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Abstract:
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The first part of the study has focused on the trends in area, production
and productivity comparing the state’s performance with of national level
performance. Also an attempt was made to understand the trends in
commodity price over the years especially in the post liberalization period
from the early 1990s. Plantation commodities occupy an important share in
the country’s export basket and thereby earning foreign exchange to the
national exchequer. Taking into consideration the competitive dimension of
natural rubber, cardamom and pepper in the export market was analyzed to
see penetration of these commodities in the world market.The second part of the study has tried to understand the plantation
workers livelihood by understand the employment generation in the sector.
Livelihood assets of plantation workers were analyzed to understand the nature of ownership of various assets. Understanding the poor quality and
ownership of various livelihood assets and their relative deprivation the study
also tried to understand the income-expenditure patterns and the nature of
indebtedness among workers and the factors responsible for deprivation and
thereby social exclusion.Area, Production and productivity trends of rubber, pepper and
cardamom show a mixed picture. Area, Production trends are impacted
greatly by the commodity price of the plantation crops.High correlation exists
between commodity price and area and production trends of plantation crops
in the state.In terms of Natural Rubber, Kerala experienced a steady growth over
the years in terms of area production and productivity as the price of rubber
has increasedIn terms of black pepper, the state witnessed a deceleration in growth.In the case of cardamom the area of cultivation declined whereas
production increasedProductivity of natural rubber, pepper and cardamom has increased
substantially over the yearsEmployment pattern in rubber and spices sub-sector has been analyzed
by looking in to the commodity prices so as to see the changes in
employment pattern over the years. The study has helped to understand that
commodity price and employment generation in plantations are interconnected
to such an extent that a fall in the commodity price have greater reverberations
on the employment pattern in plantations.Livelihood analysis both in the small and large holdings show that
workers belonging to rubber (large and small rubber) plantations have shown
better possession of livelihood assets when compared to spices plantation
workers as 16.2 percent of the spices sub-sector workers claimed about
ownership of house which is considered to be an important and primary
livelihood asset.In the case of natural assets like accessibility, availability and duration
of water for drinking and other household purposes, the situation of workers
in spices plantation still remain poor as around 80 percent of workers
depending on public well public taps and canals as source of drinking water.Evaluating financial assets also give clear indication that the road to
secure financial assets still remains a distant dream for the workers in
plantation sectorEvaluating income and expenditure trends pinpoints to the fact that
disparity in terms of income exist among the plantation workersWhile observing the employment though wage levels have improved
because of improvement in commodity price of plantation crops, significant
improvements are not visible in their livelihood and they remain excluded
compared to other sections of the society. |