Role of Hired Agricultural Labour in Crop Production: Evidence From the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam

Insufficient availability of family labour is a major hurdle in farm operations in India, which compels farmers to use hired agricultural labour. Given the importance of manpower in farm operation, the use of hired labour in agriculture is expected to play a vital role in agricultural development. Hence, the present article aims to examine the role of hired agricultural labour in crop production in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam in North East India. The study is based mainly on farm-level data collected using a multi-stage sampling technique from 237 field crop-cultivating households. Analysis using simple statistical tools depicts that a large majority of farmers of all size classes depend on hired labour for different farming activities. The extent of use of hired agricultural labour is more for larger farmers relative to smaller farmers. Further, larger farmers hire agricultural labour more or less equally for all types of activities, while small and marginal farmers hire such labour mostly for activities requiring group efforts. Tobit regression analysis depicts a significant role of hired agricultural labour in improving cropping intensity and crop diversification, but the fragmented nature of the market for agricultural labour calls for government intervention. JEL Codes: Q12, Q13