Factors of Production: Labour – JSS1 Agricultural Science Lesson Note (Third Term)

Labour includes all forms of productive human effort put into or used in production. It also refers to a person’s mental and physical exertions in the process of production.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• define labour;
• state the features of labour;
• describe skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour;
• name the forms of labour available to the farmer;
• state the importance of labour in agricultural enterprise.

What are the features of labour?

1. Labour is one of the factors of production.
2. Human effort can be intellectual (mental) or manual (physical), provided it is directed towards the production of goods and services.
3. Labour is mobile and has feelings, so it cannot be used anyhow.
4. Labour exists in three kinds (see below).
5. The unit of labour is man-hours or man-days.
6. The reward for labour is wages and salaries.
7. It converts natural resources into usable products.
8. It is a variable asset.
9. Its size and quality influence production or output.
10. Its output can be improved by training.

What are the kinds of labour?

• Skilled labour (white collar jobs): highly educated and technical workers who provide the expertise for farm operations.
• Semi-skilled labour: averagely educated workers who perform simple farm operations.
• Unskilled labour (brown collar jobs): workers with little or no formal education.

What forms of labour are available to the farmer?

Family labour

1. This is the labour provided by the farmer’s family, that is, the man, his wife and children.
2. The head of the family is the operator or manager.
3. He organises the family labour himself.
4. He assigns a job to each member of the family.
5. It is the major source of labour available to the farmer and it is very cheap.

Personal labour

This is the labour provided by the owner of the farm.

Communal labour

This is the labour provided by neighbours and the community.

Hired or paid labour

1. This is labour that is paid either daily or by a salary at the end of the month.
2. It is common where a farmer has a large farm.
3. Hired labour is engaged on either a permanent or a time-rated basis.
4. The farmer pays for each worker hired.
5. It is not readily available, so it is expensive.

What is the importance of labour in agricultural enterprise?

1. It uses the other factors of production.
2. Intellectual labour ensures high agricultural production.
3. Skilled labour provides the expertise required for major farm operations.
4. Labour ensures the success of any agricultural enterprise.
5. It provides the services required to achieve the various stages of agricultural production.

Evaluation

1. What is labour?
2. State five features of labour.
3. What is skilled labour?

Assignment

1. List the four forms of labour available to the farmer.
2. State three importance of labour in agricultural enterprise.