SERICUL TURE AND THE PROCESS OF CHANGE - Institute for ...

of family labour in sericulture, even among the larger landholders is far
higher than the same in agriculture among non-sericulture larger
landholders. The family labour absorption in sericulture (including
mulbeny cultivation) is almost equivalent to the total family labour
absorption of all the crops put together. The huge requirements of family
labour naturally put great pressure on the sericulture families, which are
more of nuclear types with less availability of family labour. However,
in such families, the labour pressure has been relatively neutralised by
undertaking the cultivation of fewer and less labour-intensive crops and
the effective utilisation of the task comract system in agriculture, along
with the adoption of exchange labour system in sericulture.
Within the operation of sericulture, the hired labour becomes
crucial as there is a need for intensive labour at the later stages of
operation. This can hardly be compensated by the limited labour
available within the families, especially if they are nuclear. So, there is a
necessity for many of the sericulturists to opt for the hired labourers at
certain times or other during the year. In Seripura, more than two thirds
of the fifty sericulturists have been using the hired labour. Further, the
rich and the upper classes increasingly go for hired labourers due to the
less availability of the family labour as compared to the size of their
land-holding. The diversified farm activities, avoidance of over-strain of
work as well as the values of prestige and dignity attached to the class
character of the labour-hiring families contribute to the higher
absorption of hired labour among the larger landholders in sericulture.
Labour Strategies: Since sericulture greatly depends on the
labour availability and labour assurance, the sericulturists employ
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