection of Pathardi Taluka
Pathardi taluka is located to the east in Ahmednagar
district. The taluka is bounded on the east and south by
Beed district, on the north by Shevgaon taluka, on the
north-west by Newasa taluka and on west by Nagar. It is
stretched in the east west direction. It covers an area of
1101.8 Sq.Kms. and total number of villages in the taluka
is 122.
The total population of the taluka as per Census of 1981
is 1,47,837. The sex-wise split of the total population is
almost equal on both the counts i.e. male 74,150 and
female 73,687. The total number of households is 28,141.
130 Out of the total population, 27.02 per cent are cultivators, 10.3 3 per cent are agricultural labourers,
1.14 per cent are engaged in household industries , 5.37 per cent are workers, 4.54 per cent are marginal workers and 51.60 per cent are non workers. The cultivators and agricultural labourers constitute 61.60 per cent of the main workers. The majority of the population is dependent on agriculture.
The total land area of taluka is 1,16,543 hectares. Out of the total land area 76.90 per cent is unirrigated , 7.16 per cent is irrigated, 5.61 per cent land area has been covered by forest, 1.38 per cent is culturable waste and
8.95 per cent of the land is not available for cultivation. It means that most of the land is dry. The
source of irrigation is well irrigation. But it accounts
for only 7.16 per cent. The main staple food of the taluka
is bajara followed by jowar. During the year 1987-88, area
under cultivation of bajara accounted for 55.76 per cent
and jowar 36.69 per cent of the total land cultivated.
Pathardi taluka gets rain from south-west monsoon; but the
rainfall is always less than the normal and it is
irregular. It is experienced that famine is the recurrent
phenomenon of this taluka. Agriculture mainly depends
upon the rain. Unfortunately, there is no major
irrigation project in the taluka. Moreover, it is
situated in the famine-stricken belt which is highly
susceptible to recurring scarcity conditions. Hence, the
131 development of the taluka has been very slow. There are
no industries except one sugar factory which was not in
operation during last two years. This shows that the
taluka is industrially and economically backward.
The dry farming is not able to provide sufficient income
and employment. Unemployment and underemployment are the
basic problems in the taluka. Especially, after the
harvesting of kharif crop, there is very little work left
to the labourers. Hence, such surplus labour is forced to
migrate in search of employment. The sugar factories in
the district and in the state provide them seasonal
employment during the slack period. Every year, thousands
of cultivators and agricultural labourers migrate to the
sugar factories in the mid October. It is common picture
in the month of October trucks and carts carry the large
number of labourers to the sugar factories. Pathardi
taluka provides the highest number of labourers to the
sugar factories in the state of Maharashtra. Hence,
Pathardi taluka is selected for the study.
4.6 Selection of Sample Pathardi taluka is divided into two parts. The area at the
east side of the Pathardi town is known as 'Eastern part'
whereas the west side is known as 'Western part'.
Pathardi itself is situated at the centre of the taluka.
The western part of the taluka is connected by roads to Pathardi and Ahmednagar city. This part is more developed
than the eastern part of the taluka. As far as the
132 eastern part is concerned, Pathardi is the only place for marketing and education to the people of the eastern part.
There are few roads connecting Pathardi with the eastern part. However, most of these roads are closed during the rainy season. Hence, this part is cut off from the taluka place itself and the western part of the taluka. This results into communication gap. It remains aloof from main stream of social and political life.
Agriculture is the main occupation of the people in the taluka. It should be noted that it is mostly rainfed. The land, as a whole, is of inferior quality. Due to this, job opportunities are not available for all the labourers throughout the year. This situation is found all over the eastern part. In this part, seasonal migrants are found almost in all the villages. A large number of labourers migrate in order to find job opportunities at various sugar factories. Therefore, any village would have formed a sample for the purpose of the present study.
However, only four villages, which lie in the eastern part, are considered. The villages selected are
Karegaon, Mohate, Chumbali and Shekate. They are shown on the map of Pathardi Taluka (Fig. 2). Seasonal migration is the important feature of these villages. All the characteristics of the eastern part are found in these
villages. Out of these villages, Karegaon and Mohate are
situated on the Pathardi - Beed road and are not very far
from Pathardi itself. Whereas, the other two i.e.
133
Chumbali and Shekate are off the road and in the interior part of the taluka. It is interesting to note that Mohate sends only cartmen as labourers, whereas Karegaon,
Chumbali and Shekate have cartmen as well as the koyatas.
This facilitated the study of both the categories of labourers i.e. cartmen and koyatas.
The general information of the selected villages is given below in brief :
Karegaon Village ; The village lies at a distance of three kms., to the east of Pathardi on the Pathardi-Beed road. The population of the village consists of about 160 families and about 74 5 persons. Out of the total population, 366 are males and 379 are females. The cultivators and agricultural labourers constitute 97.51 per cent of the total main workers.
The main occupation of the people is agriculture. The
total land area of the village is 959 hectares out of
which 49.19 per cent land is irrigated, 46.87 per cent
land is unirrigated and remaining 3.94 per cent is not
available for cultivation. The main source of irrigation
is well irrigation. There is a tank to south of the
village from which water is supplied for agricultural
purposes. But it all depends upon the rainfall and
availability of water in the tank. Some part of the land
is fertile. The eastern and the southern parts of the
village are hilly. The main staple food is bajara. Other
crops like jowar, wheat are also grown.
135 The village has a primary school. The school going children of the village have to go to Pathardi for higher education. The dominant caste of the village is
Vanjari.
Mohate Village : The village is situated at a distance of 10 kms. to the south east of Pathardi. It is on the
Pathardi-Beed road and surrounded by hills on south and east.
In Mohate, there are 177 households with a population of about 821. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people. Its total land area is 994 hectares out of which
659 hectares are unirrigated, 62 hectares are irrigated,
114 hectares are covered by forest and 159 hectares are not available for cultivation. The land available for cultivation is gray of inferior quality locally known as
'barad'. There are small pieces of land scattered to the north and west. The source of irrigation is well and it
is also very limited. The main staple food is bajara. As the cultivated land is dry and limited, unemployment is the acute problem in the village.
The important feature of the village is the temple of
'Jagadamba Devi'. The temple has been famous and
thousands of devotees visit it from all over Maharashtra.
There is a primary school in the village. The higher
education is available in Pathardi only at a distance of
about 10 Kms. The dominant caste is Vanjari.
136 Chumbali Village : The village is at a distance of about
25 kms. on the east of Pathardi. One has to get down from the bus at Takli-Manur and walk up to 4 Kms. in order to reach Chumbali. Chumbali is separated from
Takli-Manur because of a river.
It is a small village of about 98 families with a total population of 494 persons. The number of males is 254 while that of females is 240. They are all engaged in agriculture. The village has no Grampanchayat of its own.
It is only a ward of the Takli-Manur grampanchayat. The majority of the people belong to vanjari caste.
There are hills to the east and hence cultivable land lies on other three sides of the village. The village has some fertile black soil but the remaining soil is of inferior quality. The main crop is bajara. The other crops like jowar, sugarcane are also grown. The irrigation source is only well irrigation. However, some land comes under
irrigation due to Ghatsil Pargaon dam from which the water
is lifted by some farmers for agriculture.
Except for primary school, there is hardly any educational
institution in the village. At a distance of 4 Kms.,
there is secondary school at Takli-Manur. The school going
children of the village have to go to Pathardi at a
distance of 25 Kms. for higher secondary and college
education.
137 Shekate Village : The village lies at a distance of 13
Kms. to the north east of Pathardi. It is situated off
the Pathardi-Koradgaon road at the distance of 3 Kms.
The population of the village consists of 173 households
and 849 persons. Out of the persons, 427 are males and
422 are females. The cultivators and agricultural
labourers constitute 78.23 per cent of the total main
workers. The main occupation is agriculture.
The total land of the village is 655 hectares, out of
.which 577 hectares are unirrigated, 21 hectares are
irrigated and 57 hectares are not available for
cultivation. The majority of the farmers grow jowar.
Other crops such as bajara, wheat, sugarcane are also
grown. Now-a-days farmers have started digging wells to
irrigate their land. The village has no educational
institute except a primary school. Hence, the children
have to go to Koradgaon to the east at a distance of 5
kms. for secondary and to Pathardi at a distance of 13
kms. for higher education. The means of transportation are
not available so the people have to walk 3 kms. by kachcha
(unmetalled) road to reach the bus for Pathardi or
Koradgaon. The dominant caste of the village is vanjari.
4.7 Selection of the Sample Migrant Households
The next step, after determining the villages for the
purpose of the study, was the selection of the sample for
gathering the requisite first hand information. Since no
138 record of the number of migrating households in the
villages was available, it was felt necessary to conduct a
pilot survey of each village in order to ascertain the
exact strength of the migrant households. The pilot
survey revealed the number of migrant households in each
of the four villages. The same is given in the Table 4.1
Table 4.1 : Seasonal migrant households from the selected villages in Pathardi Taluka during the year 1988-89.
Sr. Name of the Total Number Migrated Percentage No. Village of households Households
1. Karegaon 160 64 40.00
2. Mohate 177 100 56.50
3. Chumbali 98 46 46.94
4. Shekate 173 72 41.62
608 282 46.38
It is seen that the percentage of seasonal migrant
households varies from 40.00 to 56.50 in the villages
selected for the study. It means that nearly half of the
total households were migrant households. Out of the
total 608 households, 282 households i.e. 46.38 per cent
households migrated to the sugar factories during the year
1988-89. Since the number was quite manageable, it was
decided to make a study of all the migrant households.
The list of migratory households was prepared with their
size of holdings for each village separately. The size
139 classes were determined on the basis of land holding by
the migrant households viz. landless, small (0.01 - 2.00
ha.), Medium (2.01 - 4.0 ha) and Large (4.01 ha. and
above). All the migrant households were distributed
according to size classes. The distribution of the sample
migrant households according to size classes for each of
the village can be seen in Table 4.2
Table 4.2 Distribution of the sample migrant households according to size classes in the selected villages of Pathardi Taluka
Sr. Name of the Landless Small Medium Large Total No. No. Village (0.01) (2.01) (4.01) of to to and house 2.0 ha 4.0 ha above holds
1. Karegaon 19 31 7 7 64
2. Mohate 3 46 44 7 100
3. Chumbali 2 20 14 10 46
4. Shekate 8 43 15 6 72
32 140 80 30 282 (11.35) (49.64) (28.37) (10.64) (100.00)
(Figures in the parentheses are the percentages to the total number of households).
It is revealed that the total sample for the study
comprised of 282 households spread over four selected
villages. Out of the total number of households, 11.35
per cent were landless, 49.64 per cent were small, 28.37
per cent were medium, and 10.64 per cent were large
households.
140 4.8 The Data Requirement
The purpose of the present investigation is to study the
socio-economic characteristics of migrants, causes and
consequences of seasonal migration of agricultural labour,
process of seasonal migration and to assess the effects of
seasonal migration on employment and income of migrant
labour households.
In order to fulfil the above objectives of the
investigation, the data were required on the socio
economic background of the sample households; general
information of the area of destination such as
recruitment, nature of work and working conditions,
facilities provided to the migrants, difficulties faced by
the migrants, wage rates, contractors etc.; employment and
income of the sample households.
4.9 Source of the Data
The present study is based upon the primary data collected
from the sample of migrant households at the place of
origin during the year 1988-89. The required information
relating to the area of destination was obtained by
visiting three sugar factories at Bhenda (Dist.
Ahmednagar), at Niphad (Dist. Nasik) and at Rahuri (Dist.
Ahmednagar) personally.
The mukadams of the selected villages provided information
regarding duration of the crushing season during the year
1988-89, advances distributed to the migrants, total
141 income of the migrants, total tons of sugarcane harvested
and transported, amount paid to the migrants for
expenditure, amount of present etc. The information
regarding methods of recruitment, wage rates, facilities
provided to the migrants was obtained from the
agricultural sections of the said factories. The
statistical information concerning Ahmednagar district,
Pathardi taluka and selected four villages was obtained
from Socio Economic Review and District Statistical
Abstract for the year 1980-1981 and 1988-1989 published by
the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt, of
Maharashtra, Bombay and District Census Handbook, Census
of India, 1981, Ahmednagar District by Maharashtra Census
Directorate, Bombay. The data on village statistics were
obtained from Revenue Office, Pathardi (Dist. Ahmednagar).
4.10 The Technique of Data Collection
The data were collected from the sample migrant households
by survey method. The comprehensive schedule to cover
different aspects of the problems was prepared keeping in
mind the objectives laid down. The schedule covered
information on aspects like socio-economic background of
the sample households with more emphasis on economic
aspects, causes of migration, details of employment,
income and other amenities available at the factory and
problems faced by them etc.
The survey was carried out personally during the year
1989. The head of the family or the adult male member of
142 the family was interviewed with the help of schedi
prepared. The migrants were contacted at their native
villages from May, 1989 to November, 1989. The detailed
information covering all the aspects of the study was
obtained. Moreover, the 16 contractors from these villages
were contacted during this period and necessary
information was also sought from them. The information
throwing light on all the aspects of the agricultural year
1988-$9 was personally obtained. The data collected from
migrants regarding advances, income and expenditure were
verified with the records of the contractors. The data
relating to land holding, loan borrowed were also checked
to some extent from the Revenue Office and related
agencies such as credit co-operative societies etc.
4.11 Analytical Procedure
After the field work was over, the data were processed and
tabulated according to the requirements of various
ingredients of the study. The simple tabular analysis
based on averages and percentages was the main analytical
tool used in the study.
The prices of assets had been calculated at the working
cost prevailing in the villages. The age group of working
members was assumed to be 14-59 years. A working day was
assumed of eight hours. The wages of the bullock pair
included the wages of the person needed to operate
bullocks.
143 4.12 Objectives
The present investigation is undertaken to study the
following specific objectives
1) To study the socio-economic background of the
seasonal migratory agricultural labourers.
2) To study the nature of work, working conditions and
problems faced by the migrant labour households at
the place of destination.
3) To find out the causes responsible for seasonal
migration of the sample households.
4) To study the effects of migration on the economy of
the sample households with special reference to
employment and income.
5) To suggest suitable ameliorative measures.
4.13 Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are proposed to be tested in the
present investigation :-
1) The majority of seasonal migrants are engaged as
agricultural labourers and cultivators who are
illiterate, married and in the working age group.
2) The sample households are indebted to the mukadam and
private money lenders.
3) Both push and pull factors are involved in the
process of seasonal migration.
144 4) The seasonal migration significantly contributes to
the employment and income of the sample households.
5) The average annual expenditure of the sample
households is more than the average annual gross
income of the same.
6) The seasonal migration of agricultural labourers is
influenced by certain factors such as size of family,
size of farm, employment opportunities at home and
wage differential.
7) The increase in the employment opportunities in the
ar^a of origin would minimise the seasonal migration.
********
145