Women Participation in Agriculture: A Case Study of Uttar Pradesh

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KAVITA BALIYAN (b. 1981) born in a farmer's family in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. She has a brilliant academic career and obtained her M.A. and M. Phil degrees in economics from Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut. She was awarded the ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship to work on the topic "Participation and Economic Contribution of Women in Agriculture with Special Reference to Western Uttar Pradesh" at the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow. She obtained her Ph.D. Degree from the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur.

She has worked as a Senior Research Fellow in NCAP, Pusa, New Delhi and as a Research Associate in National Mission for Empowerment of Women, Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI, New Delhi. In 2013 she joined the Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow as Assistant Professor.

Dr. Kavita has published 20 research papers in various reputed journals and books. She has also presented many papers in national and international conferences and seminars. Major areas of her research interest are agricultural development and gender studies.

Women participate extensively in agricultural operations in the developing world. They perform the most tedious. and back-breaking tasks in agriculture, take care of animal husbandry and do various domestic chores. The work done women remains unpaid and unrecognized. The Census and NSS surveys do not fully capture the participation of women in work. It is in this context that the present study seeks to examine the role and participation of women belonging to the cultivating households in agriculture and allied activities. The study is based on primary data collected from 280 cultivating households through a field study in selected villages of Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar districts falling in the agriculturally progressive western region of Uttar Pradesh. The study presents information on various aspects of participation of women in different on-farm and off farm economic activities and the factors that determine women participation in work. It also seeks to measure the economic contribution of women to the household income.

The findings of the study have been presented in 11 chapters. Chapter 1 presents the objectives, research methodology and importance of the study. Chapter II contains a detailed literature review of the major studies in the area. Chapter III presents the socio-economic profile of the study area, while Chapter IV deals with the socio-economic characteristics of sample households. Chapter V deals with participation of household female members in agricultural activities. Chapter VI discusses the participation of women in animal husbandry and domestic work. Chapter VII makes an attempt to measure the economic contribution of women's work. The determinants of female participation in agriculture have been analysed in Chapter VIII.Chapter IX deals with the status and decision making power of woman related to domestic affairs, children, money matters, agricultural operations and social and cultural aspects. In Chapter X the socio-economic characteristics of women agricultural labourers and their participation in agricultural activities has been discussed. The final Chapter summaries the main findings of the study and gives suggestions for improving the condition of women.

It is hoped that the findings of the study will enhance our understanding of the role of women in agriculture and generate interest of the scholars, policy makers and NGOs in the problems faced by women in farm households and motivate them to develop a strategy for the welfare and empowerment of farm women.

Women in rural households participate in several economic activities on and off farm. In addition to looking after the household chores, they share the major part of the responsibility of taking care of domestic animals and also participate in agricultural activities. However, most of their work is unpaid and not recorded in national income data. In fact, they are most often not recorded as workers in the Census. Hence their contribution to household and national income remains unrecognized and underestimated.

The participation of farm women in agricultural activities varies across regions, castes, age groups, social classes and farm sizes. Cropping pattern and farm mechanization also influence female participation in agriculture. Social customs and cultural practices as well as education levels also affect the extent of participation of women in agricultural activities. Typically, the participation of women in agriculture is higher among backward and lower castes, in regions specializing in rice cultivation, among small farmers, middle aged women and illiterate women.

Few studies are available in India which examine the extent of participation of women in agriculture and their contribution to income from agriculture and animal husbandry. The study by Dr. Kavita is an important effort in this direction. The study is based on a field survey of 240 cultivating households in the Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat districts of western Uttar Pradesh, an agriculturally developed region. Official data record a very low participation of women in work in this region. In contrast, Dr. Kavita shows that household women contribute a significant part of labour on the family farm.

The study shows a distinct gender division in farm related activities. Women are mostly engaged in weeding, harvesting, cleaning and processing of food. Activities related to ploughing, irrigation and fertilizer application are male dominated activities.

**Contents and Sample Pages**