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Abstract
The study on dynamics of labour demand in Punjab agriculture has revealed that between 1985-86 and
2006-07, the per-hectare labour use has declined by about 23 per cent; more so, in the case of dominant
crops like wheat and paddy that have experienced large-scale mechanization. Wheat and paddy had
together accounted for about 52 per cent of the gross cropped area in 1985-86, which further increased to
73 per cent in 2006-07. However, increase in labour use in cotton cultivation has been only marginal. The
positive effect of agricultural growth on labour use has got neutralized due to the significant displacement
of human labour by machines and also due to rising wage rates. The elasticity of labour use in agriculture
has fallen drastically during the past two decades indicating little potential for absorption of additional
labour in agriculture.