Employment generation assessment in pre and post-harvest management of ginger in Meghalaya: an empirical study

This paper has assessed employment potential in pre- and post-harvest management of ginger in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. Ginger is an emerging crop in the state as well as in North Eastern Hill Region. A sample of 61 respondents of ginger growers and 8 wholesalers were selected randomly to assess the extent of employment generation. As ginger has been recognized as a labour intensive crop, most of the cultivation activities are performed manually. It was found that the pre-harvest management of ginger generated more than hundred days of employment (mandays). Post-harvest activities like washing, cleaning, sorting & grading, transporting, loading and unloading, weighing, bagging and stitching also generates income and employment to a great extent. The net return excluding family labour and all others expenses was found to be high from the crop. The farmers earned profit for every rupee they invested in ginger cultivation.