Hi, welcome to this hall on the characteristics of labour in agriculture.
“Discover the meaning, characteristics, types, and importance of labour in agriculture. Learn how this vital factor of production drives growth, innovation, and social development.”
Table Of Contents
- Definition of labour
- Features or characteristics of labour
- Forms of labour available to the farmer
- Importance of labour in Agricultural Enterprise
- Revision Questions
DEFINITION OF LABOUR
Definition: Labour include all forms of productive human efforts put into or utilize in production. It also refers to man’s mental and physical exertions generated in the process of production.
Features or Characteristics of Labour
Labour has several defining characteristics that set it apart from other factors of production:
- Labour is also one of the factors of production.
- Human effort can be intellectual or mental, manual or physical, provided it is directed towards the production of goods and services.
- Labour is mobile and has feelings and cannot be used anyhow.
- The unit of labour is business hours of Man-days.
- The reward of labour is wages and salary.
- It converts natural resources into usable products.
- It is variable asset.
- Its size and quality influence production or outputs.
- Its output can be improved by training.
- Labor exist in three kinds are;
Three types of Labour
Labour can be classified into several types based on skills, nature of work, and employment status:
- Skilled labour (White collar jobs): Highly educated and technical to provide the expertise for farm operations.
- Semi-skilled labour: Averagely educated to perform simple Farm operation.
- Unskilled labour (Brown collar jobs): These are illiterates that provide manual labour for farm operations.
Forms of labour available to the farmer include:
1. Family Labour
- This refers to the labour provided by the man, his wife and children, (i.e the Farmers family).
- It involves the head of the family as the operator/manager. Visit my blog on functions of farm manager here
- He organizes the family labor by himself.
- He assigns job to each member of the family.
- He is a major source of labour available to the farmer and it is very cheap.
2. Personal Labour
- This is the labour provided by the owner of the farm.
3. Communal Labour
- This is the kind of labour provided by the neighbours and the community.
4. Hired or Paid Labour
- This is the kind of labour that is paid either daily or they received salary at the end of the month.
- It is common where a farmer has large farm size.
- Hired labour is engaged either in a permanent or time related basis.
- The Farmer pays for each Labour
- It is not readily available; hence expensive.
Importance of Labour in Agricultural Enterprise
- It uses other factors of production.
- Intellectual labour ensures high agricultural production.
- Skilled labour provides the expertise required for major farm operations.
- Labour ensures the success of any agricultural Enterprise.
- It provides the services required to achieve the various stages of agricultural production.
Revision Questions
- Define Labour in Agriculture production
- What are the features or characteristics of labour in Agricultural?
- List the forms of labour available to the farmer
- Outline any five importance of labour in agricultural Enterprise.