Role of farm women in Indian Agriculture

K.VenkateshaMSc (Agri Extn) 1

“In order to awaken the people, it is the woman who have to be awakened. Once she is on move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves”

Pandit Jawaharalal Nehru

2

According to Swaminathan,

“Some historians believe that it was woman who first

domesticated crop plants and thereby initiated the art and

science of farming. While men went out hunting in search of

food, women started gathering seeds from the native flora and

began cultivating those of interest from the point of view of

food, feed, fodder, fibre and fuel.”

3

Objectives of the seminar

To know the status of women

To assess the role of women in agriculture and allied activities

4

Status of women in

worldwide Women and Poverty

70 % of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty are women

Women as Workers

Women do more than

67% of the hours of work done in the world

Earn only 10% of the world’s income

And own only 1% of the world’s property

The value of unremunerated work was estimated at about $16 billion, from which $11 billion represents the invisible contribution of women

5

Cont…

Women are paid 30-40% less than men for comparable work on an average.

60-80% of the food in most developing countries is produced by women.

Women hold between 10-20% managerial and administrative jobs.

Women make up less than 5% of the world’s heads of state.

6

† Census 2001, women - 48.26 % of the total population of India. Among the total population

† literacy rate -54.16%

† Rural women literacy rate -31.6%

† Urban women literacy rate-54.01%

† Female share of non-agricultural wage employment is only 17%

† Participation of women in the workforce is only 13.9% in the urban sector and 29.9% in the rural sector

Status of women in India

7

Cont…….

Women’s wage rates are, on an average

only 75 % of men’s wage rates

constitute only 25% of the family income

In no Indian State women and men earn equal wages in agriculture.

Women occupy

only 9% of parliamentary seats

less than 4% seats in High Courts and Supreme Court

less than 3% administrators and managers are women.

8

Source: ESCAP ,2001

Literacy rates of male and female in 2001(%)

9

Distribution of women workers in India

Year Total FemalePopulationMillion

Cultivators(%) AgriculturalLabourers (%)

Industry andService (%)

1951 173,543 45.3 31.3 23.3

1961 212,467 55.7 23.9 20.4

1971 263,900 29.6 50.5 19.90

1981 321.357 33.2 46.2 20.6

1991 402,813 34.5 43.6 21.9

2001 494 million 36.5 43.5 20.0

Source : Registrar General of India, New Delhi, 200110

Women supervising the agricultural operations performed by the labourers

11

Source: Percentage of the respondents’ relationship to the farm work as per the research.

www.worldmapper.org

Women – Contribution and Status

Women contribute to two-thirds of the world’s work hours, produce 50 per cent of the world’s food supplies

Women work in fields, take care of families and manage household

Despite the services rendered by women in the family and work place, they make up for nearly 70 per cent of the world’s poor and more than 65 per cent of the illiterates

Share of Farm Women in Agricultural Operations

Activity Involvement (percentage )

Land preparation 32

Sowing and cleaning 80

Intercultural activities 86

Harvesting –reaping, winnowing, drying, cleaning and storage

84

14

Time and Energy Distribution by Rural Women

Activities Duration Hours/day

Energy K.cal

Percentage

Domestic activities 7.55 903 40.5

Agriculture allied activities

7.00 283 39.69

Sleep 6.50 283 12.76

Rest and recreation 2.15 155 6.97

Total 23.20 2255 100.0

Joshi (1999)

15

Why women in agriculture?

In order to eradicating poverty

To ensure food security

To increase their stake in agriculture

To increase economic contribution

Ownership in land , livestock, etc.

16

Importance of women in agriculture

Woman is the moulder and builder of any nation’s destiny.

They play a significant role in any economy.

They are regarded as the backbone of the rural scene.

Most of the women perform various types of work for their livelihood and agriculture is considered as the biggest unorganized sector where large number of rural women take part actively.

17

Multi-Dimensional Role of Women

(i) Agriculture :Sowing,transplanting,weeding,irrigation fertilizer application, plant protection, harvesting, winnowing, storing etc.

(ii) Domestic: Cooking, child rearing, water collection, fuel wood gathering, household maintenance.

(iii) Allied Activities: Cattle management, fodder collection milking etc.

18

Cont…

(iv) Horticulture: vegetable production, flower production, fruit production.

(v)Sericulture: silk worm rearing, cocoon production.

19

Tasks of women in agriculTure

20

Women: The Major Work Force in Agriculture

Women at Work

Pesticide Spray Wheat harvest

Women's participation in the labour force

Women's roles in farming systems

Women in biological diversity

Women in the cash crop sector

Women in the post-harvest sector

Employment and enterprises of women

Heading households and household production

23

Tasks of women in Agriculture

Problems in women participation are

1.Some of the farm women may inhibited to participate .

2.Most of the women were willing to take up jobs, though they remained unemployed.

3.New jobs require a different kind of skills .

4.As wage-earning agriculture labourers, women suffer other kind of disadvantages also.

24

Cont..5.While men attended farmer’s camps to learn about the use of

new implements, fertilizers, pesticide and crop rotation,etc.

6.Constraints on time and mobility by women’s dual domestic and agricultural roles .

7.Inefficient transfer of agricultural knowledge from husband to wife.

8.Lack of incentives to increase productivity .

25

Suggestions to over come the above problems

The women in rural area should be educated .

To promote rural development programmes .

A good and democratic leadership should be created at the grass roots level.

Women’s clubs and other organizations should be set up in the village.

26

Cont…Several meetings and training of village women should be conducted.

The training should be able to create awareness, generate interest, motivate learning, impart knowledge, change attitude and generate skills.

27

Risks / work stress factors

Physical Stress / Risk of injury

Risk / Stress due to Vehicle / Machinery

Environmental Risks / Stress

28

Invisibility of Women’s Work

Non recognition of Women’s role in decision making.

Historical and Complex Causes reinforced by social, cultural, political and religious practices and beliefs.

No recognition of women in institutional work.

29

Recommendation

Correct the statistical invisibility of women’s work through preparation of an account that should include in detail the work that women undertake.

Policies and funds allocation need to take cognizance of this, and address women’s needs.

30

Cont…Adequate attention is given to the educational process through which women engage with the institutions in an informed and empowered way.

Agricultural education be made gender sensitive and research, development, extension and services be engendered to give due recognition to the multiple role played by women agriculturists.

31

Burden of family planningDangerous machinery Unsafe electrical wiring and appliancesLivestock-transmitted diseasesExposure to toxic pesticidesReproductive hazards Stress Ergonomic adversariesData gathered thus far point out that women with at least a secondary level education eventually give birth to one third to one half as many children as women with no formal education

Health & safety issues of women in Agriculture

Evolution of PolicyGender mainstreaming started from the VI Five Year Plan

when ‘opportunities for independent employment and income’ for women was recognized as a necessary condition for raising social status of women.

Plan Focus

6th Five Year Plan Shift from Welfare to Developmental Issues

7th Five Year Plan Raising Economic and Social Status of Women

8th Five Year Plan Increased Emphasis on Economic Activities

9th Five Year Plan From Development to Empowerment

10th Five Year Plan From Women Alone to Gender Mainstreaming

11th Five Year plan Propose to Move Towards a Holistic Approach33

Women contribution to agriculture

Responsible for household food and nutrition security.

90% of the hoeing and weeding in food production.

80% of the work on food storage and transport.

More than 90% of post harvest management including food processing, providing water and energy.

More than 60% of harvesting and marketing.

34