Agricultural Development and Rural Labour: A Case Study of Punjab and Haryana

This book studies the impact of agricultural growth on employment prospects, wage rates, income levels and consumption patters of non-cultivating rural labour households in a green revolution region of India i.e. Punjab and Haryana. It empirically verifies the gains of agricultural growth that have percolated down to agricultural wage labour and other non-cultivating households. The findings are based on a very comprehensive primary survey of 2328 wage labour and other non-cultivating households spread over more than 650 villages representing all the districts of the two states.
The study shows that the type of agricultural growth taking place in Punjab and Haryana (accompanied by large scale mechanisation of most farm operations) cannot solve the problem of unemployment prevailing among wage labourers. No doubt, the wages of both attached and casual labourer are generally higher in more developed than in less developed districts. Consequently, the per capita income of wage labour as well as of other non-cultivating households in Punjab is fifteen to sixteen per cent higher than their counterparts in Haryana. Yet even in this heartland of India?s green revolution, about half the wage labour households are living below the poverty line. The percentage of households below the poverty line is low in agriculturally more developed districts and vice-versa
The author argues that while accelerated agricultural growth even within the existing set-up does help to some extent in alleviating the problem of absolute poverty prevailing among rural wage labourers, yet agricultural development alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment and rural poverty. The book also explodes several other myths including the much talked about nexus between poverty and unemployment. It is likely to prove useful both for researchers and policy-makers interested in India?s rural scene.