Farm wages have risen due to MGNREGA: Harish Rawat

NEW DELHI: Farm wages have increased in recent years due to the rising demand for labour in rural areas under the MGNREGA scheme, the government said today.

"Due to the rising demand for labour in rural areas in the context of employment created under MGNREGA, the general wage level in rural areas has increased in recent years," Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

As a result, the cost of production of farm good in general have increased, he said.

The scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) promises 100 days of work in a year to one adult member of every rural family.

Asked about migration of farmers to big cities, the minister said there are no reports of large-scale migration of farmers to urban areas from any of major states in the country in last two years.

He also added there was no major adverse impact of migration on agriculture production due to shortage of labour.

However, to reduce distress migration from rural areas, the government is implementing the rural job guarantee scheme MGNREGA, he added.

Total foodgrains production has risen to 252.56 million tonnes in 2011-12 from 244.78 million tonnes last year.