Context: An analysis of the changing nature of agricultural employment in India over the decades.
Trends in India's agricultural employment: Based on Employment and Unemployment Survey, 2004-05, and the Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2018-19.
Agriculture and allied sectors contribution: 18% of Indian economy and 40% of employment.
Decline of young people on farm:
Reduction in prime working-age (20-59 years) Indians engaged in agriculture - their share falling to 23.3% in 2018-19 from 40% in 2004-05.
In rural India, one in three prime working-age adults is employed in the agri-sector.
This has led to a shortage of labour and a rise in agricultural workers' median age to 40 years in 2018-19 (35 in 2004-05).
Ageing agriculture workforce would necessitate faster mechanization of Indian agriculture, but fragmented farm sizes may pose a problem.
Wide regional variations in employment: While only 8.5% of Kerala’s prime working-age population worked in agriculture in 2018-19, down from 20.3% in 2004-05, Madhya Pradesh had an estimated 35.3%, down from 51.7% in 2004-05.
Lower reliance on agricultural employment reflects higher farm productivity and incomes and allow women to exit paid farm work.
E.g. In Punjab and Haryana, less than 20% of prime-age adults in rural areas are involved in agriculture, while In Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, it is between 40% and 45%.
Thus, higher levels of reliance on-farm employment would point to insufficient non-farm jobs.
Decline in farm employment is not reflected in the rise in non-farm jobs: Rather, it is reflected in an increase in the share of prime adults leaving the labour market.
Increase in population leaving paid employment, mainly women, is seen in relatively prosperous states, Gujarat, Haryana and Karnatakas
Impact of rising education: Among young adults, a reduction in agricultural employment share has been accompanied by a rise in those who report being in education (13.4% in 2018-19).
Unemployment among the educated could rise further if India’s pace of productive non-farm job creation does not improve.