Bhojpur, October 28
Farmers in Bhojpur are struggling to find workers to harvest and store rice as young people increasingly leave villages for foreign employment and cities. A shortage of agricultural labour has made it difficult for farmers to bring in their ripe paddy on time.
Farmers who have worked hard throughout the year to grow rice are now having to search for workers during the harvest season. The departure of young people from villages for foreign employment and other jobs has added to their difficulties.
Local farmers say the shortage of young workers has created problems because harvesting rice, tying it into bundles, carrying it from fields to threshing floors, threshing, winnowing and transporting the grain home require physically strong labourers.
Bal Bahadur Rai, a farmer from Temkemaiyung Rural Municipality-6, said the migration of young people for foreign employment and the concentration of settlement in urban areas had reduced the availability of young workers in villages. While sufficient labour was once readily available locally, farmers now struggle to find workers during the rice harvest, he said.
“The number of young people farming in villages is declining. Once the rice ripens, physically strong workers are needed to cut it, tie it into bundles, carry it to the threshing floor, thresh it and bring it home. But with so few young people in the village, these tasks have become difficult,” he said.
Jay Bahadur Thapa, a local farmer from Lungin in Hatuwagadhi Rural Municipality-2, said farming increasingly depended on women and elderly people. With young workers absent from villages, family members have been compelled to work together to manage farming activities, he said.
Farmers say the physically demanding nature of agricultural work makes it particularly difficult for women and elderly people. Due to the labour shortage, family members have to work harder, and completing the tasks takes more time.
Although villagers traditionally helped one another with farming, the declining number of young workers has made it increasingly difficult to complete agricultural work through the melapat system of collective labour. Farmers say that neighbours and relatives once took turns harvesting and storing rice, but the shortage of available workers has made the process more challenging.
Local farmers say local governments should make greater efforts to retain young people in villages and encourage them to adopt modern farming methods.
