CHAPTER VI

LABOUR CHARACTERISTICS AND TURNOUT IN SMALL HOLDINGS OF TEA

CHAPTER VI

LABOUR CHARACTERISTICS AND TURNOUT IN SMALL HOLDINGS OF TEA

Introduction

This chapter focuses on labour characteristics in small holdings of tea 1 in

the district of Nilgiri in South India and the Tea Region of Low Elevation

(TRLE} in Sri Lanka. These two regions hold respectively the largest share

of small tea holdings in India and Sri Lanka.2 The samples were selected

from the Taluks (Tehsils) of Coonoor and Kotagiri in the district of Nilgiri

and from Divisional Secretariats of Ratnapura and Kotapola in the

TRLE.3 The map 1:3 and 1:4 in the appendix shows the location of the

sample selected for the study. The first section of this chapter gives a

brief account of the nature of small holdings of tea in these countries. In

this chapter we have examined the impact of adoption of high yield

varieties on the expansion of tea land, recruitment of labour and

production of tea in the small holdings of tea in India and Sri Lanka.

6.1 Small holdings of Tea in Nilgiri and TRLE

The small holdings of tea basically are individual privately owned tea

estates in these countries. The total area under small holdings of tea in

India is 25,134 hectares which is 5.52 per cent of the total tea land in

India. Of this, 17, 103 hectares are found in the district of Nilgiri in (Tamil

1 The terms 'Small tea holdings' and 'Small holdings of tea' are used interchangeably in this study. 2 The tea land up to 8.09 hectares in size (roughly 20 acres) in India and all private sector tea lands in Sri Lanka are considered as smallholdings of tea. Therefore, a smallholding of tea constitutes a part of tea land, one or more adjoining tea lands, managed as one operational unit owned by one or more persons which is not less than 20 perches (a perch is 272.25 square feet, 160 perches is equivalent to one acre and 395.2 perches is equivalent to one hectare) in extent and with more than a density of 2400 tea bushes per hectare. These definitions are derived from The Nilgiri Small Tea Growers' Association, in Coonoor and Tea Commissioner's Division, (October 1996), Tea land Survey of Tea Small Holdings and State owned Estates in Sri Lanka 1994/95, Sri Lanka Tea Board, p. 6. 3 The divisional secretariat in Sri Lanka is more or less local level administrative body like taluks in the district of Nilgiri in South India.

175

Nadu) South India. In Sri Lanka, the total area under small holdings of

tea is 82,921 hectares which is 44.11 per cent of the total tea land in the

country. Of the total small holdings, the TRLE holds 56,069 hectares.4

Earlier policy makers and researchers assumed that tea could be

grown economically and efficiently only on large-scale plantations,

whereas later studies tend to suggest that no obvious economies of scale

exist to give superiority to large estates over smaller ones. This analysis

further indicates that the location along with other inputs are significant

parameters in determining optimum size of an estate and its productivity

level. Ben Crow and Mary Thorpe5 suggest that small estates can be more

efficient if given proper institutional support. The Kenya Tea Development

Authority (KTDA), which was established as a parasol agency in the early

1960s, has indicated assistance guidelines for producing, processing,

marketing and fmancing small holdings of tea. The KTDA is recognised

internationally as one doing the most successful small holder operation

in tea producing countries. The Tea Small Holdings Development

Authority (TSHDA) of Sri Lanka is role modelled on the lines of KTDA.6

Most of the small tea holdings in the TRLE in Sri Lanka were plots

of 4.5 acre7 in 1940s, which were reduced to plots of 2.25 acre in the

1960s. These plots particularly in the southem area of Sri Lanka were

distributed for general cultivation and habitation. Initially, the cultivation

of tea in small scale was discouraged in TRLE. Most of them were mainly

involved in small-scale cultivation of coconut, areca nut, pepper and

other spices. Subsequently, the implementation of land reforms during

1972-75 and their impact has been a boost to the development of small

4 Tea Statistics, Tea Board of India 1999/2000 and Annual Report 2000, Tea Board of Sri Lanka. 5 Ben Crow and Mary Thorpe (1988), Survival and Change in the Third World, New York, Oxford University Press, p. 160. 6 Patrick Mendis (1991), 'A Survey of Estate Size and Tea Productivity Debate in India Sri Lanka and Kenya', Marga, Vol. 11, No.4, Colombo, pp. 73-79. 7 The term 'acre' and its fragmentation are used invariably in the case of the small tea holdings in both Nilgiri in South India and TRLE in Sri Lanka in order to measure tea plots.

176

tea holdings in this region. The marginal rubber land has also converted

into tea producing land in Sri Lanka.s

Several ancillary bodies were established m order to sustain the

landholders in producing high yield variety of tea. 9 The Tea Small Holding

Development Authority (TSHDA) provided effective support for such

development during the 1970s in Sri Lanka. Subsidies for high yield

varieties, fertilisers and extended services were activated. This helped the

small tea holding sector to expand and the cultivation of tea has become

one of the prime economic activities in the southern region of Sri Lanka.

The TSHDA continued to assist the tea industry by providing

subsidy for replanting and planting of new bushes of tea. They also

provided advisory and extension services. One of its major activities is the

Tea Shakthi scheme, which covers insurance, savings and investment, as

well as pension benefits for the small tea holders. The 1998 budgetary

allocation of Rs. 200 million for the scheme was completely utilised for

upgrading the transport network and for purchasing machines for the

factories. The target was to establish 21 tea factories in selected locations

for the benefit of the tea growers in TRLE in Sri Lanka. The small tea

growers were also provided with credit facilities to purchase necessary

inputs under the 'Development Fund'. As a result, the TRLE record yield

level reached 2,300 kilograms of tea mainly contributed by the small tea

holdings in this region in Sri Lanka.lO

The recent development of small holdings in the district of Niligiri

has been accelerated after the distribution of virgin lands to repatriated

Tamil tea plantation workers from Sri Lanka in 1968. This step

8 The extension of total Rubber Plantation was 270,000 hectares in 1965 and it declined to 199,048 in 1990 and further declined to 159,097 in 1999. The decline is around 40 per cent in Sri Lanka in a period of 34 years. 9 The extent of total Rubber Plantation was 270,000 hectare in 1965 which declined to 199,048 in 1990 and further declined to 159,097 in 1999. There was around 40 per cent decline of area under Rubber Plantation in Sri Lanka during last 34 years.

10 Compiled from Sri Lanka, Annual Report 2000, Tea Board of Sri Lanka, Colombo.

177

accelerated small holding tea cultivation in this region within a short

period of ten years (1969-1978). Initially the forest department extended

cultivable land for tea and took the responsibility of settling the

repatriates under what is now called Tamil Nadu Plantation Corporation

Limited (TANTEA).

6.2 Area and Production

The distribution small tea holdings in India and Sri Lanka is given in

Table 6.1. We find that the district of Nilgiri in India and the TRLE in Sri

Lanka are major domains of small tea holdings in these countries

representing 68.04 per cent and 67.61 per cent respectively of the total

land under small tea holding .

Table 6.1

Area and Production of Small Holdings of Tea ( 1998-99)

Category India Sri Lanka Total Nilgiri Other Total TRLE Other Total

Distric India Regions Sri ts Lanka

Number of 25,539 7,957 33,496 159,66 47,123 206,787 240,28 Holdings (76.24) (23.76) (100.00) 4 (27.79) (100.00) 3

(77.21) Area 17,103 8,031 25,134 56,069 26,850 82,919 108,05 under Tea (68.04) (31.96) (100.00) (67.61) (32.39) (100.00) 3 (in Hectare) Productio 37,822 14,379 52,201 NA NA NA -n (in Kg.) (72.45) (27.55) (100.00) Yield 2 271 1,784 2,076 NA NA NA -Source: Tea Statistics, (1997 /98), Tea Board of India, Calcutta, and Plantation Sector Statistical Pocket Book 1999, Ministry of Plantation Industries, Colombo. Note: NA- Not Available

This section deals with how extension of area and inputs impact on

employment opportunities in the sample of small holdings of tea in Nilgiri

and TRLE in Sri Lanka. There is a wide range of disparity observed in

terms of land distribution of small tea holdings in these countries. The

sample households of small tea holdings were proportionately selected

from all size groups. As mentioned earlier the total sample household is

69 representing 32 from Nilgiri and 37 from TRLE Sri Lanka. For the

178

purpose of the sample selection, the information for the Nilgiri Small Tea

Growers' Association in Coonoor and the Tea Small Holding Development

Authority (TSHDA) of Sri Lanka were considered along with the report of

Tea Land Survey of Tea Small Holdings and State Owned Estates in Sri

Lanka 1994/95. Table 6.2 gives the classification of land and number of

households selected for the study.

Table 6.2

Distribution of Tea Land in the Sample of Small Tea Holdings

Category Nilgiri TRLE Total Less than 0.25 6 (18.75) 9 (24.32) 15 (21.74 0.25 to less than 11 (34.36) 10 (27.03) 21 (30.43) 0.5 0.5 to less than 1 8 (25.00) 6 (16.22) 14(20.29) 1 to less than 2 3 (9.38) 9 (24.32) 12 (17.39) 2 to less than 4 2 (6.25) - 2 (2.90) 4 to less than 10 1 (3.13) 1 (2.70) 2 (2.90) 10 and above 1 (3.13) 2 (5.41) 3 (4.35) Total Sample 32 (100.00) 37 (100.00) 69 (100.00)

Source: Field Survey. Notes: The Nilgiri Small Tea Growers' Association, No.9 Mount Road, Coonoor, was kind enough to assist us in selection of the samples in the district. Tea Small Holding Development Authority and The Report of Tea Land Survey of Tea Smallholdings and State Owned Estates in Sri Lanka 1994/95 were mainly used for the selection of the samples in Sri Lanka. Figures in parentheses are percentage distribution of smallholdings of tea.

Figure 6:~ A

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Size Distribution of Small Holdings of Tea (in Percentage)

Less 0.25 to 0.5 to 1 1 to 2 2 to 4 4 to 10 10 and than 0.5 above 0.25

Size

C E!iJNilgiri fliJTRLE J

179

The small holdings with less than 0.25 hectares of tea land

constitute 21.74 per cent in these countries. This category of tea land has

plots with land size of twenty perches in TRLE in Sri Lanka, and 'one

cent' or '1200 bushes of tea land' as the smallest size of the small tea

holdings in the district of Nilgiri. Around 30 per cent of them have tea

land with size ranging from 0.25 hectare to 0.5 hectare. The largest

number of households in the sample are found in this category of

holdings. Table 6.3 shows the distribution of land in each category of the

sample households.

Table 6.3

Distribution of land in Each Size Category of Small Holdings of Tea

Category District of TRLE in Sri Total Nilgiri Lanka

c c - c 1-< 0 Q) 1-< 0 Q) 1-< 0 0 Q) v v v ..s:: .n ..... Cil "Ci) c ~ .o ..... ] "Ci) c ~ .n ..... v Cil "Ci) c ~ s 0 t)C . ..-.4-> s 0 0 c ..... 4-J s 0 r/) "b c.,..4-' v-u v-u ::J ::J Q)-() ::J E-<4-> Q) ::J E-<4-> Q) E-<4-> v z ~ ..s:: z ~ .c z 0 ~ ..s:: :r::

Less than 0.25 6 1 9 1.25 15 2.25 (1.95) _(2.02) (1.99)

0.25 to less than 11 4.50 10 4.25 21 8.75 0.5 (8.78) (6.85} (7.73} 0.5 to less than 1 8 5.25 6 5 14 10.25

(10.24) (8.06) (9.05) 1 to less than 2 3 5 9 14 12 19

(9.76) (22.58) (16.78) 2 to less than 4 2 5.50 - - 2 5.50

(10.73) (4.86) 4 to less than 10 1 8 1 7.5 2 15.50

(15.60) (12.10) (13.69) 10 and above 1 22 2 30 3 52

(42.94} (48.39) (45.90) Total Sample 32 51.25 37 62.00 69 113.25

(100) (100) (100) Source: Field Survey

We find that 15 households together hold a total of 2.25 hectares of

tea land. It is common in both the countries that most of the small tea

holders have tea land with size ranging between 0.25 and one hectare.

There were 19 households from Nilgiri and 16 from TRLE in Sri Lanka in

this category of tea lands. However, 4.35 per cent of the small holdings in

the sample (see Table 6.2) have tea land of 10 hectares and above. But

180

the extension of land of this category of small tea holders varies between

10 hectares 100 hectares, especially in TRLE in Sri Lanka. In nutshell,

we find that a large number of small tea holders have little extension of

tea land in Nilgiri and TRLE in Sri Lanka.

As far as the social background of the owners of the small tea

holdings are concerned, the Sinhala community in Sri Lanka owns most

of the smallholdings of tea, but in the case of Nilgiri holdings of more

than one hectare largely belong to Badaga community. In Nilgiri, a

minimum of 'one cent' of tea land plots (one hundredth of an acre, and it

is also known as 1,200 tea bushes) were distributed to the Tamil

repatriates from Sri Lanka. Besides, Kanarese, Keralites and Tamils also

have considerable extension of not only tea land, but also vegeTable (attz)

gardens in the district of Nilgiri.

The variety of tea bushes m small holdings of tea is also an

important factor which influences not only yield but also utilisation of

workers. Table 6.4 gives the distribution of varieties of tea in the sample

area.

Table 6.4

Distribution of Varieties of Tea Bushes in the Sample (in hectare

Category Nilgiri TRLE Total VP ST Total VP ST Total

Less than 0.25 0.75 1.20 1.95 1.25 - 1.25 2.25 0.25 to less 4.25 0.25 4.50 4.25 - 4.25 8.75 than 0.5 0.5 to less than 5.25 - 5.25 5.00 - 5.00 10.25 1 1 to less than 2 5.00 - 5.00 14.00 - 14.00 19.00 2 to less than 4 5.50 - 5.50 - - - 5.50

.•

4 to less than 8.00 - 8.00 12.00 - 12.00 15.50 10 10 and above 21.00 1.00 22.00 30.00 - 30.00 52.00

Total 48.80 2.45 51.25 62.00 - 62.00 113.2 5

Percentage 95.22 4.78 100.0 100.0 100.0 distribution 0 0 0

Source: Fteld Survey

181

/

Table 6.4 clearly shows that the small holdings of tea heavily

comprises of the variety of Vegetatively Propagated (VP) tea bushes, i.e.,

high yielding varieties in these countries. The large portions of the new

tea bushes are in the small tea holdings. However, unlike the TRLE in Sri

Lanka, the Nilgiri has a small portion (4. 78 hectares) of seedling tea as

well. This is largely found in the small tea holdings with about '1200 tea

bushes' in the district. The old variety tea, i.e., Seedling Tea (ST) exists

mostly in the category of less than 0.5 hectares in Nilgiri, particularly in

the '1200 tea bushes' category. Almost all tea plots in TRLE in Sri Lanka

cultivate VP tea.

The possibility of replanting with the HYV like VP tea bushes in Sri

Lanka cannot be neglected. The TSHDA is giving financial support to

their members for replanting activities. As far as replanting of tea in the

small tea holdings in Sri Lanka is concerned, the tea growers state that

their problem is withdrawal of the 'TRI 2023' by_ the Tea Research

Institute. The TRI 2023 is a kind of VP tea bush which is vulnerable to

drought conditions. The Tea Research Institute (TRI) in Sri Lanka has

recommended to use TRI 2025, which is relatively of low yield (2025-2925

Kg per hectare) but drought resistant. The transformation from TRI 2023

to TRI 2025 has created problems for the small holders in the TRLE, as

they were offered subsidy (including for the gestation period) but it was

not given in time. However, no such fmancial support was offered even on

principle for those solely depending on TRI 2023 variety.

It should be noted that, though the small tea holders in our sample

m Sri Lanka invariably plant HYV, this is not true for the other tea

regions in Sri Lanka. A recent study shows that only Sabaragamuwa and

Southern Provinces, areas covered in this study, constitute 78.69 per

cent and 92.76 per cent of VP tea areas· respectively. The other provinces

like Central, North Western and Uva have an average of 21 per cent ofVP

182

tea plants.ll Thus, regional variation can be seen in Sri Lanka as far as

the distribution of HYV plants is concerned.

In Nilgiri, most of the small tea holders who have more than one

hectare of tea land are showing keen interest in terms of replanting with

HYV bushes. The depth of this interest is clearly displayed by the fact

that some small tea holders in the sample survey mentioned that they

have undertaken replanting with the fmancial support of banks.

However, those who come under the category of less than 'one cent' were

found to be very poor. These holders did not have the required financial

assistance for replanting and gestation.

A further impediment in Nilgiri in terms of replanting is the delay

m getting the financial assistance. For instance, quite a few small tea

holders who had applied for financial assistance from the scheme had

uprooted their old plants and were waiting for the payment of subsidy. It

appears that there is an administrative bottleneck in the subsidy scheme.

Yet another problem with regard to replanting is the non­

availability of sufficient quantity of good planting materials. There are a

good number of nurseries run· by the small tea holders both in Coonoor

and Kotagiri. However, the small tea holders seem to be neither aware of

the required quality nor the cultural practices specially required for

nurseries. Therefore, quality of these plants is often sub-standard.

As far as production of tea is concerned, the sample small tea

holders did not have the facility to convert the plucked tea (green leaves)

into consumable tea. Of course, the role of small tea holders ends with

selling green leaves for manufacturing. Those who have HYV bushes were

harvesting around 200 to 250 kilograms of green leaves from an average

of one hectare in six or seven days cycle of plucking in Nilgiri. In TRLE in

Sri Lanka it was around 300 to 325 kilograms of green leaves. Based on

the information collected, harvesting of 200 kilograms green leaves in

seven days cycle when processed gives out around 2400 kilograms of

11 Tea Commissioner Division, (October, 1996), Tea Land Survey of Tea Small holdings and State Owned Estates in Sri Lanka 1994/95, Tea Board of Sri Lanka, p. 10.

183

made tea per annum in small holdings of tea. This much of harvesting is

an impossible target from Seedling tea bushes. For example, the category

of '1200 tea bushes' in the district of Nilgiri was harvesting only around

50 to 60 kilograms of green leaves in 30 to 40 days cycle. Marketing of

green leaves to the tea factory, which is known as 'bought leaf factory' is

the end task of the small tea holdings in both the countries. Some of the

small tea holders have their own tea factory.

Initially, the 'green leaves' were sold to the nearest large-scale tea

estates for processing. However, several private factories were started

recently to manufacture consumable tea from the green leaves supplied

by the small tea holders. There are middlemen who broker between the

producer and manufacturer. These middlemen, also known as agents,

play a pivotal role in determining price and demand. There are 146

private 'bought leaf factories' in Coonoor and Kotagiri in the district of

Nilgiri. Increasing the number of tea factories for manufacturing of tea

has been one of the major development projects in the TRLE in Sri

Lanka.

6.3 Fertiliser Use

Fertiliser is a crucial input in the small tea holdings sector and also an

important determining factor of labour utilisation in the industry. The

recent analysis of the soil conditions of the small tea holdings in these

two countries shows that the amount of nutrients in the top soil in small.

tea holdings has decreased significantly due to the poor soil management

practices by small holders.12

In economic terms a farmer will tend to use fertiliser if his

incremental income is higher than his incremental cost due to fertiliser

use. Incremental cost of using fertiliser consists of several factors: the

major item is the cost of fertiliser itself (including transport). Cost of

12 C. Thilagamany, (1997) 'Soil Conditions in Tea Planting Area in Nilgiris: A Case study of Ettappally,' A research paper submitted to the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore, and Nimal A. Fernando and Denesha de Silva, ( 1982) 'Study of Tea Small Holdings in Derangala,' Staff Studies, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, pp. 173.

184

application (wages paid for hired labour or the opportunity cost of family

labour used for the purpose) and harvesting cost of incremental output /

are other factors. Incremental income will be equal to the product of the

farm-gate price of green leaf per kilogram and the incremental output.

The tea land survey of Sri Lanka reveals that the regular

application of fertiliser was done only in 27.3 per cent of the small tea

holdings in 1993, while 50.49 per cent did it intermittently. No fertiliser

was used by 15.19 per cent of the small tea holdings in 1993. However,

there is a marked increase in the application of fertiliser in the small tea

holdings, which amounts to 77.87 per cent as compared to 43.00 per

cent in 1982.13

The small holders are advised to test the soil quality before using

fertilisers. This is done with the intention of preserving the soil quality in

the long term. An officer complained that not many of the farm holders

make use of this facility, which is provided almost free of charge. All

what the smallholders are expected to do is to submit the sample soil to

the officer. It takes one or two days to obtain the results, as there is no

facility to test the soil scientifically within the locality. Practicability of

this process is beyond the comprehension and awareness of the users.

The small holders tend to ignore this advice and make use of fertilisers

without the required soil test. It often ruins the nutrition of soil.

The fertiliser varieties are T-1130 or U-709 and Dolomite. The

application of fertiliser is as follows for most of the small holders in Sri

Lanka.

The tea growers complain that the productivity goes down when

they follow the advice of the officials. The reason given by the

smallholders was not convincing: The small holders expect the officer to

help them by other means such as getting loans from the state banks.

They do not seem to bother about the long-term consequences of

frequent application of fertiliser. Some even said that they had no

knowledge about this problem. However, the small tea holders need to be

13 Tea Commissioner Division, (October, 1996), Tea Land Survey of Tea Smallholdings and State Owned Estates in Sri Lanka 1994/95, Sri Lanka, p. 15.

185

made aware of the importance of soil testing and proper application of

fertilisers.

Table 6.5

Application of Fertiliser in the Small Tea Holdings (an average per hectare)

Amount Frequency of Price per Variety applied application Annual expenses (In Kg) (per year) kilogram

Urea 600 2 Rs.8.00 Rs.4750.00 (15.50} (9300.00}

T-1130 300 2 Rs.9.50 Rs.2425.00 jl8.80) (4740.00)

Dolomite 125 1 Rs.1.80 (3.60) Rs.280.00 (450.00) Total Expenses Rs.7425.00

(14,490.00) Source: Field Survey. Note: Value in Sri Lankan rupees given in parentheses.

A large number of small tea holders in Nilgiri district of South India

were utilising compost supplemented with urea and dolomite. The

frequency of fertiliser use differs among the small tea holders in Nilgiri.

The small tea holders with less than a quarter hectare of land use more

compost manure while others use the combination of the compost and

urea. The respondents whom we met do not have any record on the

application of fertiliser.

The present study reveals that the smallholdings of tea in both the

countries are largely growing high yielding varieties and can produce high

level of end product. The production process shows that the small

holdings of tea regularly require labour for not only plucking of tea leaves

but also for maintaining their tea gardens. Therefore, the study firmly

confrrms that the intensive use of inputs has led to substantial increase

in output and employment opportunities in the smallholdings of tea in

India and Sri Lanka.

6.4 Availability of Labour

This section mainly focuses on the availability of labour force in the

sample households and the nature of involvement of hired labour in the

small holdings of tea sector in Nilgiri and TRLE in Sri Lanka. The total

186

number of persons covered in the sample is 371 consisting of 178

persons from Nilgiri in South India and 193 persons from TRLE in Sri /

Lanka respectively. The average family size of the sample is 5.56 in Nilgiri

and 5.22 in TRLE. The profile of the tea labour population is given in

Table 6.6.

Table 6.6

Profile of the Sample Household Population in Small Tea Holdings

Age Nilgiri TRLE Total Category

Male Female Male Female 0-5 8 (10.26) 9 (9.89) 7 (7.53) 8 (7.34) 32 (8.63) 6-10 11 (14.10) 11 {12.09) 13 (13.98) 16 (14.68) 51 (13.75) 11-14 11(14.10) 14 (15.38) 14 (15.05) 16 (14.68) 55 (14.82) 15-30 22 (28.21) 23 (25.27) 25 (26.88) 29 (26.61) 99 (26.68) 31-55 21 (26.92) 24 (26.32) 24 (25.81) 26 (23.85) 95(25.611 56-70 05 (6.41) 08 (8.79) 7 (7.53) 10 (9.17) 30 (8.09) 71 & - 2 (2.26) 3 (3.22) 4 (3.67) 09 (2.42) above Total 78 91 93 109 371

(100.00) (100.00) (100.00) _(100.00) (100.00) Source: Field Survey. Note: Figures in parentheses denote percentage.

The age group of 15 years and above (up to 70 years) is included in

the labour force, and they (the age categories 15-30, 31-55 and 56-70

clubbed together) constitute 60.38 per cent (224) of the total population

of the sample. Unlike large-scale tea estates, the members of age group of

56 years and above (10.51 per cent) in the sample of smallholdings of tea

are also directly or indirectly involved in the tea estate work. The total

number of persons in such category is 10.51 per cent of the sample

population. The children below 6 to 14 years of age constitute 28.57 per

cent and most of them are school going children. The group of people

aged above 71 years constitutes 2.42 per cent of the sample population

~nd they comprise largely of women. One more aspect observed in the

distribution of infants (0-5 years) is that the new generation in the offing

is less in the sample population of TRLE in Sri Lanka (7 per cent)

compared to that in Nilgiri where it is around 10 per cent, perhaps owing

to active family planning measures existing in Sri Lanka. All age

187

categories in the labour force are not involved in jobs. Table 6.7 gives the

numbers of tea workers, outside workers and the unemployed in the /

sample.

Table 6.7

Distribution of Labour and their Occupation in th 1 h h ld e samp.e ouse o s

Region Family Outside Unemployed Total labour* Workers Labour force

Nilgiri 85 13 5 103 South India (82.52) (12.62) J4.86) 1100.00) TRLE 61 42 18 121 Sri Lanka (50.41) (34.71) (14.88) (100.00) Total 146 55 23 224

(65.18) 124.55) (10.27) (100.00) Source: Field Survey. Note: *excludes the category of school going children but includes

persons above 55 years and still engaged in jobs. Figures in the parentheses are percentage shares.

100

Distribution of Labour in Small Holdings of Tea (in Percentage)

Family Labour Outside Workers Unemplyed

~ Nilgri ~ TRLE

Figure 6:B

The Table 6.7 and figure 6:B explains that the entire labour force in

the sample households is not directly employed in their own small tea

holdings in these countries. Among them 65.18 per cent workers are

engaged in tea estate jobs. In Nilgiri, 82.52 per cent of the workers were

doing their tea estate work, while in TRLE in Sri Lanka only 50.41 per

cent did this work. So it is clear that there is a distinct variation between

188

these two regions as far as involvement of family labour in their own plot

of tea is concerned. It is clear that the owners of small tea holdings in Sri /

Lanka involve labour other than the family labour.

As far as the distribution of unemployed persons m the two

regions is concemed the TRLE recorded the highest rate which was 14.88

per cent, whereas Nilgiri recorded a low rate of unemployment which was

4.26 per cent in the sample. The unemployment rate in the sample

households in Sri Lanka is higher than the national rate. The

unemployment rate in Sri Lanka was 8. 9 per cent in 1999 which slightly

declined to 7.6 per cent in 2000.14 Most of the unemployed in the sample

were in the age group of 15 to 25 years, majority of them being the

children of the tea estate owners with secondary level of education. Some

in this age category were also graduates and were looking for jobs other

than tea estate jobs. The unemployed in the sample households in Nilgiri

were comparatively fewer than in TRLE in Sri Lanka. Most of them were

children of Badaga families and had completed secondary levels of

education and were looking for better jobs in the outskirts of the estates.

6.5 Labour Utilisation

The distribution of land 1s also a major factor, which determines the

utilisation of different categories of labour in the sector. For instance,

persons who have less than one hectare of land generally depend on

family labour. The category that has more than one hectare employs

hired ·labour along with family labour. The category with higher acreage

wholly depends on hired labour. The distribution of sample households

employing different categories of labour is given in Table 6.8.

14 Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Annual report 2002, Colombo, p. 164.

189

Table 6.8

Holdings Depending on Different Categories of a our1n e ampJe Lb •thS 1/

Nilgiri in South India TRLE in Sri Lanka s:: 0 't:$ "0 '.;::1

§ "0 5 >.~ § "0 5 ~ >.~ cU 't:$ ~ u Q) :::s :;:: :::s ~ 't:!;:s :;:::::S ~ tP >.Vo ~ 0 ~~ .1-J >,Vo Q) 0

~.8 .1-J

cU ·~ :;:.::: .~ ..0 ..... ..0 0 :;:: .~ .0 .!:: .0 0

~:tj :t cU E-< ~:tj :tj r,z.j E-< Q) cU ~ r.z.~ ~- r.z. r.z. ~0

Less than 02 - 04 06 04 03 02 09 0.25 0.25 to less 11 - - 11 03 07 10 than 0.5 0.5 to less 08 - - 08 02 04 06 than 1 1 to less 03 - - 03 - 09 09 than 2 2 to less - 02 - 02 - - 00 than 4 4 to less - 01 - 01 - 01 01 than 10 10 and - 01 - 01 - 02 02 above Total 25 04 03 32 09 26 02 37

Percentage 78.13 12.50 9.37 100.00 24.32 70.27 5.41 100.00 distribution Source: Field Survey

6.5.1 Family and Hired Labour

Size of individual holdings is the determining factor in the choice of

labour force. According to Table 6.8 the households solely depending on

family labour were 9.37 per cent in Nilgiri and 5.41 per cent in TRLE. The

small tea holdings, up to of 0.25 hectares, used adult family members for

all the plucking of tea leaves, which is done only four to five times in a

month. In a few cases the elderly persons and children also participated

in this work, particularly in Nilgiri. An average of 50 to 60 kilograms of

tea leaves can be plucked from a well-maintained VP tea plot of 0.25

hectares in a week (every six or seven days cycle).

A considerable number of families having 20 perches of land also

come under the category of less than 0.25 hectare in TRLE of Sri

190

Lanka. 15 Approximately 15 kilograms of green leaves can be harvested in

a well-maintained 20 perches plot in a given week in Sri Lanka and the

total/ production of green leaves is around 20 to 30 kilograms of green

leaves per month. This is entirely different in the case of Nilgiri. The

families who have only '1200 tea bushes' mostly cultivate old variety of

tea bushes (Seedling Tea), which are poorly maintained. Ten to fifteen

kilograms of tea leaves can be plucked in a month's cycle from this

category of bushes in Nilgiri.

As far as the income of small holders is concerned, those in TRLE

are in the position to sell their total production at the rate of Indian

Rs.l2.05 to Rs.13.25 (Sri Lanka Rs.23.50 to Rs.26.50) per kg. Those who

have 20 perches and pluck 60 kilograms of 'green leaves' obtain a net

income of around Rs.600 per month (Rs.1200 Sri Lankan rupees),

whereas a harvest of around 15 kilograms per month in Nilgiri can only

be sold at Rs.75 (Indian rupees) on the basis of existing price of Rs.5 to 7

per kilogram.

Moreover, the use of family labour for cultivation depends on a

multitude of factors such as size of the family, its age structure, sex

composition, level of education of the family members, etc.

The farm holders have diversified the earning sources in TRLE in

Sri Lanka. They engage in a range of activities to supplement the income.

The tree crops like coconut, arecanut, jack fruit and spices like pepper

and cloves are grown in their field, and this gives substantial income to

them. But this is not the case in Nilgiri. The soil conditions and climate

are not suitable for such crops in Nilgiri. Therefore, the family members

of small tea holders with one cent of tea land in Nilgiri generally seek

outside jobs for their survival in addition to tending to their own tea

farms.

Thus, low levels of production, low income from this production

and no supplementary income from the tea land are the major problems

of the Nilgiri farmers, unlike their counterparts in Sri Lanka. Moreover,

15 One perch is equivalent to 272.42 square feet and 43587.20 square feet is one hectare.

191

the small holdings of tea with less than 0.25 hectares (1200 tea bushes)

do not accommodate the hired labour in any substantial scale in Nilgiri. /

The distribution of family labour supplemented by hired labour is

influenced by a complex set of factors. According to Table 6.8, the

combination of family cum hired labour constitutes 78.13 per cent in

Nilgiri and it is only 24.32 per cent for smallholdings of tea in TRLE in Sri

Lanka. In this category the family members along with hired labour do

the plucking of tea .leaves. Hired labour is also widely used for the

application of fertilisers and pruning, which is considered as a skilled job

to be done by trained· males. This tendency is found in both the

countries. It should be noted that the involvement of family labour is

confined to estates with less than one hectare of tea land in Sri Lanka

and up to 2 hectares in the Nilgiri.

6.5.2 Hired Labour

The available data tends to indicate that most of the small holdings rely,

to a significant extent, on hired lab~ur particularly in TRLE in Sri Lanka.

The hired labour involved in TRLE is 70.27 per cent while it is only 12.50

per cent of the total labour force in small holdings in Nilgiri. The holdings

with above 2 hectares exclusively used hired labour in Nilgiri, but in case

of Sri Lanka this trend is applicable even from 0.25 hectares onwards.

The gender based division of labour follows the pattem of large-scale tea

estates. The females do the plucking of tea leaves, while the males are

involved in sundry work.

It has been observed that small tea holders show a strong

preference for male labour while hiring labour. The demand for hired

labour for weeding is determined to a significant extent by the farm-gate

price of green leaves. When farm -gate price is lower, the demand for hired

labour for weeding tends to be low. It appears that when prices of green

leaves drop, the first cut in the farm budget is made on hiring labour for

weeding. This situation is observed often in both the countries.

As we mentioned earlier, apart from the size of small tea holdings,

the engagement of family members in outside jobs is also a major reason

192

to seek hired labour. The family members of the small tea holdings, who

are engaged in outside work are willing to act only as farm managers,

particularly in Sri Lanka.

Another factor that influences the demand for hired labour is the

wage rate.l6 The relationship between the wage rate and demand for

hired labour tends to be on the basis of factors such as price variations of

green leaf in the sector. The average market price of one kilogram of

green tea leaves varied between Rs. 5 to Rs. 7 during our survey in

Nilgiri, while it varied between Rs. 12.05 to Rs. 13.25 (Indian rupees) in

TRLE in Sri Lanka.

Two types of wage rates exist in the district of Nilgiri. One is

determined on the basis of amount of tea leaves plucked by the hired

workers (piece-rate) and the other is based on the time spent in the field

by them (time-rate). The hired workers who pluck 25 to 30 kilograms of

green leaves are supposed to get a wage of Rs. 50 per day and the

workers who pluck between 8.30 a.m. and to 5.00 p.m. are given Rs. 70.

in Nilgiri. In contrast, the hired tea pluckers are paid Rs. 200 to Rs. 225

per day (six to seven hours of work from 7.30 am in general) in Sri Lanka

which is equivalent to Rs.102.50 toRs. 115.25 in Indian Rupees.

The wage rate for the hired tea workers is less when compared to

the existing wages in other sectors in the district of Nilgiri. For instance,

the workers who work in the vegetable gardens or in the construction

work are able to get Rs. 80 per day. The workers engaged in fetching

firewood get around Rs. 90 to Rs. 100 per day. The silk worm industry

( sericulture) and the horticulture plantations also pay more than Rs. 100

per day, though they recruit only trained labour for the tasks. The

workers involved in plucking of tea do not need any training. Moreover,

availability of jobs other than tea plucking is very rare. Therefore, the

opportunity in the small tea holding is the only viable employment left for

the hired workers though it is low pajd in Nilgiri.

16 The Wage Board of these countries does not determine the wage rate for the tea workers in the small tea holdings. It is determined on the basis of market forces.

193

This is not true in the case of hired workers in TRLE in Sri Lanka.

The daily wage of the small tea holdings is almost double the wage rate of /

the large-scale tea estates in Sri Lanka. As already mentioned, the

minimum daily wage for the tea workers in the large-scale tea estates is

Rs. 125 (including the allowances), while it is around Rs. 230 (115 Indian

rupees) per day along with one meal in the small tea holding sector in the

TRLE in Sri Lanka. However, a considerable number of large-scale tea

estates in the tea region of mid elevation allow the workers to move

towards small tea holdings in the country. This is not true in case of

TANTEA estate in Nilgiri of South India. Only few large-scale tea estates,

which are in the tea region of low elevation, free their labour for other

works in the outskirts of the estates.

However, the small tea holders like to get experienced labour from

the large-scale estates to do the jobs at their gardens. Therefore, the

small tea holders are prepared to pay more than the daily wage rate paid

by the large-scale tea estates to attract labour so that they cari get the

workers at the appropriate time. Therefore, the small tea holders in TRLE

are able to get sufficient number of workers for their task. However, no

such incentives are offered to the workers in Nilgiri.

It should be noted that the source of hired labour for small tea

holdings is not only from the large-scale tea estates, but also from the

resident workers from the small tea holdings which have more than 5

hectares. The small tea holders who have more than 10 acres keep 3 to 5

families as permanent labourers for their work and also allow them to

. work in other estates. Some private tea estates in TRLE engage 80 to 100

families of workers for the operations of tea and rubber cultivation. Of

course, the rubber estate workers tend to migrate to small tea holdings,

because they do not obtain regular work in the rubber plantations. The

persons who have '1200 tea bushes' of small tea holdings in Nilgiri also

use hired workers. They seek jobs in other small tea holdings, because

they do not get substantial income from their own property.

The demand for hired labour is also linked to the availability of

credit facilities and the access of the small tea holders to such facilities.

194

Often, those small holders who depend almost entirely on income from

their tea holdings tend to maximise the input of family labour. Thus, for

these farmers who do not have adequate resources of their own, credit

may be a critical constraint to seek hired labour. Most of the small tea

holders having two acres or less of land fall into this category of credit­

constrained farmers, and activities other than plucking are relatively kept

at low ebb. In general, lack of easy access to institutional credit

discourages hiring of labour, and this is true in the case of a considerable

number of small tea holdings in both the countries.

Thus, it is clear that the unavailability of substantial amount of

well paid jobs is the 'push factor', which leads the workers to take the low

paid jobs in the small tea gardens in Nilgiri, whereas, availability of

comparatively better paid jobs in the small tea holdings is the 'pull

factor', which attracts the labour from large-scale estates to the small tea

holdings in the tea region of low elevation in Sri Lanka.

Educational attainment of family members of small tea holders is

another factor which determines the recruitment of hired labour. Table

6. 9 gives the educational achievement of the small tea holders in the

sample.

Table 6.9

Educational Attainment of Labour force in rna ea 0 mgs S II T H ld"

Level of Number of Number of Education Persons in Persons in TRLE

Nilgiri Illiterates 19 (18.91) 5 {3.92) Primary 24 {23.24) 68 (56.86) Secondary 46 (44.321 42 (34.64) Tertiary 14(13.53) 6 (4.58) Total 103 (100.001 121(100.00) Source: Field Survey. Note: Figures in parentheses are

the percentage of the total number.

Total

26(11.16) 93 (39.91) 93 (39.91)

.• 21 (9.02}_ ___ 224 (100.00)

In terms of educational attainment, the significant difference that

could be observed was about the percentage of illiterates. In Nilgiri, the

illiterates constituted 18.91 per cent as against only 3.92 per cent in

TRLE in Sri Lanka. The persons, particularly the females, who were in

195

the category of illiterates largely made up the family labour. The persons

who obtained secondary education constituted 39.91 per cent of the total /

sample. Despite low literacy, the educational attainment of workers is

better in Nilgiri than in TRLE of Sri Lanka. The strength of post

secondary educated is also high in Nilgiri ( 13.53 per cent). However,

illiteracy is less in Sri Lankan sample where primary educated is found

more than double the percentage available in Nilgiri. As mentioned above

the educated persons in the family of small tea holders in both the

countries go outside the tea sector for better employment. Therefore, the

reluctance of younger generation for the manual work or petty jobs in

small tea holdings will be major future obstacle faced in these countries.

It is also worthwhile to mention that a considerable number of the

children of Nilgiri workers who studied up to secondary education seek

employment in other sectors such as garment factories in Erode,

Thirupur and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

It is 9bvious that the educated children of tea workers are aware of

potential fu~ure prospects and are able to make their choice. Given the

treatment of the society towards the working class children, they do not

like to be identified as plantation workers. Further, the parents take great

trouble in educating their children. In the absence of facilities for tertiary

education in the locality, the parents in Sri Lanka send their children to

cities like Matara and Colombo with a view to provide higher education.

The supply of hired labour is mainly from the large-scale tea

estates and there are workers residing permanently in some of the small

tea holdings with more than 5 hectares, in the case of Sri Lanka.

However, in Nilgiri the hired workers are largely from the colonies in the

vicinity of small tea holdings.

The small tea holders in TRLE who solely depend on trained

workers from the nearest large-scale tea estates complain that the labour

is sometimes not available even during slack periods because they like to

idle away for most of the time. The small holders find it extremely difficult

to recruit workers. Even the small tea holding sector cannot assure work

during the whole year. However, even though the farm holders say that

196

the wage rate is high, it is not so from the point of view of the workers. In

some cases, the workers are expected to perform other domestic duties as

well, such as plucking coconut for the farm holders.

At least three small holders in the sample from TRLE possess 5-10

families of workers for regular employment. The workers in these families

are allowed to offer their labour for the other small holders outside

normal working hours and on Sundays. This is the only reliable source of

labour for the small· holders in this region. The families are provided

basic facilities and the children are educated in the surrounding schools.

The small holders in TRLE prefer the Indian Origin Tamil labour to

Sinhalese workers. In some cases, the farmers said that they don't

entertain hired labour for plucking, as they don't trust that the hired

labour will pluck the best quality leaves which is important for fetching a

good price. They like to manage plucking on their own with the help of

the family members.

Dearth of labour was witnessed also in another arena of operation

which is lifting the green leaves. The green leaves are is collected between

3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the farmers have to be ready with the leaves when

the leaf collectors come.

In the case of Nilgiri, most of the small holders recruit hired labour

from the colonies. There are around 250 colonies each consisting of

around 300 families that supply labour for the tea sector. There is no

apparent shortage for hired labour in South India. The large-scale

plantations hold the resident labour in the estates. Some of the small

farm holders also possess resident labour in their estates. The South

Indian small holders do not face labour .'shortage due to regular supply of

labour from the adjoining villages. The Sri Lankan repatriates, se~tled in

this region, further supplement the labour market. In Sri Lanka, no such

colonies exist in the sample region except a few families that are

scattered in the region. As only a handful of families offer their labour for

the small holding sector there is a big demand for hired labour in Sri

Lanka.

197

The parents want to see their children employed in the government

sector. This has reduced the scope of expansion of the land under tea

cultivation although wealthy people acquire lot of land for various

commercial purposes. Vast areas of cultivable tea land remains unfilled.

The labour from Tamils of Indian origin faces a different problem in

TRLE. Unlike in the tea region of high elevation, they are a discriminated

minority and the small tea holders are Sinhalese. Although there is high

demand for hired labour the Tamils do not feel secure. The ethnic tension

in other parts of the country has its negative repercussions in this region

also, especially against the working Tamils.

The Indian Origin Tamils do not get equal social acceptance

although the workers have almost adopted the culture of the majority.

The ethnic polarisation is deep-rooted. Therefore, it can be concluded

that the non-economic factors largely influence the labour availability

and utilisation in our sample region in Sri Lanka.

As far as the Nilgiri is concerned, a large number of hired workers

are the repatriates of Sri Lankan Tamils residing in the colonies. The

small tea holders prefer generally the repatriates who had enough

training in the tea estates of Sri Lanka. However, a considerable number

of repatriates, eng~ged in TANTEA are unable to provide labour supply to

the small tea holders, whereas other repatriates who reside in the

colonies are the potential suppliers of hired labour for the small tea

holders in this district. Interestingly, the supply-line of hired labour for

the small tea holdings from the indigenous Indians remains active in

Nilgiri, irrespective of the availability of migrates from Sri Lanka. Though

the hired labourers have enough exposure in tea cultivation, they have ...

not been able to become owners of small tea estates. Economic mobility

in terms of ownership of small tea holdings is absent in both the

countries.

The discussion so far shows that the requirement of labour for

small tea holdings depends on the size of tea lands. The small tea

holdings with extension of less than one hectare generally manage the

tasks with both the family and hired labourers. However, the tea holdings

198

with more than one hectare need hired labour. Comparatively the

expectation of hired labour is higher in TRLE in Sri Lanka than in the

district of Nilgiri in South India. Hired labourers for small tea holdings

come largely from resident workers of the large-scale tea estates both in

Sri Lanka and Nilgiri. In addition, potential labourers also come from

small tea holdings as well. In Nilgiri, colonies neighbouring the

smallholdings also supply hired labour.

6.6 Conclusion

The small tea holdings in Sri Lanka invariably plant HYV bushes

whereas Nilgiri produces seedling tea, especially in the land category of

'1200 tea bushes' (one hundredth of an acre). The small tea holders are

also very much concerned about the protection of tea bushes.

The harvesting of green leaves from the tea bushes and selling it to

the manufacturers is the major engagement of the small tea holders. The

sample households in Nilgiri with HYV bushes harvest around 200 to 250

kilograms of green leaves from an average of one hectare in six or seven

days cycle of plucking. In TRLE in Sri Lanka it is around 300 to 325

kilograms of green leaves. Harvesting 200 kilograms of green leaves in a

seven days cycle can contribute about 2400 kilogram of processed tea per

annum. Such a harvest is not possible from seedling tea bushes. Hence

the small holdings of tea in both the countries are largely growing HYV

bushes. The production practices in the small holdings of tea require

labour regularly not only for plucking of tea leaves but also for

maintaining the tea gardens. The intensive use of inputs has led to a

substantial increase in output and employment opportunities in the

smallholdings of tea in India and Sri Lanka.

The demand of labour for small tea holdings depends on the size of

the individual farms. The small tea holdings with less than 0.25 hectares

depend largely on family labour in the Nilgiris whereas in Sri Lanka they

depend on labour other than the family labour. The unemployment rate

in the sample households in Sri Lanka is higher than the national rate.

Most of the unemployed in the sample are in the age group of 15 to 25

199

years. By and large they are children of the tea estate owners and have

completed secondary level of education. Some are also graduates and are

looking for better jops outside the tea sector.

Most of the hired labour in the Nilgiri district consists of Tamil

repatriates from Sri Lankan tea estates. These trained workers migrate

not only to the small tea holdings but also to vegetable plots. The size of

the estates and multifarious works needed on it decides the requirement

for hired labour. Hired labour rather than family labour is more prevalent

in the smallholdings of tea both in India and Sri Lanka.

200