has become so acute in the study area that the paddy farmers have to provide refreshments, travel allowances and other perks to the workers in addition to the prevailing wages. Some farmers in the study area cited their experience of giving money for toddy to the male workers to ensure their next days work during the harvest season. If the yield in a particular field turns to be poor, very often labourers refuse to harvest that crop. There are instances in which farmers had to burn their crop due to the reluctance of farm labourers to reap the harvest on account of poor productivity. The inordinate delay in the completion of harvesting operations results in wastages and increases the cost of land preparation for the next crop due to the excessive growth of weeds. A major portion of the human labour requirements in paddy cultivation is for harvesting the crop. Until few decades back the supply of local labour during the
