Acute labour shortage grips south Indian plantations

Of the 2.35 mn labourers in plantations across the country, 1.35 mn are engaged in south India

The plantation sector across south India is reeling under acute labour shortage due to migration of workers to lucrative jobs in the recent years. Coffee and tea planters claim that a whopping 56% of the labour force left the sector during the last decade in search of greener pastures.

A study by the Tea Research Foundation (TRF) and the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) found thousands of plantation labourers have been opting to work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme due to higher wages.

Of the 2.35 million labourers in plantations across the country, 1.35 million (57.3%) are engaged in south India.

“The labour strength in tea plantation has reduced varying from 21.4 per cent in Nilgiris and 30% in Annamalais in Tamil Nadu to 56.2 per cent in central Travancore in Kerala from what it was over a decade ago,” the study found.

Similarly, around 1.27 million growers – most of them small and tiny – cultivate the plantation crops (coffee, tea, rubber and spices) in South India spread across 1.11 million hectares of area, providing permanent employment to 1.35 million labourers.

“Though most of these workers stay in plantation areas, they do not turn up for work. Instead, they take up work at government projects under the MGNREGA scheme. Hence, we have sought mechanisation of operations and incentivise the same with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce earlier this year,” R Sanjith, spokesperson of Upasi told Business Standard.

The plantation sector plays an integral role in the economy of three southern states. Kerala (rubber, coffee, spices), Tamil Nadu (tea) and Karnataka (coffee) together account for almost one fourth of the total tea output and nearly the entire production of coffee, natural rubber and spices. South India accounts for 64.2% of the total area under plantations in the country.

The value of plantation commodities in 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 41,442 crore, which account for marginally above 2% the country’s total agricultural GDP, while the export realisation is estimated at Rs 9,532 crore accounting for nearly 6.5% of the total agricultural and allied product exports. The share of south India in the total value is estimated at 76.8% whereas its share in the export value is 77.6%.

In an effort to get rid of labour shortage issue, the planters under the leadership of Upasi have represented to the ministry of commerce to sanction a Rs 300 crore scheme for mechanisation. They have also urged the government to extend the scheme to all kinds of growers, be it small, medium, large or corporate houses.