Abstract:
This paper looks at the income diversification patterns of the
plantation sector households. A study in selected plantation areas shows
that plantation households diversify more into non-plantation, non agricultural sector. However, it was also revealed that the workers continue
to remain as unskilled workers even outside the plantation or return to the
plantations to be listed as workers. While those earning more from non plantation sector demonstrate increased confidence in their ability to face
varying household economic situations, others lack employment related
skills to effectively engage in the non-plantation and non-agricultural sector.
The paper recommends that interventions to transform plantation labor into
skilled and semi-skilled workforce will augment the process of diversifying
their income and increase resilience to varying household economic
conditions.
