Technological Transformation Impact on Agricultural Sector Employment - Boon or Bane

Across the globe all the sectors are experiencing the impact of technological transformation and discussions are going on what extent it is impacting concern sectors employment. Likewise in Indian agriculture sector also digital technologies are often seen as an opportunity to enable sustainable futures. However, this digital transformation process is not inherently good as it impacts on many aspects (e.g. economic, environmental, social, technological, institutional) and their relations. With the advent of digital technology, the scope of agricultural development has widened. Technological Innovations are leading to an evolution in agricultural practices, reducing losses and increasing efficiency. It has affected many areas of agriculture, such as fertilizers, pesticides, seed technology, etc. New-age technologies focus on robotics, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and more. The Indian agriculture sector share in GDP is about 15% according to latest reports but farm sector’s employment share is 45.5% which is very high. The technological advancements are having a significant negative impact on farm labour and employment, affecting both the nature and quantity of work available in the sector. Applying technology and technical innovations in agriculture have significantly increased efficiency and output but adversely effect on the traditional agricultural labour too. Keeping this in view, this article focused on to study the technological transformation impact on agricultural labour a boon or bane.