সেউজী ধৰণী
An Essay on Role of Women in
Agriculture
Munu Devi *
Many historians believe that it was woman who first
domesticated crop plants and thereby initiated the art and science of farming.
In those primitive days, when men went out hunting in search of food, women
started gathering seeds from the native flora and began cultivating. Since then,
women have played and continue to play a key role in crop production, livestock
production, horticulture, post harvest operations, agro/ social forestry,
fisheries, etc. Various
studies have showed that the female contribution to the
overall economy is high throughout Asia and the Pacific region, particularly in
terms of labour input into agriculture. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China,
India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam have particularly high percentages
of women employed in the agricultural sector, with estimates ranging between 60
and 98 percent. Indeed, in most Asian countries the number of women employed in
agriculture as a percentage of the economically active population (EAP) is
higher than that of men. A global survey shows
that women represent a substantial share of the total agricultural labour
force, as individual food producers or as agricultural workers, and that around
two-thirds of the female labour force in developing economies is engaged in
agricultural work (FAO, 2003a).
This finding is even more significant given that data for the economically
active population in agriculture tends to exclude the unpaid work by rural
women in farm and family economies. If unpaid work were included, the figures
for female employment in agriculture would be even higher (FAO, 2003b). But it is unfortunate that
women’s roles as economic
producers—farmers as well as wage laborers—had been ignored by the planners and
policy makers. Official statistics tend not to recognize women’s contribution
to agricultural activities. Their roles in agriculture were considered mostly
as a topic for ethnographic studies of traditional societies.
Women in Agriculture in India
In
India, rural women are extensively involved in agricultural activities and form
the most important productive workforce. They are engaged in agricultural
activities in three different ways depending on the socio-economic status of
their family and regional factors. They work as: Paid Labourers, Cultivator
doing labour on their own land and Managers of certain aspects of agricultural
production by way of labour supervision and the participation in post harvest
operations. Rao,
(2006) reported that nearly 63 percent of all economically active
men are engaged in agriculture as compared to 78 per cent of women. Almost 50
percent of rural female workers are classified as agricultural labourers and
37% as cultivators. About 70 percent of farm work was performed by women. Kiran
Yadav(2009) observed that in over all farm production, women’s average
contribution is at 55% to 66% of the total labour with percentages, much higher
in certain parts of the country. The author also reported that in certain part
of the country, a pair of bullock works 1064 hours, a man 1212 hours and a
woman 3485 hours in a year on a one hectare farm, a figure that illustrates
significant contribution of women to agricultural production. The scenario of
paddy cultivation in Assam shows that apart from the land preparation, almost
all other activities such as transplanting, harvesting, winnowing, dehusking,
Table I: Share of Farm
Women in Agricultural Operations:
Activity
|
Involvement
(%)
|
Land
preparation
|
32
|
Seed
cleaning and sowing
|
80
|
Inter
cultivation activities
|
86
|
Harvesting
reaping, winnowing, drying, cleaning and storage
|
84
|
Source:
Registrar General of India, New Delhi, 2001
Table II. Types
of health hazards faced by farm women
Activities
|
Health
hazards reported(%)
|
Farm
activities
Transplanting
Harvesting
|
50
26.5
|
Post harvest
activities
Threshing
Drying
Parbolining
|
50
33
67
|
Livestock
management
Shed
cleaning
Fodder
collection
Milching
|
47
23
27.5
|
Some Obstacles in Women
Growth in Agriculture Sector:
Despite their importance to
agricultural production, women face severe handicaps. They are in fact the
largest group of land less labourers with little real security. Though the
Indian legislation permits equal right of men and women in property yet the
condition in actual sense is not so. Rural women still do not have ownership of
land and the pattas are allotted in
the name of their husbands. Due to this they cannot take independent decisions
on various agricultural aspects. Therefore efforts are needed to promote women
access to resources. Moreover, the access of women to the most crucial input “credit”
is limited since they are not land owners, the credit flow generally goes in
the name of male members i.e. owners. Credit policies of various banks and
other organizations need orientation towards women by granting them the status
of a producer.
Although women are involved in
almost all agricultural operations, yet they have inadequate technical
competency due to their limited exposure to outside world. This has compelled
them to follow the age old practices which in turn result in poor work
efficiency and drudgery. Specialized need based and skill oriented training can
build up technical competency among farm women. In this aspect, the steps taken
by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is appreciable. Although women
have many inherent capacity like high determination, sense of responsibility,
better managerial ability, yet their potential are overlooked by the planners,
scientists and the extension personnel.
Looking at the present status of
women in agriculture and their limited access to research and extension
services it is urgently needed to revamp the entire approach towards women
farmers to cater to their existing needs emphasizing the future challenges
which the country has to face in the coming years. Hence, empowerment of women
is the need of the hour, as it is the only surest way of making women as
“partners” in development and bringing them in to the mainstream of
development.
How to overcome these obstacles
Various studies have concluded that equal access to
economic opportunities and productive resources such as land, credit,
technology and market information etc – are the social-institutional obstacles
faced by women. To overcome these obstacles various measures have been
suggested by many workers. These measures may be summarized as:-
·
Recognition of labor work of working women in the rural
economy may be accounted in monetary terms.
·
More facilities should be provided to poor rural women for
land, agricultural and livestock extension services.
·
Priority must be given to women in accessing credit on soft
terms from banks and other financial institutions for setting up their
business, for buying properties, and for house building.
·
Measures should be taken to enhance women's literacy rates. A
separate education policy for women may serve the purpose.
·
Women must be involved in decision-making bodies that have
the potential to introduce structural changes. This action will bring some
changes in the gender relations in the society.
·
Women must be aware regarding their existing rights, access
to judicial relief and redress, removing discrimination through legal reforms,
and providing legal aid, assistance and counseling.
References:
FAO (2003a): Gender,
Key to Sustainability and Food Security, Plan of Action: Gender and
Development, Rome, 2003.
FAO (2003b):
Rural
Women: Key to Food Security, Gender and Population Division, FAO, 2003
Kiran Yadav (2009):
Impact of WTO on women in Agriculture in agropedia,7-12-2009.[http://agropedia.iitk.ac.in/content/impact-wto-women-agriculture]
Rao (2006): Role of Women in Agriculture: A
Micro Level Study [http://www.rcssindia.org/jgeon.htm]
______________________________________________________________
*Research Associate, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat
*Research Associate, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat
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