Labour Gap Analysis of Sugarcane in Kolhapur District of Western Maharashtra

The labour gap in sugarcane cultivation has been analysed in the Kolhapur district of western Maharashtra by selecting 90 farmers and using simple tabular method. It has been observed that the family size increases with increase in the farm-size group. The gap in use of hired labour has been found to range from 12.50 per cent to 73.33 per cent for male labourers and from 26.67 per cent to 87.62 per cent for female labourers. In the case of family labour, the gap of male labour ranged from 15.38 per cent to 73.33 per cent and female labour from 26.67 per cent to 84.62 per cent, respectively. The study has suggested that the gap of labour requirement of sugarcane farming being about 50 per cent in male and female labourers, the mechanization of sugarcane farming is essential to increase the productivity of sugarcane farming.