Yesterday there was some talk on CH about the rising food prices for rice etc. on a thread about shortage of farm labor at harvest time.

Just to shed more light on the topic and give due credit to farmers, for monetary return to them and just plain appreciation and respect for what they do in the field, the following is a small piece of information on two difficult farming jobs.

(1)    Planting of rice.  This is usually done manually during summer monsoon (rainy) season in high heat and humidity which makes the work extremely uncomfortable. The field is muddy and full of water so that the rice seedlings can be planted easily at proper distances and quickly. There also can be intermittent rain soaking everything wet including workers’ clothes.  The person doing the planting usually is barefoot (easy to walk and work in mud that way)  and has to bend while doing the work which can be tiring and hurts the back. Moreover, the muddy field usually has leeches, sharp small stones and sometimes washed away thorns which can lead to pain and problems to workers.

(2)    Harvesting the wheat. This is done during early summer, before the rains arrive, during extreme heat and under the blazing sun. The fields are quite dry and dusty. Workers have to sit on their feet, and move forward that way, to chop the stalk as close as to the ground so that they not only recover the grain but also most of the dried wheat plant (for fodder to their animals).  Moreover, the ripe wheat plant has sharp, stiff needlelike tentacles in the vicinity of grain which can hurt a worker directly or cause him a terrible itch if they break into small pieces or dust and land on his body (bare neck area usually). In addition to being a very tiring job there is constant sweating (while harvesting wheat, because of heat and sun), and the worker has to keep on drinking liquids.

Just remember the above when you are paying for a bag of rice or wheat-flour next time.

- Seva