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开展调研，旨在助力农业企业与家庭农场构建合理的"工时"管理体系。研究于2018至2019年间，通过实地观测与问卷调查的方式，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、家庭农场以及个体菜农——各生产环节的用工需求进行了调研。研究结合用工需求量与当地薪资水平，统计得到各生产环节及各类蔬菜的用工成本。结果表明，在蔬菜全种植流程中，"残体清理""整地作畦""植株调控""番茄花生长素处理"以及"人工授粉"这几项环节的用工成本占比相对较高。江苏省三大区域间，供试蔬菜的用工需求未呈现显著差异。但受区域薪资水平差异影响，用工成本排序为苏南＞苏北＞苏中。西瓜、西兰花与细香葱的单位用工成本偏低且市场售价较高，更适合由农业企业开展种植。本研究构建了一套适用于江苏省蔬菜生产的用工需求与成本测算分析方法，该方法对其他地区亦具备参考借鉴意义。此外，本研究结果可为各类蔬菜经营主体优化用工管理提供有效数据支撑。