Migrant hands rooted across Telangana’s farms

Phulender Thakur arrived successful Telangana with nary certainty. In his mid 40s now, helium near Madhepura successful Bihar for a grape workplace successful Medchal Malkajgiri district, drawn southbound by an elder member already moving there. The vines were dense then, grape cultivation was dispersed crossed ample tracts and labour was plentiful. Phulender learnt fast, and the workplace soon became acquainted ground.

The scene, however, changed gradually. Acreage nether grapes shrank, fields thinned retired and galore growers exited. But Thakur stood firm, his skills outlasting the crop’s declining demand. Today, helium heads a radical of workers astatine a grape workplace successful Muduchinthalapally, with 3 of his brothers employed alongside him. Word has travelled backmost location too; youngsters from Bihar present telephone him for enactment references, hoping for a foothold successful Telangana’s farms.

He spends astir portion of the twelvemonth here, returning to his household successful Madhepura erstwhile oregon doubly annually. “I don’t get to spell location adjacent for Chhath Puja, 1 of Bihar’s biggest festivals, due to the fact that that is erstwhile we person to chopped the grape stems,” Thakur says, arsenic a radical of youngsters lasting beside him motion successful agreement. These youth, each from his autochthonal village, arrived successful Telangana 3 years agone and learnt the ropes of grape cultivation nether his guidance.

Thakur’s communicative reflects a signifier progressively disposable crossed the State. Farmers, husbandman payment organisations and others associated with the assemblage constituent to a dependable emergence successful the fig of cultivation workers arriving from different States.

The standard of this dependence is shaped by the sheer size of the cultivation scenery here. Telangana is the 11th largest State successful the country, with a geographical country of implicit 276.95 lakh acres (112.08 lakh hectares). In 2022-23, arsenic overmuch arsenic 52.61% of that was nether Net Sown area, according to Telangana Socio Economic Outlook 2024.

For workplace owners and tenant farmers managing ample tracts of land, uncovering section labour for sowing, pruning, harvesting and post-harvest enactment has go progressively challenging. Workers from Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and elsewhere person stepped successful to capable this gap, arriving with families oregon successful groups, staying connected farms and keeping the fields running.

The migrant cultivation workers are usually provided shelter, nutrient and energy astatine the farms wherever they are employed. In addition, they are paid wages that alteration with the quality of enactment and the skills required.

Their monthly remuneration typically ranges from ₹9,000 to ₹11,000 per person. In different cases, outgo is linked to the harvest oregon task — ₹16 to ₹25 per sack of paddy filled, astir ₹10,000 per acre for berry picking, oregon lump-sum amounts for labour-intensive enactment specified arsenic plucking reddish chilli and different crops.

Toiling astatine a papaya workplace successful Keesara of Rangareddy territory connected an afternoon, Dulkar Chand, besides from Bihar, says workers are each paid astir ₹9,000 a period too being provided accommodation, nutrient and basal amenities. While men astatine the tract are engaged successful lifting manure and spreading it crossed the fields oregon tending to the papaya crop, women enactment successful an adjoining ivy gourd farm.

Caretakers and owners of farms accidental migrant workers usually scope them done a reference-based network. Those who person worked connected a workplace earlier mostly link them with radical seeking employment.

Declining involvement of section youth

Farmers, husbandman payment organisations and authorities officials enactment that the beingness of workers from different States successful Telangana’s cultivation fields has been observed for respective years. And astatine the aforesaid time, determination has been a diminution successful the fig of section younker opting for workplace work. Those tracking the inclination accidental nary azygous origin is responsible. Among the aggregate reasons are the availability of alternate livelihood options, greater entree to acquisition supported by the Telangana government, radical choosing to enactment connected their ain tiny landholdings and a increasing penchant for gig work.

Farmers besides accidental that an summation successful irrigation resources successful caller years has accrued the country nether cultivation, pushing up request for cultivation labour adjacent arsenic galore workers stay engaged connected their ain farms.

According to the precocious released Economic Survey 2025-26, large initiatives specified arsenic the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project and Mission Kakatiya successful Telangana, contributed to an summation successful cultivation country from 1.31 crore acres successful 2014 to 2.21 crore acres by fiscal twelvemonth 2023.

Ravi Kanneganti, State committee subordinate of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, says a operation of factors specified arsenic monocropping, mechanisation, usage of chemic inputs and accelerated urbanisation has steadily reduced the fig of workdays for cultivation labourers. Availability of migrant workers from different States, who are consenting to enactment for little wages, has besides contributed to this shift.

“This made radical look for alternate and reliable sources of income, adjacent if the net were lower. Many are near without enactment altogether. The authorities needs to code this issue. People person to beryllium equipped with skills applicable to different sectors specified arsenic services and MSMEs to make section employment. And this requires focused attention,” says Kanneganti.

He points retired that crops specified arsenic fabric and paddy are harvested astatine the aforesaid time, starring to a spike successful request for labour. “When capable workers are not disposable locally, determination is simply a wide dependency connected labour from different States. Shifting from monocropping to aggregate cropping each period tin guarantee a regular income for farmers and summation the availability of workdays. Other crops specified arsenic pulses, millets, vegetables and oilseeds request to beryllium supported done incentives,” helium asserts.

Echoing immoderate of the observations, Y. Sreenivasulu, subordinate prof astatine the Centre for Economic and Social Studies successful Hyderabad, says his squad has besides recovered that astir younker amusement small involvement successful taking up agriculture oregon allied activities. A survey is presently nether way, helium adds, to amended recognize their aspirations and the factors driving this disengagement.

Donthu Rambabu, associated caput of Telangana Rythu Sangham, says migrant labourers from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are commonly employed connected reddish chilli farms. Each acre requires astir 400 workdays. “Most radical engaged for paddy sowing present travel from West Bengal and Bihar,” helium explains.

Levelling up

Rambabu adds that immoderate workplace labourers from Telangana person transitioned into tenant farmers by leasing ample tracts of land. At the aforesaid time, children of landowners who erstwhile held extended acreage person migrated to different States oregon countries, leaving nary down to proceed farming. Those lands are progressively being leased out.

“If it is simply a tiny husbandman owning 2 to 4 acres, the household itself gets progressive successful tilling, sowing and different works. But a tenant husbandman who has taken 20-30 acres connected lease cannot negociate each the enactment unsocial and has to prosecute labour,” helium says.

In immoderate pockets, tiny farmers inactive practise a barter system, moving connected each other’s fields successful speech for labour connected their ain land.

Y. Balaiah, who owns 3 acres successful Adraspalli colony of Muduchinthalapally mandal, says adjacent farmers with precise tiny landholdings — an acre oregon little — are present relying connected cultivation, a displacement helium says was uncommon earlier. He moved from paddy to rootlike cultivation, arsenic the erstwhile requires higher concern and offers comparatively little returns. “Vegetables guarantee regular income. We tin merchantability straight to customers successful rootlike markets and debar paying committee to agents. People with tiny extents of onshore present similar to cultivate vegetables than enactment connected others’ farms,” helium adds.

To support costs down, Balaiah and his woman harvest the vegetables themselves, arsenic hiring labour would permission small scope for profit. “I cannot expect anyone to enactment for ₹300 oregon ₹400 a day. The outgo of indispensable goods has changeable up,” helium explains.

The inclination reflects the operation of landholdings successful the State. According to the 11th Agriculture Census (2021-22), the full fig of operational holdings (farm units) successful Telangana stood astatine 70.60 lakh, covering an country of 63.12 lakh hectares.

Marginal and tiny farmers, who clasp little than 2 acres, relationship for 91.4% of landholdings and run 68.2% of the full area, oregon astir 43 lakh hectares.

Semi-medium farmers (two to little than 4 acres), mean farmers (four to little than 10 acres) and ample farmers (10 acres and above) unneurotic marque up a tiny stock of holdings, accounting for 7.1%, 1.4% and 0.1% respectively, portion operating 20.5%, 8.7% and 2.6% of the cultivated area.

From the different side

Veteran farmers, however, constituent to tflhe ip side. Some families that person practised agriculture for decades person gradually developed specialised skills and present question crossed Telangana and adjacent to different States successful hunt of work.

K. Chandra Mohan Reddy, among the aboriginal practitioners of grape farming successful the region, says respective workers who were erstwhile employed connected his workplace went connected to maestro tasks specified arsenic mounting up trellis systems. “Some radical who worked astatine our workplace earlier learnt trellis work. The aforesaid happened with workers from different farms. Today, determination are teams successful Muduchinthalapally that are successful changeless request for mounting up trellis,” helium says. It is astatine his workplace that Thakur continues to work.

Digital media platforms are progressively enabling specified skilled teams to grow their scope and get enactment orders. Chinna, from Pedapur colony successful Sangareddy district, began pruning mango, guava, pomegranate and different effect trees astatine the property of 19 aft learning the accomplishment from different worker. Soon, helium started moving independently. Today, the 28-year-old leads a squad that travels crossed districts and adjacent to different States connected work.

He says farmers from assorted districts and States began contacting him aft a video interrogation carrying his telephone fig was wide circulated among farming communities. The squad has since taken up enactment successful Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh arsenic well. “We are progressive successful pruning, grafting and plantation enactment for mango, guava, sitaphal and different crops,” helium shares.

Similar pruning teams from Andhra Pradesh besides question to Telangana for seasonal work. As antithetic effect trees necessitate pruning astatine antithetic times of the year, specified teams are capable to find enactment crossed regions for overmuch of the year.

Even arsenic skill-based cultivation labour becomes much mobile and successful demand, concerns stay implicit the lack of basal societal security. B.Kondal Reddy, State committee subordinate of Rythu Swarajya Vedika, says landless workers, including cultivation labourers, proceed to stay extracurricular ceremonial information nets specified arsenic insurance. “Currently, migrant workers person nary societal security. If idiosyncratic dies portion working, workers excavation wealth among themselves to instrumentality the assemblage backmost to their autochthonal place,” helium says.