Labour Energy Requirements for Farm and Non-farm Activities in Hills: A case study of paddy growers of Manipur

The objective of the study was to work out the change in total human labour energy requirement on farm and non-farm activities during climate change. Primary data was collected from 60 randomly selected paddy growers of Senapati district of Manipur. Thirty-nine years (1975–2013) state level daily gridded rainfall (0.25°×0.25°) and temperature (1°×1°) data were obtained from India Meteorological Department (IMD). The study revealed that after 1994, Manipur experienced eight years of deficit monsoon rainfall. The labour requirements increased for weeding and transplanting operations during drought period. The additional burden during the drought period was comparatively more on female member of the households. The energy requirement to produce one kg of paddy was significantly higher under drought condition. The increased burden for fuel wood collection was on both male and female during droughts. The male shared the burden of fodder collection whereas, female shared the burden of fetching the drinking water. Therefore, research on developing of farm implements should be prioritized; supply of irrigation and safe drinking water should be addressed urgently by the State Government.