Labour Costs on the Vegetables: A Research on the location effect on salaries in Jiangsu Province, China

ABSTRACT: In this study, the labour requirement and labour cost of common vegetable cultivation were investigated to help agricultural enterprises and family farms establishing reasonable “working hour” management systems in Jiangsu Province. The labour requirement of each step of three type of producers, agriculture enterprises, family farms, and private vegetable growers, in three regions in Jiangsu Province, named north, middle and south Jiangsu, was investigated by on-site observation or questionnaire survey during 2018 and 2019. The labour cost of each step and each vegetable was counted according to the labour requirement and the salary level. The results indicated that “residue cleaning”, “soil preparation and bedding”, “plant regulation”, “auxin treatment of tomato flowers” and “hand pollination” accounted for higher proportions of labour cost amongst the entire vegetable culture process. No significant differences in the labour requirements of the investigated vegetables were reported amongst three regions in Jiangsu Province. However, the order of labour cost is south Jiangsu > north Jiangsu > middle Jiangsu, due to the salary difference amongst three regions. Watermelon, broccoli and chive are more suitable for growing by agricultural enterprises since they have relatively low unit labour and high prices. We established a method to calculate and analyze labour requirement and cost of vegetable production in Jiangsu Province, which also may be instructive for other regions. In addition, our results provided useful data for various vegetable producers to improve their labour management.

摘要：本研究针对江苏省常见蔬菜种植的用工需求与用工成本展开调研，旨在助力农业企业与家庭农场构建合理的“工时”管理体系。2018至2019年间，研究团队通过实地观测与问卷调查，对江苏省苏北、苏中、苏南三大区域内三类经营主体（农业企业、家庭农场、个体菜农）各种植环节的用工需求进行了调研。研究结合用工需求与当地薪资水平，核算了各种植环节、各类蔬菜的用工成本。研究结果显示，清残作业、整地做畦、植株调控、番茄花生长素处理以及人工授粉在蔬菜全种植周期的用工成本中占比更高。调研范围内的各类蔬菜用工需求在江苏省三大区域间无显著差异，但由于区域薪资水平存在差异，用工成本排序为苏南＞苏北＞苏中。西瓜、西兰花与细香葱更适合由农业企业种植，因其单位用工量较低且售价较高。本研究构建了一套适用于江苏省蔬菜生产用工需求与成本的测算分析方法，该方法对其他地区亦具备参考价值；此外，本研究结果可为各类蔬菜种植主体优化用工管理提供详实的数据支撑。