Wages in grain, losses in the market: Migrant workers in Bihar’s Tal region face double economic blow

By Bina Kumari

Lakhisarai. Bihar: The sun has barely risen, yet work is already underway in Bihar’s Tal region. Workers step out of thatched huts with sickles in hand, cloth wrapped tight around their heads, and walk towards the fields. Small children trail alongside, some remain in the huts, others spend the day at the margins of the farms as their parents labour.

By dusk, after hours of cutting and bundling crops, wages are handed out, not in cash, but in grain.

Most migrant workers receive 2 to 3 kilograms of pulses—gram, lentils or peas—measured out in “ban”, or bundles. To convert this into money, they must sell it in local markets, where they get barely Rs 50 to 60 per kilogram, far below the prevailing price of Rs 80 to 90.

This creates a double loss: they are paid in kind instead of cash, and then forced to sell that payment at below-market rates, villagers told 101Reporters. 

“After working all day, we get grain, but when we go to sell it, we don't get the right price,” said Champa Devi, a migrant worker from Purnia.

Each rabi season, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 migrant workers arrive in the Tal region for the harvest. The figures are based on assessments by local farmers and block-level officials, as these workers remain outside any formal labour registry.

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The bowl of pulses

Located east of Patna, the Tal region is one of Bihar's major agricultural zones, with a large part falling across Patna and Lakhisarai districts. Covering nearly one lakh hectares, it is known as the “bowl of pulses”. Flooded during the monsoon and layered with fertile clayey soil, it becomes a crucial zone for cultivating rabi crops like pulses and wheat once the waters recede. This seasonal cycle restricts mechanisation and drives a heavy reliance on manual labour, especially during harvest. 

“This Tal region is known as the bowl of pulses because a large quantity of pulses is grown here,” said Raghvendra Kumar, a local farmer. “Every year, we bring workers from Jharkhand and different parts of Bihar for harvesting, because our crops cannot be harvested extensively using machines.”

Every year during the harvest season, thousands of workers migrate to the region for this work. According to migrant workers and farmers, many come from tribal communities in Jharkhand, particularly from Dumka, Godda, and Basukinath, while others arrive from districts such as Purnia and Katihar in Bihar. They stay for about a month, sometimes longer depending on the scale of work and the size of the farmer's landholding, and live in temporary huts set up along the fields spread across fields near 15 to 20 villages.

Life in the fields 

These settlements are basic and precarious. The huts, made of straw and plastic sheets, are set up in the middle of fields with no electricity, no access to clean drinking water, and no toilets. Workers are forced to defecate in the open, and healthcare facilities are entirely absent, according to migrant workers and farmers including Santosh Kumar and Raghvendra Kumar.

Chinta Devi, who has come from Godda in Jharkhand, describes what daily life looks like: “We stay in the fields for a month. It is very difficult because there is no electricity or proper water arrangement. Some landowners have handpumps, from where we fetch water. We go inside our tents before it gets dark because there is no electricity. We cook both morning and night meals in advance, because work starts at 2:30-3 am and there's no time to cook later. We bring lanterns and torches to manage somehow.”

According to local accounts, this situation extends across the Tal belt from Mokama to Barahiya in Lakhisarai district. 

Old payment system

The system through which workers are paid has remained largely unchanged over the years.

"We have been coming for years during the harvest season," said Champa Devi. "We stay for about a month and work. Instead of wages, we get 'ban', bundles of grain. For every 12 bundles, we get one bundle, which yields about 2-3 kilos of grain."

For many workers, this arrangement offers little room for negotiation.

"I have been coming for 7-8 years," says Jeera Devi, also from Purnia. "We get paid in grain, not money, even if we ask for cash, we won't get it. Even the grain is not given properly by the landowners. We wake up between 2 and 3 am and work till 2-3 pm in the heat. We work continuously for 12 hours. From one bundle, we get barely 2-3 kilos of grain. Our only reason for coming here is that our children get to eat dal. Back home, we grow maize, we cannot afford to buy pulses or vegetables."

For workers like her, the grain they receive is both wage and sustenance. Some is taken back home. The rest is sold and often at a loss.

Limited avenues

Phool Kumari Devi, from Dumka in Jharkhand, noted that this system differs from other places where she has worked.

"We have been coming for 10 years. We go to Bihar and Bardhaman for work. In Bihar, we are paid in grain, but in other places we get cash. We come here mainly for pulses. The farmers bring us here and take full responsibility. If we fall sick, they provide medicine, because as you can see, there are only fields all around, we cannot go anywhere even if we want to. There is no transport nearby. We stayed like this for about a month. When we leave, we take some grain with us and sell the rest cheaply to local traders, because we cannot carry all of it back."

The migration is usually seasonal, about a month, though it varies depending on the farmer and the size of the harvest. For the rest of the year, workers depend on daily wage labour in their villages. Many men migrate further to other states in search of work. Workers say that employment under MGNREGA is limited, which forces them to seek work elsewhere.

The double loss

Once the grain is in the hands of workers, a second layer of loss takes effect.

"Local moneylenders or traders buy their grain, and that too at low prices, taking advantage of their situation," said Raghvendra Kumar.

Sanjeev Kumar, a local trader, explained the mechanics: "The workers come entirely at the farmer's responsibility. There is no arrangement from the government for either farmers or workers. It is true that workers take some grain home and sell the rest. When the grain is fresh, its price is lower, so we also buy it at slightly lower rates to make a small margin. For example, if gram sells at Rs 70-80 per kilo in the market, we buy it at Rs 60-65. Some benefit comes to us, and some to the workers."

Meghan Mahto, head of Gangasagar panchayat, said that there is little wrong with the arrangement: "What is wrong with giving grain instead of wages?"

Lakshmi Devi, head of Pali panchayat, said the issues can be addressed administratively: "Whatever problems arise, we will take them to the BDO and try to resolve them."

Farmers, meanwhile, point to their own constraints.

"I have been farming for 35 years, and I have always seen wages being paid in grain," says Santosh Kumar. "But now the situation is such that workers do not want to come. We do not have sufficient cash, so we pay in grain and also provide rice for food. More than 50,000 workers come to this region, what is the government doing for them? I have never seen any official come or provide any facility."

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Government response

Officials said the system persists partly because the workers remain outside formal records.

Prateek Kumar, Block Development Officer of Barahiya block in Lakhisarai, said, "The workers who come here are brought by farmers. It is the responsibility of the labour department to register them, whether local or from other states, and ensure they receive benefits. If they are being paid in grain instead of wages, that is completely wrong. We are not aware of this. If such a report comes, we will take action."

Aniket Kumar, Labour Enforcement Officer in the same block, said registration of workers causes a barrier. "We know that workers come from outside, but they are not registered. Only if they are registered will they benefit. Under welfare schemes, compensation is provided,  for example, Rs 4 lakh in case of accidents, but only if they are registered. They can also register online."

This article was originally published in 101 Reporters under Creative Common license. Read the original article.

(GP)

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