Labour Scarcity and Selective Mechanization of Sugarcane Agriculture in Tamil Nadu

In the recent past, labour scarcity coupled with high labour wage rate has greatly affected the irrigation and harvesting of sugarcane crop in time. It has reduced sugarcane area from 3.91 lakh ha in 2006–07 to 3.14 lakh ha in 2009–10 in Tamil Nadu. Modern sugarcane machinery and labour-savign devices were introduced on a large scale to reduce dependency on labour, and finish different farm operations in time. The study has found the mechanical operations to be superior to manual operations in sugarcane cultivation. These have reduced cost of production and have enabled efficient utilization of resources with better work output. For example, furrow method of irrigation required about 320 person-hour, whereas drip irrigation required only 30 person-hour. Similarly, manual harvesting required about 1000 person-hour and cost of 55000 to harvest 100 tonne ( 550/t) against 32500 ( 325/t) with the labour engagement for 12 person-hour/ha. The study has concluded that it has become inevitable to use modern sugarcane machinery, which is now available in the country. Although its initial cost is very high, the advantages accrued in their use are many. The study has suggested the use of drip irrigation and mechanical harvesters to mitigate the acute labour scarcity (farm operation and harvesting). It has also proposed to implement custom hiring system on co-operative basis/or owned and operated by the sugar factories for sugarcane harvesters in the state.