CHAPTER IV WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURE

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1 CHAPTER IV WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURE M.S. Swaminathan, the famous agricultural scientist says "some historians believe that it was women 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". Women have played and continue to play a key role in the conservation of basic life supporting systems such as land, water, flora and fauna. They have protected the health of the soil through organic recyclining and promoted crop security through the maintenance of varietal diversity and genetic resistance. There fore, without the total intellectual and physical participation of women, it is not be possible to popularize alternative systems of land menagement to shifting cultivation, arrest gene and soil erosion, and promote the care of the soil and the health of economic plants and farm animals. (Prasad & Singh 1992) 1 1 Prasad & Singh Participation of Women in Agriculture Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol.XXXI, No.3, Year 1999, P

2 That women play a significant and crucial role in agricultural development and allied fields including the main crop production, livestock production, horticulture, post harvest operations, agro/ social forestry, fisheries, etc. It is a fact long taken for granted but also long ignored. The nature and extent of women's involvement in agriculture, no doubt varies greatly from region to region. Even within a region, their involvement varies widely among different ecological sub-zones, farming systems, castes, classes and stages in the family cycle. But regardless of these variations, there is hardly any activity in agricultural production, except ploughing in which women are not actively involved. In some of the farm activities like processing and storage, women predominate so strongly that men workers are numerically insignificant. (Aggarwal 2003) 2 Studies on women in agriculture conducted in India and other developing and underdeveloped countries point to the conclusion that women contribute far more to agricultural production than has generally been acknowledged. Recognition of their crucial role in agriculture should not obscure the fact that farm women continue to be concerned with their primary functions as wives, mothers and homemakers. 2 Aggarwal and Singh Women Involvement in Agricultural Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi,

3 Despite their importance to agricultural production, women face severe handicaps. They are in fact, the largest group of landless labourers with little real security in case of break-up of the family owing to death or divorce; inheritance laws and customs discriminate against them; land reform and settlement programmes usually give sole title and hence the security needed for obtaining production credits to the husband. Agricultural development programmes are usually planned by men and aimed leaving women's burdens unrelieved or even increased. The excess burden of work on women ("the double day" of the farm work plus house work) also acts as a stimulus to have meny children so that they can help out with chores from an early age. Extension workers almost exclusively aim their advice at men's activities and crops. In some regions, this bias may depress production of subsistence food crops (often women's crops) in favour of increased production of cash crops (often men's crops) in favour of increased production of cash crops (often men's crops) so that family nutrition suffers. It may not be out of place to mention here that considering their dual responsibilities within and outside the home, it would be in the fitness of things that more and more in the village training is organized for rural farm women to suit their convenience with due realization that institutional training is important in its own place. 101

4 In order that farm women get a fair deal at the hands of change agents, one of the remedial measures that needs to be undertaken is to induct a sizeable number of well trained women personnel in training and extension programmes of agricultural development agencies at all levels and more so at the grass-root level. According to 1991 census the male cultivators have increased in the country by per cent from 76.7 in 1981 to 85.6 million in The female cultivators however have increased at much faster rate of per cent from 14.8 million in 1981 to 21.5 million in The number of male agricultural labourer increased by per cent, but that of female by per cent. 74 per cent of the entire female working force is engaged in agriculture operations. About 60 per cent of agricultural operations like sowing of seeds, transportation of sapling, winnowing, storage of grain etc are handled exclusively by women, while in other jobs they share the work with men. Apart from participation in actual cultivation, women participate in various forms of processing and marketing of agricultural produce (Aggarwal 2003). 4 3 Govt. of India, Report Census, Aggarwal and Singh Women Involvement in Agricultural Discovery Publishing House, New Delhi,

5 In rural India, the prosperity of the household depends on the prosperity of agriculture and allied occupation in any particular point of time vis-a-vis the role of women in innumerable activities connected with farming, dairying, sericulture etc. But the women hands are invisible even to this day, so it is not surprising that the agricultural extension activities are mainly a male oriented pursuit. Multi-Dimensional Roles 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 etc. Mainly rural women are engaged in agricultural activities in three different ways depending on the socio-economic status of their families and regional factors. They are working as: (i) (ii) (iii) paid labourers cultivators doing work in their own farms menagers of certain aspects of agricultural production by way of labour supervision and the participation in post harvest operations. 103

6 Table 4.1 depicts the numbers of women workers engaged in agriculture as per 1981 census and 1991 census. Table Women Workers in Agriculture (Million) Nature of work No. of Workers 1981 Census 1991 Census Cultivator Agriculture Labourer Source : Govt. of India Report The participation of rural women in agriculture is increasing in spite of scientific and technological developments. The share of farmwomen in agricultural operations is shown in Table 4.2. Table Share of Farm Women in Agricultural Operations Activity Involvement (Percentage) Land preparation 32 Seed cleaning and sowing 80 Inter cultivation activities 86 Harvesting-reaping, winnowing, drying, cleaning and storage 84 Source : Govt. of India Report The Table 4.2 shows that the average times spent by farm women in household and agricultural activities. In the peak season an active farm women spends five to nine hours per day on the farm. Agriculture and allied activities almost take equal time and energy at par with domestic work. 104

7 Table Time and Energy Distribution by Rural Women Activity Duration Energy Hours kcal. Percentage Domestic activities Agriculture and allied activities Sleep Rest and Recreation Total Source : Govt. of India Report According to Joshi (1999), 5 the productivity of female labour is low. It is also very low in agriculture sector. At the price level of , in , the productivity per labour was Rs which increased to Rs and further increased to Rs in The productivity has not doubled in the last 40 years in agriculture sector whereas the mining and mineral sector productivity per labour is Rs , in menufacturing sector it is Rs , in power gas and water supply sector Rs , construction sector Rs , commerce and business Rs and in other service sector, it is Rs Thus productivity of agriculture labour is very low compared to other sectors. It is also observed that the productivity of female agriculture labour is really low compared to that of male labour. Female agricultural labourers do not enjoy any maternity leave and do not get proper rest after child birth. 5 P.S. Joshi Productivity of Female Lal Force : Agricultural situation in India, Vol:XXI, No.1, January March

8 Table Percentage distribution of Indian workers (main + marginal) according Categories of workers by sex and by sector during 2001 Category of Rural Urban Combined Worker Female Male Total Female Male Total Female Male Total Cultivators Agricultural labours Household Industry workers Other Workers All workers Total workers (main+marginal In Millions) Source : Govt. of India Report Table 4.4 provides the percentage distribution of workers in different categories in rural and urban areas during the year According to Table 4.4 about per cent women work as cultivators and 43.4 per cent as agricultural labours in rural area. Table 4.5 provides statistics about women in India according to 2001 census and 1991 census. 106

9 Table 4.5 Statistics about Women in India 1. Total Women Population (2001) million 2. Total Women Workers (2001) million 3. Total Women Main Workers (2001) million 4. Total Women Marginal Workers (2001) million 5. Total Women Owner Cultivators (2001) million 6. Total Women Agriculture Wage Workers (2001) million 7. Total Women Household Industry Workers (2001) 8.08 million 8. Total Women Other Workers (2001) million 9. Total Women in Organized Sector (1999) 4.80 million 10. Total Women in Livestock, Forestry, Fshing, Hunting, 1.32 million Plantation Orchards and other activities (1991) Source: For serial numbers 1 to 8 see Census 2001 For serial number 9 th see Tenth Five Year Plan For serial number 10 census 1991 Tables 4.6 and 4.7 give the average daily wage rates of male and female workers in June 2001 and during respectively. 107

10 Table 4.6 Average daily wage rates for agricultural and non-agricultural Occupations in India Occupation Ploughing Sowing Weeding Transplanting Harvesting Winnowing Threshing Picking Cotton Cane Crushing Source : Men and Women in India. Sex Wage Rate in June 2010 Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female - Male - Female Male Report of the Govt. of India Ministry of Fab :

11 Table Average Wage Earnings Received per Day by Rural Casual Labourers by Sex, Type of operation and Industry During Wage Received (Rs.) Type of Operation Female Male (a)menual Work in Cultivation Ploughing Sowing Transplanting Weeding Harvesting Other Cultivation activities (b) Menual Work in other activities Agricultural Activities Forestry Plantation Animal Husband Fisheries (c) Non-Menual work in cultivation (d) Non menual work in activities other than Cultivation. All Source: Govt. of India Ministry of Women and Children

12 Table 4.8 Per Thousand Distribution of Female Headed Households by Household type for each Size Class of Land Cultivated for Rural Areas in India During No. of Female Headed Household Size Self Employed in: Per 1000 Class of Land Sub Agricultural Other Sub Non- Others Total distribution cultivated Agriculture Total Labour Labour Total Agriculture of households (in hect.) and above All Source : National Sample Survey Organization, 55th round (July June 2010) 110

13 Table 4.8 shows that higher the land holding, smaller is the number of women heading the households. In fact, out of 1000 households of women cultivators 909 are headed by women having less than one hectare. According to latest UNDP 2011 report, the gender related development index of developed and developing countries where India has the rank of 1 from the list. As men migrate in search of better-paid work, women in rural India are taking over agricultural work in the villages. They face meagre wages, long hours of work, hazardous work and sexual harassment. Figures from the census show that, amongst rural women, the percentage of "marginal workers" (defined as working for less than 183 days per year) has increased significantly from 8.1 per cent in 1991 to 14.2 percent in During the same period, there 'was a sharp fall in the percentage of "main workers" (more than 183 days a year), especially male workers, coming from rural areas. The figures thus show a casualization and feminization of the workforce in rural areas, with the number of marginal women workers becoming larger and more significant, while male main workers in rural areas becoming smaller. 111

14 These changes also coincide with the period of the 1990s, when India really began to be a part of globalize economy. Some of the changes that have ensured the huge displacement of labour from agriculture are given below. A shift from subsistence farming to marketable crops irrespective of regions, changes in crop patterns showed a common trend: all the shifts resulted in a decrease in the labour required. Greater use of labour-displacing machinery. A change in land use patterns-from agriculture to urban, industrial areas., or brick kilns; and in coastal areas, to export-oriented aquaculture. All the new activities displace labour from agriculture, but create fewer jobs than they destroy. More Work, Less Pay The estimates for changes in the last 5-7 years show declines in employment ranging from 20 per cent to as much as 77 per cent. Employment in agriculture is thus available for a fewer days per year. It is therefore becoming essential for men to migrate in search of better-paid work. Women are filling this vacuum. Women are forced to accept work in agriculture in their own village under very bad conditions because they cannot migrate as easily as men. 112

15 The dependence of women's labour on family farms, especially during the peak periods of sowing and harvesting, has become very common. About 15 years ago, agricultural work was considered acceptable for poor tribal women, Even Muslim women today who were traditionally bound by rules of purdah, go out to work for wages in the fields in certain areas. Farmers, on the other hand, also seem to prefer women as agricultural workers. The farmer is faced with the increasing costs of production required for modern agriculture. He finds that he can squeeze his labour costs by using lower-paid women workers. For instance, women are preferred to men in North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) by the owners because they are docile, require lower wages and are less lazy than men. Similarly, the work of women within family-based agriculture is preferred because it is cheaper than hiring labour. Although women agricultural workers represent a big proportion of all women workers, continue to receive lower wages than men. The Ministry of Labour puts the difference at 60 per cent of men s wages, while the Indian Labour Journal showed that women received 75 per cent of men s earnings. The wage differentials prevailing in some States are given in Table

16 While earnings from agricultural work have not improved for women, modernization of agriculture has in some cases brought new kinds of problems and demend. The existence of patriarchy at all levels also intertwines with the work-related problems of women. A study on the feminization of agricultural labour in Andhra Pradesh shows that despite the increasing involvement of women in paid work, women s relative power within the family had declined. Table 4.9 Male/female Wage Rates in Indian Agriculture State Wage rate for adult Wage rate for men (Rs.) women (Rs.) Haryana North 24 Parganas, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh West Bengal (6 hours of work) (6 hours of work) Andhra Pradesh The effects of increased commercialization of agriculture are impacting on women labourers in certain more indirect ways. While consumer goods, advertisements, video parlors, television, etc. have invaded 114

17 villages; increasing seasonal migration has also exposed rural workers to more affluent areas and to cities. One of the noticeable impacts of this is an increased desire for consumer goods. Spiraling demends for dowry are seen as one of the easiest and fastest ways to meet this desire. Dowry is thus spreading to communities where it did not exist before. In tribal families, where a bride parice is in practice, the girl's family now has to buy the groom all the goods that make a fat dowry. The bride price is only a token. Mortgaging and selling of land to meet the dowry demends of the bride groom's family has become an important mechanism by which poor and marginalized farmers lose their land. A study on land rights for women in West Bengal recently found that 39.9% of the households surveyed have had to part with land or raise loans at high interest rates in order to pay dowry. In fact 79% of the families who sold land to pay for dowry were Muslim families where dowry was not a tradition. In addition, the people who were selling or mortgaging their lands for dowry were agricultural labourers and marginal farmers. Agro-chemicals have become an integral part of the development process of agriculture and the use is expected to increase menifold in India. Fertilizers too a large extent have not affected women's role adversily, but 115

18 the weedicides and herbicides have almost replaced the menual uprooting of weeds and hoeing for destroying weeds. In important crops like rice and wheat, weeding and hoeing used to employ a large number of female labour days/acre. With the introduction of chemicals to destroy weeds, women's participation has almost ceased. Thus, herbicides have affected women's employment adversily as they were the principal labour for weeding. Women from landless families do not get fodder for their animals which they used to get from farmer's field in lieu of wages or on mutual interest basis, keeping of animals on purchased fodder is difficult for poor families, thereby depriving them of the animal products and byproducts in their diet. Due to the use of agro-chemicals women are exposed to several health hazards such as gynecological infections, arthritis, intestinal and parasitic infections. Biological technologies in terms of high yielding and short duration varieties have offered better remunerations and intensification of crop production thereby increased labour absorption capacity in the agriculture sector. With the development of biotechnology there is every possibility of propagation of plant and animal species in the petridishes in laboratories 116

19 (tissue culture technology). Under these circumstances, women folk employed in raising nurseries would be left in large. Agricultural growth has not alleviated female poverty; rather it appears to have set in motion process, which in the long run could worsen the situation in meny regions of the country. Women in Decision Making in Agriculture Women s role in agricultural operations, animal husbandry and other economically productive activities is very significant. They contribute about per cent of the labour required for these activities thus playing a pivotal role in sustaining economy. The decision making process is an important segment of every household because it makes implementation of a plan or programme quite easy. In rural areas of the country, both husband and wife are jointly responsible for making decisions on matters like family obligations, specific housing charges and purchase of household articles. However, women s suggestions are not given due consideration in the decisions pertaining to agricultural sector and important family matters. It is because the majority of women are illiterate, have little time to know about the latest techniques of farming and restricted mobility due to several cultural taboos. 117

20 In an interview with female respondents, it was noticed that male members only sought their consent whereas their suggestions/objections were not taken into account. Thus it was evident that women had to play second fiddle to men in decision-making. Another study conducted in Haryana, revealed that farm women did not decide independently about any farm operation but participated in almost all the decisions and dominated only decisions more related to home sphere i.e. storage of farm produce, purchase/sale of animal and credit. The shows the decision making process of women in agriculture in Himachal Pradesh. We generally talk of women s empowerment, which can be said that women should have powers to determine their own actions, power to have an authority to make decisions and guide their destiny. This power in decision making can be acquired and exercised only if they have a thorough knowledge about the various porgrammes, plans and current issues, access to the basic human development and social policies. Generally, women have less access to information about technology by virtue of their inferior educational status and relative isolation from public life. Thus, there is a hesitation to come out and interact. At times, even the suggestions of knowledgeable rural women are ignored or are not 118

21 taken seriously because men consider it disgraceful to accept the decision of women. This is because traditionally men have been major law makers of society. Meny policies and decisions neglect women and undermine their abilities and roles. The undesired restrictions imposed by elderly people in the society on their daughters and daughters-in-law should be relaxed to facilitate their mobility in order to have easy access to the outer world. Most importantly, the women should have a penchant for selfempowerment through enhancing their knowledge and skills. Empowerment without any change in men's attitude or without their willingness will only aggravate family problems, increasing dissatisfaction and ensuring that women will continue to be at the receiving end. Government policies should be framed to provide legal support and instil confidence in women. Porgrammes should be developed exclusively for women; to build leadership skills for menaging agricultural community based development activities. Access of technology, inputs and credit have to be ensured predominantly through women extension workers. They should be trained in farm menagement skills and made capable of taking even complex decisions like shifting from subsistence farming to diversified 119

22 agriculture, withstand competition form market forces, improvement in work or farm efficiency etc. The extent of participation in the decision-making activities in house hold and agriculture related and other socio-culture affairs reflects the status of women in the family as well as society. Table shows the activities by decision makers in household related activities in Orissa. (Chaudhary 2004) Table shows that major decisions regarding purchase of every household items are taken by males. Decisions in matters of food and clothing more or less have an equal participation rate between males and females. But decisions regarding savings and investments and purchase of household assets are taken by 83.5 per cent males and 81.3 per cent females respectively. As the male members control the finance, this creates an adverse impact on women's access to household assets and other household activities. The major decision makers in agricultural activities are men even though women perform more in agricultural related activities than men. Even they need not be consulted at the time of purchase of animals or change of crop. 120

23 On an average, a women spends 14 hours a day working in and outside the home. During harvesting season she spends about 16 hours a day. The question arises why women's role in the economy is not recognized and is given such an inferior position? Table 4.10 Decision Making Patterns of Rural Families Activity Decision Making Pattern (Per cent) Male Share Female Share Joint by Male and Female Adoption of HYVs Use of fertilizers/plant protection measures Purchase of farm machinery Purchase and sale of animals Sale of milk and milk products Procurement of credit Marketing farm produce Investment of added profit Source : Bala et al., Women s Role in Decision Making Indian journal of Agricultural Marketing, Vol.XXI, No.1-3, 2003, p

24 Table 4.11 Men and Women Involved in Different Activities in Agricultural Sector Type of Activities Activities by Women Activities by Men Cooking (grinding, cutting preparing food etc - Household Activities Sweeping, washing Clothes& utensils - Fetching water - Collecting water - Making cow dung-cakes - Child Care Feeding children, taking care of children - Agricultural Activities Digging Ploughing, digging - Irrigation of fields Harvesting crops Harvesting crops Sowing Sowing Weeding - Cutting grass from fields - Husking/winnowing - Vegetable plucking Vegetable plucking - Fertilizing Selling Selling Vegetables, groundnuts, cereals, Allied Activities sometimes selling fuel wood Occasionally Feeding cattle, milking & Bathing the cattle sometimes Cattle feeding, milking, bathing cattle Cleaning of cattle shed Cleaning of cattle shed sometimes Source: Sarmishtha Chaudhry,

25 Table 4.12 Involvement of Women in Decision Making (Household Related Activities) Decision-Making Items Percentage Involvement Male Female Male + Female Food Clothing Education of Children Health Marriage of Children Savings & Investment Purchase of Assets Source : Sarmishta Chaudhary, seminar paper on International conference on Agriculture, Calcutta, West Bengal,

26 Table 4.13 Decision - Making in Agricultural Activities Decision-Making Items Percentage Involvement Male Female Male + Female Purchase of Fertilizer Purchase of Animals Purchase of Agricultural Equipments Changing of Crops Selling of Crops/Cereals/Vegetables Source: Sarmishtha Chardhry The poor participation of women in agriculture sector is also confirmed in a study conducted by Senthil (1991) in Himachal Pradesh, where women s opinions are not normally considered and their opinions are also not considered in the matters related to participation in developmental activities. The social role as a decision maker in the production and the distribution of products and their participation and representations in village developmental activities has not changed over the time. In all such social relations men continue to dominate the same and there exists no party of decision making in gender relations. Moreover, women s exclusion from public life keep them out of the decision making process related to various rural developmental activities 124

27 such as the utilization of loans and subsidies under the various Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) schemes. Women also fail to get loans sanctioned for agricultural development or various schemes under Rural Employment Programme (REP). Women have no representation in the Agricultural Marketing Committees and other similar bodies. The governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGO) also prefer men for these purposes. Thus, the ideology of segregation and seclusion of women helps in keeping them out of the various decision making processes concerning the various facets of rural development. It is for this reason that to find that whereas women s labour is utilized for both productive as well as non-productive work, the various sources of power lie in the hands of men only. Women in Plantation - Faulty Policy of Liberalization In India, plantation sector occupies a unique position due to its agro industrial features and large number of women in employment. Women are more preferred by the plantation authority because they can be employed on low wages and are more committed. Also they can be easily convinced for the unauthorized deduction from wages, as well as delayed wages because of their subservient nature and low level of education and awareness. 125

28 The special feature of plantation is that it not only employs the men members, but also women and children above the age of 12 years and women have an important role to play. The reasons for this are (a) Plantation work is only a special kind of agriculture off work, familiar to Indian women, the vast majority of them live in rural areas. (b) Facilities have been given to make workers to settle down on or in the vicinity of the plantation and to take their families and wives with them. (c) Under the old system, labour contract was based on the principle of utilizing every able bodied persons of the family and fixing the rates accordingly. (d) Meny women had to seek employment in order to balance the family budget, although the contract system has been abolished. (e) As the entire labour force is residential, the women can take up employment without causing serious disruptions to the family. The social and demographic profile of the workers in plantation sector such as rubber indicates certain interesting patterns. The sex wise segregation of the workers reveals stinking skewed distribution of work force with lower participation of women. However a probing into the poor participation of women in the occupation revealed the invisible participation of women. More than two thirds of the cases quite often, the male tapers are 126

29 found supported by female members and even children of the family. The male tapers who are the dejure workers get considerable assistance from their family members for collecting the latex, transportation of latex and preparation of rubber sheets. Usually the male tapers start tapping in the pre early hours of the day and the women and children are found joining the work with a lag of two-three hours. Here though the work is carried out collectively, the contribution of women and children remain invisible as they are neither recognized nor remunerated as assistants. The lower absorption of women labour in rubber holdings has been cited as a major issue in the development discourse of the State, with the commendable increase in the area under the crop at the cost of female labour intensive crops such as paddy. This argument was one of the factors that tempted the Rubber Board to choose a logo that illustrated female tapers at work. The lower participation of women during the initial hours of tapping is mainly due to their engagement in domestic chores such as preparing breakfast and lunch, sending the younger ones to schools, cattle care and so on carried out by women members, before joining along with some food as helpers during later hours in the morning. 127

30 In the tea gardens the female permenent workers generally do the plucking of leaves. The other works like maintenance of plantation, pruning and spraying are done by male workers. During the peak season minor girls from the labour families particularly women and children from neighbouring villages are employed for plucking of leaves. India is the fourth largest producer of natural rubber in the world after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia and at the same time is the fourth largest consumer after USA, Japan and South Korea. Rubber cultivation in India had been traditionally confined to the narrow belt extending from Kanyakumari District of Tamilnadu to West of Western Ghats. Within this zone, Kerala assumes considerable significance with 86 per cent of the area and about 95 per cent of rubber production. Within Kerala, Travancore - Cochin region continues to be the dominant belt of rubber cultivation, with 72 per cent of total area under the crop and 75 per cent of the rubber tapped area. Today, rubber cultivation has expanded tremendously in Kerala taking about 48 lakh hectares, which has the second position in terms of area after coconut. Though there are no reliable estimates available, it is widely understood that within the holding sector, the share of small and tiny 128

31 holdings (less than 5 ha) is significant in terms of area, production and employment. For instance, a recent study reports that the share of smallholdings with an average size of less than 2 hectares in total area under rubber has increased from 53 per cent in to more than 83 per cent in 2001, with an average holding size of less than 0.5 ha. In any economy, women play a prominent role at various levels. They are the backbone of the village economy in rural India. Women take up different works to eke out their livelihood and the majority of the rural women depend on agriculture which is the major, unorganised sector in India. Meny of these labourers are landless, homeless and belong to the socially depressed classes of the society. Despite the seasonal nature of employment in the field of agriculture, enormous growth is witnessed in the size of the agricultural labourers since the beginning of this century. Ours is basically an agricultural country. It is a source of livelihood for over 70 per cent of the population. Agriculture, therefore, has become a family enterprise. The whole family of men, women and children work on it and earn their livelihood. Men's role in agriculture is widely known, but women's role is not that open, though they mostly work for more number of hours, with less privilege, tedious activities and with painful postures. It is 129

32 only in the recent times that their role is being recognised, though there is a possibility that the women themselves are not aware of their contributions, hardships, and, above all, over-burden of not only the household jobs but jobs related to agriculture and allied fields. The condition is worse when they work on fields not of their own but on others. On others field, they work as labourers with no facilities for their selves or for their children. Children are left on the fields under the umbrella of sun, dust, rain and cold. Women do not know their rights and do not know how to fight for their rights. A profile of the women labourer explodes the myth that she belongs to the so-called weaker sex. While a men does the ploughing and harrowing in the hills, it is the women who breaks the clods with wooden hammers after the first few turns of the soils, she levels the land ensuring a uniform distribution of seeds and fertilizers and seeks to minimise the surface runoff a difficult job indeed in the hill regions where the terraces are steeply inclined. Then, she menures the land, one of the most labour intensive tasks. Inter-cultivation is also the women's job, which demends light turning over of this soil after the seeds have sprouted. This job is usually done with the aid of a small hoe. 130

33 Crops which grow tall like maize and do not have an extensive root system require earthing up twice or more in a season, particularly in rainy season, when the soil around the roots is washed away by heavy rains. The soil is rigged up around the main stem of the plant to cover the root zone. This job too is done by women. With the help of small hoes, women do regular weeding of the crops in order to ensure better crop growth and yield. India is a land of villages and agriculture is the mainstay of her economic life. Women constitute about one half of the country's population. Their place in the Indian society has been prominent. They play a pivotal role in agriculture. They work in the fields alongside men, attend to off-farm activities like processing, grading and marketing of produce, tend the cattle and run the household. Nevertheless, certain basic inadequacies in terms of comparatively lower literacy and skills among women, their inability to engage in work consistently for various reasons, limited avenues for participation etc. have handicapped the desired level of their contribution to rural development. As a result, participation by women has largely been confined to activities involving low wages and drudgery. Despite these disadvantages, the economic pressures and the urge to protect their levels of living from getting eroded fast have made them 131

34 continue in the work stream. Removal of these inadequacies and constraints is crucial to the growth of agriculture in all developing countries, including India. As agriculture is still a major activity in our country, very high percentage of female population, as a whole, is directly or indirectly, involved in farming as cultivators or labourers. Majority of women in the villages participate in agriculture as agricultural labour. Women's participation as cultivators is minimal. Role of Agriculture in the Context of Developing Indian Economy Agriculture means not only the production of crops by the cultivation of the soil, but also the rearing of live-stock. Thus, milk, meat and wool are agricultural products as wheat, rice and cotton. Agriculture is a basic and important occupation as it provides not only food-stuff but also essential raw-materials to the industry. It is the oldest business in the world. Twothirds of the population of the world is dependent on agriculture either directly or indirectly for its livelihood. Of the total arable land of the world, India's share is nearly 12 per cent. The total agricultural population of India is 42.1 million which constitutes 21.6 per cent of the world's agricultural population. Nearly 15 per 132

35 cent of the total irrigated lands of the world lie in India. In the production of jowar, pulses, oil-seeds, tea and jute, India's share accounts for more than 30 per cent of the world's production. Thus, India has become one of the biggest agricultural countries of the world. India is predominantly an agriculture country. Agriculture is the largest and the most important industry in India. Nearly 70 per cent of the people in India depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Another important feature is the dependence of most of the Indian industries on agriculture. All leading industries of India are agro-based industries. Cotton, jute, sugar, plantation, vanaspathi and paper industries depend on agriculture directly. Meny of the small industries too depend on agriculture directly or indirectly. Handloom-weaving, rice milling, oil crushing, jaggery making, beedi menufacture, coir making, sericulture etc., depend on agriculture for their raw-materials. Though with the advent of planning and development, meny new industries have come up which do not depend on agriculture, the basic feature remains the same. The internal trade and transport system in India secure the bulk of their business only from the movement of agricultural commodities. 133

36 In the sphere of international trade and foreign exchange, the role of agriculture is significant. We export mostly agricultural products like jute, tea, oilseeds, spices, tobacco and millets. Nearly 70 per cent of India's export accounts for agricultural goods or menufacturers of agricultural produce. Besides, the agricultural sector supplies food to the teeming millions of India. In short, almost all sectors of the economy of India depend on agriculture. The prosperity of the country depends on the prosperity of the farmer. Share of Agriculture in National Income Economic regeneration attempted in successive Five Year Plans has made agriculture a pride of national economy. This sector, today, provides livelihood to about 70 per cent of the labour force contributing nearly 32 per cent of net national product and accounts for a sizeable share at total value of the country's exports. It supplies bulk of wage goods required by nonagricultural sector and raw-material for a large section of industry. It is gratifying to note that per capita net availability of food-grains went upto a level of 511 grams per day in 1991 as compared to that of 395 grams in early fifties. In 1992, it had, however, been provisionally estimated lower at 476 grams per day. In terms of gross fertilizer consumption, India ranks fourth in 134

37 the world after USA, the erstwhile USSR and China. The country has the largest area in the world under pulse crops. In the field of cotton, India is the first country to evolve a cotton hybrid. The country has made a major breakthrough in prawn seed production and pest culture technology. Compound growth rate in agricultural production during the period to is 2.7 per cent per annum. Production of food-grains increased significantly from lakh tones in to lakh tones in Cropping pattern is more diversified and cultivation of commercial crops has received new impetus in line with domestic demends and export requirements. During post-green revolution period i.e., to , growth rate in agricultural production was assessed at around 2.78 per cent per annum. Production of food-grains during this period increased from lakh tones to 1,670.6 lakh tones. Cropping pattern has undergone perceptible changes and non-traditional crops like summer moong, soyabean, summer groundnut, sun-flower etc., are gradually gaining importance. In order to utilise scarce resources optimally, a short duration third crop is also being raised in some areas utilising residual moisture available from post-karif and post-rabi cultivation. 135

38 The index of agricultural production, which registered an increase at 21 per cent in and 2.1 per cent in over the previous year showed further increase of 2.7 per cent in due to primary increase recorded in the production of rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, jute and mesta, sugarcane and other commercial crops. The index of food-grains production during showed a fall of 2.3 per cent due to fall in the production of various food-grains. The index of food-grains production during showed a fall of 4.3 per cent over the previous year's production index of a Food-grains production during declined by about 93 lakh tonnes over previous year's production primarily due to adverse weather conditions during the south-west monsoon season (June-September), Availability of edible oils including vanaspathi has also increased significantly and its production in 1987 was 9,47,153 metric tonnes. The country has been able to sustain and improve availability of basic consumption articles and has thus, raised the standard of living. Women Population Engaged in Agriculture In order to awaken the people, it is the women who have to be awakened. Once she is on move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves". Pandit jawaharlal Nehru 136

39 Studies on women in agriculture conducted in India and other developing and under-developed countries all point to the fact that women contribute far more to agricultural production than has generally been acknowledged. Recognition of their crucial role in agriculture should not obscure the fact that farm women continue to be concerned with their primary functions as wives, mothers and home makers. Traditionally, women had no definite decision-making role in a majority of family affairs because of dominance of male members in the joint family system. The situation now seems to be changing considerably owing to the introduction of new home and farm technologies and disintegration of the joint family system. But, despite all this, the patriarchal system of family life which has been in vogue since time immemorial has relegated women to the background. There is no denying the fact that rural women have been contributing largely to the country's economy which is mainly agriculturebased. Their share of labour is particularly significant in the contest that they actually perform the agricultural work, household maintenance, child rearing, collection of cooking fuel/wood and fodder, fetching drinking water etc. However, unfortunately, this is also the sector where women's role as unpaid labour in productive activities is most prominent. 137

40 The types and extent of agricultural activities in which women are engaged vary in different States. For instance, in the States of Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Kashmir, women are engaged in transplanting, weeding, harvesting and threshing of paddy; in Gujarat, they tend, weed, harvest and thresh pulses; whereas, in Himachal Pradesh, besides growing food for their families, women produce cash crops like potatoes, apples, peas, mushrooms, gninger etc. In North, Eastern states, they work in tea plantations. Besides, community-wise, we find the participation of women in farming operations highest among the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Women's participation in farming declines as their position goes up in social hierarchy. 138