Saturday 9 July 2016

Need for Effective Human Resource Management

Have somebody heard about human resource management in agriculture???, if no there are implication of human resource management in agriculture as agriculture is a labor intensive business, so it requires labors and managing labor requires lot of understanding of social factors which plays important role.
Human resource Management in Agriculture will include the following:


  • Procurement of labor
  • Utilization of labor and duration of employment
  • Period leave and absenteeism
  • Nature and extent of indiscipline
  • The determination of the laborers and trends in wage rates.
  • The application of incentives and provision of other benefits.
  • The nature and Redressal of grievances
  • Agricultural labor unions.
  • Conflicts between cultivators and laborers
  • Consultation and co-operation between cultivators and laborers.






 Indian agriculture is still unorganized as far its operation is concerned; we know the manpower plays an important part in operation. Agriculture distribution channel involve high number intermediaries in between which leads to escalation of price of the agriculture produce. Indian agriculture industry is the largest vegetable growers in the world but with waste at 30% due to bad handling and infrastructure problem.

Majority of the problem in Indian agriculture industry will be solved with the effective and productive workforce working, if the proper rules and regulation are made regarding wages, conflict management and above points also.

One of the reasons which lack in HRM activities in Agriculture is due to less number organized player and resistant to change from the farmers and bigger unorganized player. The human resource in Indian agriculture originally consists of only cultivators. But due to historical, economic and social factor, labor class has emerged in course of time. Thus human resource in agriculture has come to consist of cultivators (owner/lessees of land) and labor.







Need for Effective Human Resource Management

It is an established fact that Human Resource Management will have a profound impact on agricultural productivity—productivity per hectare and productivity per worker employed. The yield per hectare is below the world average in all the crops. Human resource management with all its firepower which showing phenomenal success in other sector will definitely lead to increase in productivity and resolve inequality & conflicts






If you are becoming an  Agriculture HR? –must understand Mental analyzing skills:

 Agriculture HR should learn skills in order to be truly effective: the ability to focus, listen, observe, analyze, and process the verbal and non-verbal information that has been conveyed from farm workers.
I promise you that if you are diligent, disciplined, and committed to perfecting all these skills to the best of your abilities, your mind will become sharper, more alert, aware, and attuned to everything and everyone around you.

A workout for the brain

I’m about to give you an overview of techniques that might not necessarily be mainstream or conventional, but they are essential tools that, as a agriculture HR, you should learn and develop: super memory, body language, and neuro-linguistic programming / hypnosis.
Listen: a certain degree of skepticism is a very good thing. You should be smart and discerning about the information given to you, and not just accept something without question. On the other hand, too much skepticism or mistrust can keep you from learning, acquiring new knowledge, and boosting your mind’s power. I can tell you with certainty that all the techniques mentioned above are genuine, and some have even been used scientifically. So as you start learning about these concepts, keep an open and flexible mind – stretching it as far as you can.









Don’t forget to remember!
 a agriculture HR should be like a good detective, who has sharp observation skills, enabling him to “register,” analyze, and process all the agri farms where you have recruited farm workers. To accomplish these tasks, the detective must rely on super memory of all the verbal and non-verbal information that is conveyed from various farm workers calls and farmowners report. But if the detective has poor memory and can’t remember some farms, he is not going to be very good at his job.
The good news is that everyone has a potential for limitless and infinite memory – we just have to learn to maximize it. 

Do you speak body language?
No? Well, you should start getting fluent in it because body language speaks louder than words to understand farm workers character. Yes, really!
While words can mislead us, non-verbal communication through facial expressions, gestures, posture, speech patterns, vocal tendencies and eye movements doesn’t lie. In fact, we unconsciously send out thousands of these signals each day.
If you ask me, the understanding of this non-verbal mode of communication is very important, but very few of us actually make an effort to learn to it. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a linguist to interpret the meaning behind body language or, for that matter, control your own non-verbal signals that you send out to others.

What’s on your mind?
“Mind reading”  – doesn’t it sound mysterious and fascinating at the same time?
conjures up images of psychics and seers, but in reality it has a lot to do with human psychology. I promised to reveal to you all the keys to becoming a Agriculture HR, and I will!
You just have to be patient, open-minded, and eager to learn and practice each one of them.


Have you ever experienced this situation: you studied long and hard, but when you actually sit for an exam, everything you’ve learned has mysteriously evaporated? Or maybe you have forgotten someone’s name and you stand in front of that person tongue-tied and embarrassed? You suffer from a condition called “Teflon brain” – nothing sticks to it!
Okay, I admit that there is no such thing as a “Teflon brain,” but you get the idea: memory lapses can be very frustrating and distressing.

Why is this happening?
you may not have consciously registered the farm information when you first visited it. Or maybe you did register it but have not retained it.
Everyone, and not just elephants, can benefit from super memory because it is so useful in the daily life – no matter who you are and what you do. People who have excellent memory have better chances of becoming more successful in their academic or career pursuits.
For an agriculture HR it is also an essential skill.   agriculture HR should have the ability to focus, observe, analyze and process the clues he collects. But what good would all that work be if he cannot retain this information, commit it to memory, and recall it later?
If you have poor memory, you are certainly not alone. Millions of otherwise healthy people around the world are forgetful on occasion, some more so than others. But the good news is that you CAN boost your memory with the right techniques



How To Read Farm Worker’s Mind:    Hypnotic Mind Reading Techniques 
“I know what you’re thinking.”
Imagine being able to say that to another person…
… and then proving it to them.
Once you know the secrets behind Hypnotic Mind Reading, that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do.
Look inside their head.
Get glimpses of work experience  from their past.
Find out how they’re really feeling right now.
Dazzle them with bits of information they’d never expect you to know.
Reveal “inside knowledge” about their personal life they thought was completely private.
Create the illusion of being able to get deep inside worker’s mind – and do it so convincingly that it becomes a reality.





 Universal Experiences
Also called the 7 Ages of Man, this HMR relies on experiences everybody has at different stages throughout their lives. While they aren’t written in stone, they can give you an idea about what people are going through based on their ages.
  • Age 11-18 – People start dreaming about their independence and are working towards establishing their own identity.
  • Age 18-22 – Dreams become reality. They leave home and experiment with different lifestyles. Trying to prove they can make it in an adult world.
  • Age 22-30 – People go in one of two directions: nest building or adventure. Seeking commitment or avoiding it. Career is often a major focus.
  • Age 30-35 – People re-evaluate what they’ve done with their lives. Nest builders question their commitments. Others question their career path. Adventurers think about settling down.
  • Age 35-45 – This is where midlife crises occur. People either settle down and have the kids they’ve been avoiding, or break free and look for new adventures. Life’s slipping by and time’s running out, so they want to make the most of what’s left.
  • Age 45-55 – Careers are coming to an end. Everything depends on how the midlife crisis was dealt with. If dealt with well, they’ll feel reborn. If not, they’ll feel disappointed and hopeless.
  • Age 55-75 – The end of working life. People have the time, freedom, and resources to travel more with fewer responsibilities. On the down side, health becomes a growing concern, friends die, and loneliness can be a real issue.






 

How to Manage farm workers?



To prepare the agricultural workforce to meet the new challenges we need a more educated and skilled workforce competent enough to understand both the technical and the social development at global level.


Countries’ historic and social construction have great influence on the development of agricultural education and training and the way the phenomenon of globalization is understood and experienced as important in the agricultural sector. 

 

 

  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is making all out efforts to launch a second GREEN REVOLUTION in the state by increasing the infrastructure facilities in the agriculture sector besides distributing the farm inputs and farm equipments at the subsidised rate to the farming community


Ms Jayalaithaa is also attempting to put forth Tamil Nadu as number one state in the country in all sectors through her prestigious Vision 2023 Scheme.
Government of Tamil Nadu is according highest priority to
agriculture sector and the department is taking all
efforts to usher in Second Green Revolution so as to
improve the farm productivity and substantially increase the
income of the farmers.
Agriculture today is plagued with many problems
such as pressure on cultivable land due to fragmentation
and diversion of productive agricultural lands to nonagricultural
purposes, high level of spatial and temporal
variability in rain, dwindling ground water resources,
shortage of farm workers to carry out agriculture operations,
poor adoption of improved crop management practices and
location specific cropping system and weak post harvesting
and marketing linkages.

 General Farm Labours- responsibilities
 

"GWT-Agricultural Labour Research&Consultancy is helping to fulfill
Dream of  our Hon’ble Chief Minister.

Farm & Labour managment Consultancy
• Assessing existing employment
• Analysing present performance
• Determining your farm goals
• Examining labour productivity                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Employment and labour management

• Managing existing labour
• Recruiting and employing staff
• Getting off to a good start
• Management styles
• Dealing with conflict
• Communication
• Improving leadership and teamwork

Making employing easier

• Understanding your legal obligations
• Other options and alternatives
• Improving existing work practicesGeneral farm labourers work for farmers on crop farms producing fruits and vegetables, or on livestock and specialty farms that raise animals for the meat and poultry markets.






Work on the farm involves helping with the many routine jobs of farming. Planting, cultivating and harvesting crops; using, repairing and maintaining farm machinery and buildings; and raising livestock and poultry, is hard, physical work.

On crop farms, general laborers work at jobs such as digging by hand or by machine, picking rocks from the fields, clearing land, ploughing, planting by hand or by tractor, transplanting, weeding, pruning, hoeing, fertilizing, watering, harvesting, storing and packing produce for market delivery.

Working with livestock involves making sure the animals are well cared for. Daily jobs can include feeding and looking after animals, milking, cleaning stables, barns, barnyards and pens and preparing animals for shipping.

Farm labourers work long hard hours. They must be strong physically, enjoy working outdoors, able to follow instructions and work independently, and have common sense in good measure in order to work safely."GWT-Agricultural Labour Research&Consultancy is helping to fulfill
Dream of  our Hon’ble Chief Minister.



Farm & Labour managment Consultancy
• Assessing existing employment
• Analysing present performance
• Determining your farm goals
• Examining labour productivity

Employment and labour management

• Managing existing labour
• Recruiting and employing staff
• Getting off to a good start
• Management styles
• Dealing with conflict
• Communication
• Improving leadership and teamwork

Making employing easier

• Understanding your legal obligations
• Other options and alternatives
Improving existing work practices
Today the International Labour Organisation estimates a minimum 11.7 million are in forced labour in the Asia-Pacific region, the majority of whom are in debt bondage.

Bonded agricultural labour - or debt bondage - is probably the least known form of slavery today, and yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people. A person becomes a bonded labourer when their labour is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan.

The person is then tricked or trapped into working for very little or no pay, often for seven days a week. The value of their work is invariably greater than the original sum of money borrowed.

Bonded labourers are forced to work to repay debts their employer says they owe, and they are not allowed to work for anyone else.....
Various forms of force are used to make sure they stay. In many cases they are kept under surveillance, sometimes under lock and key.

Poverty and threats of violence force many bonded labourers to stay with their masters, since they would not otherwise be able to eat or have a place to sleep
models of Labour management:

1 A controlling style of management –

where the manager takes close control of
staff, regularly issues instructions on what is to be done, and expects staff to
report back when the job is done. The manager then issues the next instruction.
They are not keen to delegate responsibility to staff, because that means
relinquishing control and may lead to lower standards of work. They may have a basic belief that people only work because they have to, and therefore they need to be constantly driven and told what to do. If you turn your back on the staff,they might slacken off or make mistakes. This style of manager generally makes all the decisions at work and expects his/her staff to implement them. He/she becomes frustrated if the job is not done exactly as they would have done it themselves.

2 A coaching style of management –

where the manager sees his/her role as a
guide or coach, to show staff what to do and how to do it, and then get out of their way and let them do it. They may have a basic belief that most people enjoy working, they want to be good at what they do, and they gain satisfaction from achievement at work. Managers of this style like to give the people they manage the responsibility for their own actions, allow them to show initiative, contribute ideas and make decisions, and will give their staff encouragement, guidance when needed and a pat on the back when they are doing well. They are not too concerned with how the job is done, so long as the desired outcome is achieved.

These two styles of management are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and in reality,most managers probably operate somewhere in between. Also different situations may require different management styles.
Employees generally respond in different ways, according to the different styles of management.
How to DEAL WITH LABOUR CONFLICT
Conflicts occur in every workplace. Many issues may lead to conflict if they are not dealt with effectively.
Conflicts are usually caused by:
• Poor communication and misunderstandings
• Accidents happening or mistakes being made
• People’s basic needs not being met
• People not living up to the expectations others have of them

People behave differently in a conflict situation. These behaviors may include:

• Ignoring, avoiding, walking away, not wanting to talk
• Anger, violence, confrontation, looking for an argument or fight
• Getting upset, crying, sulking, apologising
• Becoming ill, stressed, tired, not wanting to go to work.


So how do you deal with Labour conflict?


You can ignore it or avoid it and hope it goes away. This may work with some minor conflicts. However, most conflicts, even seemingly small ones, if not dealt with will
fester away under the surface, usually to flare up at a later date. Conflicts will affect work performance.

It is much better to try to resolve the conflict by talking and negotiation, and to get to a point where all Labours involved can agree on the outcome.
DETERMINING YOUR FARM &LABOUR MANAGMENT GOALS

Do you have a vision for the future for yourself, your family and your farm business?If so, what is it?

Setting goals helps you to understand where you are heading. What are your goals for the next ten years, or five years, or one year?

Make a list of goals for the business, and goals for the family.
Try and get everyone who is closely involved with the farm to agree on the goals. A
plan on how to meet these goals can then be prepared, and reviewed regularly.

It is important to recognise that each family member will probably have different personal goals and aspirations. Younger generations may not want the same things as their parents, and this needs to be discussed and acknowledged.

Some labour management goals to consider may be:

• Is the farm business going to grow, and if so, will you need more people to do the work?
• Will there be family members entering the business in the near future, and if so,what arrangements are being made to allow for this?
• Do you hope to have someone else milking the cows and doing the farm work so you can take on more of a management role?
• Are all the people involved with the business satisfied with their role in the scheme of things?

Answering these questions, and writing down goals for the people in the business,may help determine what steps need to be taken towards achieving the goals.

• Are there opportunities for off farm employment for some family members?
• What other goals do you have for labour management?
• Can you make any proposed changes using your existing labour, or will you need more help?
• Will the changes lead to improved labour productivity, ie. more litres per labour unit or lower labour costs?
• Do you intend to expand your herd numbers, and if so, how quickly?
Farm Management comprises of two words i.e. Farm and labour Management.
 
Farm means a piece of land where crops and livestock enterprises are taken up under common management and has specific boundaries.

Farm is a socio economic unit which not only provides income to a farmer but
also a source of happiness to him and his family. It is also a decision making unit where the farmer has many alternatives for his resources in the production of crops and livestock enterprises and their disposal. Hence, the farms are the micro units of vital importance which represents centre of dynamic decision making in regard to guiding the farm resources in the production process......

The welfare of a nation depends upon happenings in the organisation in each
farm unit. It is clear that agricultural production of a country is the sum of the contributions of the individual farm units and the development of agriculture means the development of millions of individual farms....

Labour Management is the art of getting work done out of others working in a group.,

Management is the process of designing and maintaining an environment in
which individuals working together in groups accomplish selected aims.
Management is the key ingredient.

The manager makes or breaks a business.

Management takes on a new dimension and importance in agriculture which is
mechanised, uses many technological innovations, and operates with large amounts of borrowed capital.

The prosperity of any country depends upon the prosperity of farmers, which
in turn depends upon the rational allocation of resources among various uses and adoption improved technology. Human race depends more on farm products for their existence than anything else since food, clothing – the prime necessaries are products of farming industry. Even for industrial prosperity, farming industry forms the basic infrastructure.

Thus the study farm management has got prime importance in any
economy particularly on agrarian economy.
Production Records

Enterprise Budgets (Crop Budgets): Projects costs and returns over a production period including direct costs (seed, chemicals, fertilizer, crop insurance, fuel, repairs, hired labor, irrigation, etc.), indirect costs (marketing overhead, depreciation, investment and land taxes), returns to management and labor; and yield records including both quantity and quality.

Resources Flow Budgets: Similar to cash flow in concept, each limiting resource should have a flow budget that reflects sources and uses over time. Examples of limited resources include labor, machinery (by function—seeding, cultivating harvesting, etc.).

Financial Records

Income Statement: Reports the amount of profit the business generates on an annual basis. An accrual statement provides a better measure of the firm’s performance because it considers changes in inventories, rather than cash transactions.

Balance Sheet: Summarizes the values of the firm’s owned assets and liabilities. The difference between the two totals is the owner’s equity (net worth).

Cash Flow Budget: Reports the sources and uses of the business’ cash resources reflecting both the change in cash, and the timing of when the cash was spent or received.

“Sweet Sixteen” Measures: Liquidity (current ratio, working capital) Solvency (debt/asset ratio, equity/asset ratio, leverage ratio) Profitability (rate of return on farm assets, rate of return on farm equity, net farm income) Financial Efficiency (asset turnover ratio, operating profit margin, operating expense ratio, depreciation expense ratio, interest expense ratio, net farm income from operations ratio) Repayment Capacity (term debt and capital lease coverage ratio, capital replacement and term debt repayment margin).
Family Living: A complete listing of family living expenses to include sources of off-farm income and cash withdrawals from the farm to meet living expenses. In-kind contributions from the farm operation to the family should be included.

Ownership/Personal Records
Asset Inventory: A complete listing of all assets controlled by the business including ownership type and/or control arrangements including leases and terms of agreement. For each asset an estimation of its productive capacity, and its opportunity cost.

Ownership Arrangements: Listing of all partnership, landlord/tenant, resource sharing (machinery, labor, etc.) agreements explaining how each owner/party is compensated and what the responsibilities and authorities of each are.
Estate Plan: Describes the exit/entry and retirement plans of the business owners including all transfer instruments (will, trusts, insurance, annuities, buy-sell agreements, etc.), and documenting all property ownership. Also should include instructions regarding health, disability, and other personal matters.

Statement of Goals: A description of business objectives covering both short and long term horizons. Personal goals relating to the business should be listed for each “stakeholder” in the farm with alternative plans to reconcile competing goals.

management style can affect Labour performance?

Some challenges you may face include:
• Some labours are used to the control image and want to be told what to do and when to do it.
• The relatively small pool of available labour can limit the quality of employees to choose from. This is a widespread problem for the dairy industry and has a lot to do with the image of dairy farming.
• It takes considerable time and effort to improve people management skills.
• Getting people to work as a team rather than a number of individuals will take
time, and needs trust, respect and commitment to be built up between all people
involved.
• Setting goals can be a threat to some and a challenge to others. Some people may
feel confronted by this approach at first, and will need to be moved ahead slowly.
• Treating each person as an asset, not an expense, will change the way you think about training and giving staff the opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Good labour want to be rewarded for their efforts, and want to see a way to get ahead in life.

Consider the following questions:

Yes Sometimes No
Does the farm have effective leadership?
Do you need to improve your skills in
labour management?
Are the people on the farm working as a team?
• Do you try to meet the workplace
needs of your labours?
• Do you think your labours
are interested in the business?
How can you, as a manager provide a job and a workplace that meets the needs of
your labours, as well as the needs of the business?


your labours, as well as the needs of the business?



Farm biosecurity brings together a range of practices that aim to keep livestock and crops free of disease, pests and weeds.

Keeping diseases, pests and weeds out is important because they can:
• reduce on-farm productivity
• affect farm incomes
• affect animal welfare
• reduce the value of farming land
• close export markets or reduce export prices – with a flow on effect to domestic producers.


Crop, nursery, and greenhouse farmworkers and laborers do numerous tasks related to growing and harvesting grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other crops. They plant and seed, prune, irrigate, harvest, and pack & load .

Farmworkers also apply pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to crops. They repair fences and some farm equipment.

Nursery and greenhouse workers prepare land or greenhouse beds for growing horticultural products, such as trees, plants, flowers, and sod. They also plant, water, prune, weed, and spray the plants. They may cut, roll, and stack sod; stake trees; tie, wrap, and pack plants to fill orders; and dig up or move field-grown shrubs and trees.

Farm and animal farmworkers care for live animals, including cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, poultry, finfish, or shellfish. These animals are usually raised to supply meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, or honey.

These farmworkers may feed, herd, brand, weigh, and load animals. They also keep records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides.
Many workers clean and maintain animal housing areas every day. On dairy farms, animal farmworkers operate milking machines.

Agricultural equipment operators use a variety of farm equipment to plow, sow seeds, and maintain and harvest crops. They may use tractors, fertilizer spreaders, balers, combines, threshers, and trucks. These workers also operate machines to harvest and treat crops, such as conveyor belts, loading machines, separators, cleaners, and dryers. Workers may make adjustments and minor repairs to equipment.

Animal breeders use their knowledge of genetics and animal science to select and breed animals that will produce offspring with desired traits and characteristics. For example, they breed chickens that lay more eggs, pigs that produce leaner meat, and sheep with more desirable wool. Other animal breeders breed and raise cats, dogs, and other household pets.
To know which animals to breed and when to breed them, animal breeders keep detailed records. Breeders note animals’ health, size and weight, and the amount and quality of the product they produce. Animal breeders also track the traits of animals’ offspring.

We just Trying to improve Labour qualities:

Listening skills.

Agricultural workers need to work well with others. Because they take instructions from farmers and other agricultural managers, effective listening is critical.

Manual dexterity.
Agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery/dairy work

Physical stamina.
Agricultural workers need to be able to perform laborious tasks repeatedly.

Physical strength.

Agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops.

Technical skills.
Agricultural workers must be able to competently operate complex farm machinery. They also occasionally do routine maintenance on the machinery


The Purpose of Discplinary Procedures?
The purpose of a disciplinary code and procedure is to regulate standards of conduct and incapacity of Labours within a farm or dairy farm.

The aim of discipline is to correct unacceptable behaviour and adopt a progressive approach in the workplace. This also creates certainty and consistency in the application of discipline.

Disciplinary action can take a number of forms, depending on the
seriousness of the offence and whether the employee has breached the particular rule before. The following forms of discipline can be used (in order of severity):
• Verbal warning;
• Written warning;
• Final written warning;
• Suspension without pay (for a limited period);
• Demotion, as an alternative to dismissal only; or
• Dismissal.



   

Agricultural Labour discipline is your response to problem behaviors and misconduct. No matter how carefully you structure the management on your farm there are inevitable dilemmas and predicaments with labours.

How you react, impulsively or with preplanning, may prevent future confrontations, difficulties and perhaps, even legal action.

Commercial Dairy Farming lifts the working environment for the labours.
training;
tools and equipment;
work clothing;

The working time will be restricted to day time in a Commercial Dairy Farm.

It has been estimated that on an average one person can look after all activities of 10 milking animals along with their followers

Since the farm implements advanced technologies and systems the working of farm will be more of a system oriented.

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