Gender Preferences for Cultivation of Horticultural Crops

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1 Gender Preferences for Cultivation of Horticultural Crops P C Tripathi, Principal scientist &Head, Central Horticultural Experiment Station (IIHR), Chettalli , Kodagu, Karnataka,India Naresh Babu, Scientist, Directorate of Research on Women in Agriculture Bhubaneswar ,Orissa,India Manoranjan Prustry, Scientist, Directorate of Research on Women in Agriculture Bhubaneswar ,Orissa,India Abstract Horticulture is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in India. Horticultural crops provide more employment and income from unit area than field crops. These crops have vast scope of value addition which not only provides additional employment to farm family but also to landless household particularly women. The preference of cultivation of horticulture crop of the household is influenced by several factors. Thus a study was conducted in Khurda district of Orissa to find out the preference of men and women for growing different horticultural crops. The survey revealed women preferred banana, jack fruit for cultivation, while men preferred mango, banana, guava. The results also revealed that women tends to preferred large number of minor and local fruits while men preferred commercial fruit crops. Among vegetables, pumpkin, okra, ridge gourd and brinjal were preferred by women while men preferred tomato, okra, and cauliflower. Majority of women cultivate vegetables for home consumption while most of men grow vegetables for sale purpose. Among flowers, marigold was preferred by both men and women followed by rose and tuberose. As far as the reason of flower cultivation is concerned majority of men and w men grown flower for worship. Higher percentage of men grew flower for sale in comparison to women. Among the other crops turmeric and ginger were most preferred crops. The major reason of preference of crop was commercial purpose for men while women gave preference to home consumption. Keywords: Gender, Preference, Horticultural Crops 1. Introduction Horticulture is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture. Horticultural crops provide more employment and income from unit area than field crops. Apart from employment generation and income enhancement, the horticulture sector has vast scope of value addition which not only provides employment to farm family but also to landless household particularly women. The horticultural crops are attracting more house hold and area under horticultural crops is expanding. The preference of cultivation of horticulture crop of the house hold is influenced by several factors such as levels of social settings, socio-cultural and ritual purposes agro climatic factors and remoteness, less accessibility, and socio-cultural and religious values (Dongoli et al,2004) The crop preference is also influence by mobilization of the family members, market etc ( Jones,1983).The crop preference increases with greater soil suitability. There is gender preference in the preference for crop, land and prioritization of land uses. Women prefer food crop cultivation and other activities, which need domestic needs to men (Makandi, 2008). Material And Methods The study was taken in Khurda district of Orissa. Four villages were selected for the studying the preference of cultivation of cultivation of horticultural crops and reason for the preference. Total two hundred farmers i.e fifty farmers (25 men and 25 women of each village) were selected for the study.out of these two villages i.e. Simour and Kantamalin, were rain fed and other two villages i.e. Padashahi and Tangibanta were irrigated. Two villages were adjacent to city and another two were around forty km from the cities. The social economical profile of the village is given in Table 1.Sturctured questionnaire survey was conducted in the selected villages 2008 and 2009.The questionnaire was developed in local language i.e. Oriya. Fifty-household of each village were selected randomly for the study. Each respondent was asked to prioritize major fruits, vegetables and other horticultural crops grown by them for cultivation. The respondents were also asked to prioritize the reasons for the preference of cultivation of these crops. The collected data were analyzed. Results And Discussion Preference and reason for preference for cultivation for fruits The results revealed that mango, banana, jackfruit, coconut and guava were the most preferred fruits. The women preferred banana (81.68 %), mango Blue Ocean Research Journals 20

2 (76.67 %), jack fruit (63.33 %) and coconut (60 %) for cultivation, while men preferred banana (75.03 %), coconut (60 %), mango (59.0 %) and guava (57.53 %). The results also revealed that women tend to prefer large number of minor and local fruits while men preferred commercial fruits. There was a distinct difference in the preference of fruits crops grown by the men and women of the rain fed and irrigated villages. The women of irrigated villages preferred banana (93.38 %), mango (86.68 %), guava (66.7 %) jackfruit (66.65 %) and coconut (63.35 %) while women of rain fed villages preferred banana (81.68 %), mango (66.65 %), jack fruit (60.0 %). The men of the irrigated villages preferred growing guava (89.7 %), banana (83.38 %), coconut (70.0 %) and mango (44.65 %) while men of rain fed villages preferred mango (66.65 %), banana (70 %) and coconut (50 %). Both men and women of irrigated villages preferred less number of fruits than the rain fed villages. The men and women of irrigated villages tend to grow more commercial fruits then others (Table 2). As far as the reason of preference was concerned, all women of irrigated and rain fed village grow fruits crops for home consumption. About forty six per cent women stated that they grow fruit plants as they gives fuel wood in addition to fruits against only per cent men. The main reason of cultivation of fruit for men was commercial purpose. About per cent men told that they grew fruits crops for sale purpose. The other reason for the preference of the fruit crops of women were utilizing backyard (20.0 %), processing (31.68 %) and family nutrition (21.68 %) while men gave importance to profitability (26.65 %). In irrigated area men gave more preference to sale (95.35%) and profitability (33.3%) while women gave top preference to home consumption (100 %), and fuel wood (43.3%) (Table 3). The preference and reason of the fruit cultivation was influence by their dietic pattern, suitability of the crop, availability of the inputs. The preference of crops like banana, mango is due the more use in the local dishes and rituals. The effect of local dietic pattern on crop preference has been reported by Dongol1 et al (2004). Preference And Reason For Preference For Cultivation Of Vegetables Among vegetables, women gave preference to the cultivation of brinjal (55 %), pumpkin (48.35 %), bitter gourd (43.33 %), ridge gourd (40 %) and Okra (40 %) while men preferred tomato (60 %), okra (55 %) and cauliflower (41.38 %). In irrigated villages women preferred bitter gourd (63.35 %), ridge gourd (56.67%), pumpkin (46.67%), okra (46.65 %) while the men of irrigated villages preferred tomato( 66.67%), cauliflower (56.65 %), okra (50 %) and pumpkin (43.3 %).The women of rain fed villages preferred brinjal (70 %), pumpkin (50 %), potatoes (42.35 %) while the men of rain fed villages preferred okra (60 %), French bean (53.35 %), tomato( 53.3 %) (Table 4). As far as reason of preference of crops is concerned, % women responded that they grow vegetables for their home consumption against % men. Men mostly gave preferred to sale (93.33 %). In irrigated villages sale (96.65%) and profitability (46.65%) were the prime reason for cultivation of vegetables for men. while reason for the cultivation of vegetables for women was home consumption (83.35 %) and followed by sale (66.7 %). Similarly were the trends in rain fed villages but their reason of cultivation was not profitability. The higher yield and market demand was given primarily reason by men and women of irrigated villages but this was not important reason for rain fed (Table 5). The preference and reason for cultivation was influenced by the consumption pattern of the villages. The pumpkin, brinjal are an important ingredients of the local diet. Thus most of the women gave preference to these crops. The percent of women opted for the sale of vegetables was more than the fruits, which reveals that women are more attracted for the cultivation of vegetable than fruits. Being short duration crops, these crops seem more lucrative for women than fruits crops. This trend was more in the villages near to city. The preference of crops like pumpkin, brinjal, due the more use in the local dishes ( Dongol1 et al., 2004). Preference And Reason For Preference For Cultivation Of Flower Crops The area under flowers crops was very limited in the surveyed villages. Marigold, rose and tube rose were under cultivation in isolated fields. Other flowers crops are planted only in backyards and courtyards. The men and women both gave preference to the cultivation of marigold, which was 68.3 per cent and per cent respectively. Both men and women of irrigated villages were preferred cultivation of more number of flowers (Table 6). The main reason for cultivation of these crops was use for worship percent women and percent men grows flower for their own use. About per cent men told that they grew flower for sale against 46.7 percent women. Forty percent men and percent women were growing flower for the beautification of houses (Table 7). Blue Ocean Research Journals 21

3 Preference And Reason For Preference For Cultivation Of Other Horticultural Crops The cultivation of spices and medicinal plants was almost negligible except turmeric and ginger. About per cent men and37.53 percent women preferred cultivation of turmeric while 46.7 percent men and percent women preferred cultivation of ginger. Both these crops ere more preferred by the men and women of irrigated villages than rain fed villages (Table 8). About 66.6 percent men and percent women of irrigated villages were growing these crops for sale but rain fed villages reason for cultivation was home consumption.the reason for cultivation of other spices and medicinal plants was their use in home medicines (Table 9). The crop preference and the reason of preference of horticultural crops in surveyed villages revealed that the women are generally growing these crops for home consumption. So preference of crops was greatly influence by the fruit, vegetables and flower required in their day-to-day use. Since most of the women are growing these crops in the back yard of their houses so they gave little importance of the commercial aspects of the these crops. This trend was more in rain fed villages than in irrigated villages. The survey also revealed that while selecting crops for cultivation women are more concerned about the daily needs of family while men are intended for market purpose and the profitability of crops. Conclusion The preference pf the horticultural crops is influenced by gender preferences. The women are more concerned about the food security of their family than the commercial cultivation. This trend is more in rain fed villages than irrigated villages. The men and women in irrigate villages are more attracted to the commercial cultivation of the horticultural crops. The preference for cultivation of horticultural crops is greatly influenced by resources availability such as irrigation, market, and expertise in the technology, local dietic pattern. References [1] Annor- Frempong, C A survey of cassava cultivation practices in Ghana. Acta Horticulturae, 380: [2] Anonymous Horticulture database 2008, National Horticulture Board, Gurgoan. [3] Christine Jones The Mobilization of Women's Labor for Cash Crop Production: A Game Theoretic Approach, American Journal of Agricultural Economics. 65(5) : [4] Dongol1, D.M.S., Baniya, B.K. and Joshi, B.K Psychosocial Basis of Cultivation ad Food Preference of Nepalese Buckwheat Growers. Proceedings of the 9th International Symposium on Buckwheat, Prague pp [5] Harun Makandi Mapping crop and preference of village communities in Unguja. M.Sc. Thesis submitted at University of Turku, pp Blue Ocean Research Journals 22

4 Annexures Table 1. Village profile of surveyed village Features Name of village Simour Kantamalin Padashahi Tangibanta Population Male Female Literacy rate 70% 65% 70% 60% Male 80% 70% 85% 50% Female 60% 60% 55% 20% Gram Panchayat Simore Simore Dadha Barimunda Nearest Town Khurda Khurda Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar School Primary Yes Yes Yes Yes Metric Yes No No No SSC No No No No University college No No No No Hospital Yes No No No Bank No No No No Post office Yes No No No Market Begunia,Khurda Begunia,Khurda Baranga,BBSR Baranga,BBSR Agro chemical shop Begunia,Khurda Begunia,Khurda Baranga,BBSR Baranga,BBSR Annual Rainfall 140 cm 140 cm 150 cm 150 cm No. of animals Irrigation source Canal Yes Yes Yes Yes Well(Irrigation Purpose) No No No No Tube well No No No No Ponds 4 Nos. 2 Nos. 2 Nos. 5 Nos. Arable land (ha) 120 ha 80 ha 80 ha 120 ha Cultivated area (ha) 114 ha 70 ha 72 ha 112 ha Area of Posture (ha) 6 ha 10 ha 8 ha 8 ha Area under fruit (ha) 10 ha 5 ha 4 ha 4 ha Area under vegetable (ha) 3 ha 2 ha 25 ha 20 ha Area under flower (ha) 0.4 ha 0.2 ha 1.2 ha 1 ha Main crops Rice,Vegetables, Rice, vegetables Rice, Vegetable Pulses, Fruits Pulses, Fruits, Pulses, Fruits, Table 2: Preference (%) of cultivation of fruit crops Mango Banana Guava Jackfruit Coconut Lime Orange Pine apple Custard apple Star Fruit Sapota Papaya Aonla Blue Ocean Research Journals 23 Rice,Vegetables, Pulses, Fruits,

5 Table 3 : Reason of preference(%) of cultivation of fruit crops Reason of preference Home consumption Firewood Sale Purpose Worship purpose Utilize backyard For processing Profitable Nutrition to family Table 4 : Preference (%)of cultivation of vegetables crops Pumpkin Chilli Cowpea French bean Ridge gourd Colocasia Amaranth Radish Cucumber Bitter gourd Okra Potato Tomato Cauliflower Pointed gourd Brinjal Drumstick Yam Table 5: Reason of preference (%) of cultivation of vegetables crops Reason of preference Home consumption Sale purpose Profitability High yield Processing purpose Seed Purpose Market demand Nutrition Blue Ocean Research Journals 24

6 Table 6: Preference (%) of cultivation of flower crops Marigold TMC Rose China rose Chrysanthemum Tube rose Jasmine Gladiolus Table 7 : Reason of preference(%) of cultivation of flower crops Worship Sale Beautification of house Profitability Table 8 : Preference(%) for cultivation of other horticultural crops Mint Tulsi (basil) Turmeric Ginger Coriander Garlic Table 9 : Reason of preference(%) of cultivation of other horticultural crops Medicinal purpose Sale purpose Home consumption Suitability Profitable Long storage life Blue Ocean Research Journals 25