CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN IN FARMING – A SURVEY BASED STUDY OF DEHRADUN DISTRICT

Agriculture is one of the largest contributors to India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a driving force for India’s economic development. India is an agriculture-based country, and women play a vital role as farmers and contribute to the development of the economy of the country. In fact, 75% of the full-time workers on Indian farms are women, but despite all this, women are still the “unsung warriors of agriculture.” In fact, 75% of the full-time workers on Indian farms are women, but despite all this, women are still the “unsung warriors of agriculture.” They work day and night in the fields and at the same time play many different roles—that of a mother, a wife, and a daughter-in-law. They are also responsible for the well-being of the household. They care for their children, provide nutrition, or usually take part in subsistence agriculture, and do chores around the house.

She still finds it difficult to enter this patriarchal society due to the many barriers erected by males and societal traditions. Her efforts include work before sunrise, and she continues even after sunset. Some studies have shown that they get less access as compared to their male counterparts in terms of training, market access, finance-related issues, and input-related issues. Many financial institutions do not give them support as they do not even have land titles on their names. All this has had a major impact both on the economic well-being of women and on the economy of the nation. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that if women were given the same resources as men, female farmers would increase the yields on their farms by 20–30%, which would result in adding at least 2.5–4% to the total agricultural output in developing countries. Similar kinds of inequalities are seen in the realisation of prices, where, in view of unequal access to formal markets, women are often given a lower price for their produce than their male counterparts.

Female farmers are still deprived of land ownership. Less than 8% of women farmers own land; they often end up farming without being regarded as farm owners or landowners. Some women have also frequently owned land with poorer soil than their male counterparts, resulting in land ownership inequality.

Markets are the second factor. Many women are still not allowed to go out of their house or their fields. Indian female farmers do not have market access in this modern era. All this leads to the exploitation of her work, and she has to accept the price of her products, whichever is offered to her.

The work of the female agricultural labourer or cultivator is limited to less skilled jobs, such as sowing, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting. Many women also participate in agricultural work as unpaid subsistence labor. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, only 32.8% of Indian women formally participate in the labour force, a rate that has remained steady since 2009 statistics. By comparison, men constitute 81.1%. Most Indian women are either illiterate or have low qualifications. This education barrier also prevents women from participating in more skilled labour sectors.

Despite many hours of unpaid labor, women spend the same amount of time as men on agricultural tasks.But she still faces gender discrimination despite her hard work; her efforts go unheard, and they are often underestimated.

Empowerment of women’s workforce in agriculture can be done by ensuring equal access to inputs, markets, and financial resources, and thus these opportunities will lead to a foundational transformation in India’s rural economy, improving the lives of millions.

According to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, it aims to provide women with property rights and tenure security over agricultural land.The policies related to women in agriculture need to be corrected, keeping in mind the discrimination that female farmers face despite their hard work. The need of the hour is to empower rural women economically, politically, socially, and psychologically. This will lead to the minimization of the invisible gap between her and her male counterparts, as well as between her efforts and the rewards, give true recognition to her identity, and help in achieving economic equality in gender as also guaranteed by the Indian Constitution under the aegis of Article 14.

Objectives of the study:

The purpose of the study is to find out the work distribution between female farmers and their male counterparts, the activities done by women farmers in the fields, and what their counterparts do. how she manages the time and, most importantly, how she balances work in the fields with her personal life. hindrances faced by her while working in the fields and how she copes with them.

Objectives of the study:

1- to study the number of activities in which women are involved while working in fields.

2- To evaluate the work distribution on the farming land,

3- to analyse the gender gap in relation to market-related activities.

4- examine the hindrances and barriers faced by female farmers while working in the fields.

Examples of research by other researchers in the context of research-

Female farmers: Victim of the gender discrimination

Patriarchy has lead to gender discrimination in agricultural workplace leading to the discrimination and burden for women in the society and she also faces great pressure in her work life and also in fields she does spends long hours in agriculture (Jana,Sohini)

Women work almost double of the work done by their male counterparts. But inspite of this land title is not given to her leading to the invisible gender discrimination in fields (Jayati Ghosh )

Most of the schemes of the government, programs ,announcements do not reach to the real worker in the fields that is the women but only goes to the land owners that is their male counterparts (Raman ,Shreya)

Majority of the Indian female farmers have less access to travel leading to their limit to market access also women lack access to money and resources for travel are at great disadvantage (A.K,Aditya).Many markets are male dominated thus this makes it uncomfortable for women to enter and leading to less exposure of outer world to them.(Jadhav,Radheshyam)

Many female workers are a victim of thankless jobs as their husbands and other family members do not appreciate their hard work in the fields and also do not show gratitude towards their work .Land ownership helps in determining their economic dignity ,but they do not get that dignity as only few of female workers have land ownership.(Sheikh ,Saaliq)

Some important voices needs to be heard

More income in the hands of women will give more powers to the women and stronger voice in the household thus the production will increase leading to the reduction in the no. of undernourished people in the world .(Gates,Melinda) .Women needs internal strength to raise their voices and opinions leading to better decision making process and this will give confidence to women and will lead to sustainable economic development options to every women farmers (Oxfam International )it is easier to approach women who have knowledge ,awareness, thus leading to sustainable solutions (Saikia ,Nikita)

Burden on female farmers

Women workers contribute to 75% in agriculture and it is the need of the hour to provide support to workers so that it contributes to development of Indian agriculture (Kamdar and Das)

As men have shifted to the other cities for livelihood /migration has lead to the shift of work force from male to females in fields .Influx of women agriculture is strongly related to several indicators of poverty ,and loss of good opportunities to women .(Pattnaik)

Women reinvests her income again in the farm just to accelerate the production of her farm and also on her children so that she can take her family out of poverty (Munshi,Surgandha)

Opportunities ahead of them

Financial organization at village level will help in creating awareness about health, knowledge ,education and this will change the lives of the women (Munshi,Surgandha )

Shy and illiterate female farmers can approach to the learned female farmers regarding agricultural practices that helped her grow . (Saikia ,Nikita)

Bhalam marketplace is a women friendly market place that will help her to sell her products directly to the consumers comfortably without any hesitation thus they now no longer have to depend on others for selling their products at lower price thus giving her confidence and feeling of self reliance.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Area of Study:

The study was conducted in different agricultural areas of Dehradun city. The areas were chosen according to the availability of farms, and for female farmer respondents who gave the responses, they were recorded and entered in the questionnaire.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

3.2 Sample Size and Sampling Method

A total of 150 respondents were surveyed for this study, whose responses were recorded and analysed accordingly. Convenient and random sampling was used for the purpose of the survey. Convenience sampling is a type of non-probability sampling that involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population that is close at hand. Random sampling is part of the sampling technique in which each sample has an equal probability of being chosen. A sample chosen randomly is meant to be an unbiased representation of the total population.

3.3 Tools of Data Collection:

Data was collected from primary sources using a structured questionnaire.

Interview: It is a verbal interaction between the researchers and the respondents. It involves the presentation of questions as well as collecting responses, both orally. In this method, the interviewer asks questions and receives answers from the person being interviewed face-to-face.

In terms of information about social background, opinions, attitudes, and changes in relationships, interviews have been a widely used method of data collection. Questionnaires have been used extensively as a data collection method in all studies. It basically translates the research objectives into specific questions. The question must also encourage the respondents so that the necessary data is obtained.

3.4 Format of the Questionnaire:

A closed-ended questionnaire was used in the study. Respondents were offered a set of answers from which they were asked to choose the one that most closely represented their views.

3.5 Data source:

Data was collected from primary sources through structured questionnaires. Secondary sources were also used to review the literature available through statistical records, the ministry website, research papers, and reports of national and international importance.

3.6 Type of scale:

A dichotomous scale was used for the survey. It is a type of survey response scale that provides two options that lie at opposite ends.

3.7 Statistical Treatment of the Data

Suitable and appropriate statistical tools were used for interpreting the data. The use of tables, graphs, pie charts, and other graphical methods aided in data comprehension. Percentages and frequencies were taken out for each table. For data analysis and graphical representation, Excel was used.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

I Demographic Profile of the Respondents :

1- AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE 1: AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS
AGE GROUP	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
25-35 YEARS	16	10.66%
35-45 YEARS	45	30%
45-55 YEARS	58	38.66%
55 AND ABOVE	31	20.66%

DATA INTERPRETATION 1: The above data illustrates that the majority of respondents were in the age group of 45-55 years i.e. 58 women which constitutes 38.6% of the respondents. While 45 women (30%) were of the age group of 35-45 years. Other 31 respondents (20%) were in the age group of 55 and above years.

MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE 2 : MARITAL STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS
MARITAL STATUS	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
MARRIED	98	65.30%
UNMARRIED	14	9.30%
WINDOW	38	25.30%

DATA INTERPRETATION 2 : The above data examined that 98 respondents (65.30%) were married while most of the respondents were unmarried/single usually college going i.e., 14 respondents which constitutes 9.3% of the total samples collected and 38 respondents (25.3%) were widow.

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE : 3 ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENTS
QUALIFICATION	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
PRIMARY	70	46.60%
SECONDARY	40	26.60%
HIGH SCHOOL	20	13.30%
INTERMEDIATE	10	6.60%
GRADUATION	7	4.60%
POST GRADUATION	3	2%

DATA INTERPRETATION 3 : The data illustrates that maximum respondents out of 150 , 70 women (46.60%) were at primary while 40 respondents (26.6%) have studies till secondary level . On the other hand, 20 respondents (13.30%) have completed their high school. 10 women (6.60%) have completed intermediate .Whereas 7 female farmers (4.60%) have done their graduation and only 3 respondents (2%) have completed their post graduation.

EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE :4 EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF THE RESPONDENTS
EMPLOYMENT STATUS	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
SELF EMPLOYED	80	53.3%
LANDLESS LABOUR	70	46.6%

DATA INTERPRETATION 4 : The above data illustrates that out of 150 respondents 80 (53.3%) were self employed . while 70 women respondents (46.6%) were landless labour.

5- FAMILY SYSTEM OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE: 5 FAMILY SYSTEM OF THE RESPONDENTS
FAMILY SYSTEM	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
NUCLEAR FAMILY SYSTEM	91	60.66%
JOINT FAMILY SYSTEM	59	39.33%

DATA INTERPRETATION 5 : The above data analysed that that out of 150 respondents 91 (60.6%) live in nuclear family system while 50 women respondents (39.33%) live in joint family.

6- TYPES OF FARMING ACTIVITY PERFORMED BY RESPONDENTS

TABLE:.6 TYPES OF FARMING ACTIVITY PERFORMED BY RESPONDENTS
TYPE OF FARMING ACTIVITIES	NO. OF RESPONDENTS		PERCENTAGE
	FEMALES	MALES	FEMALES	MALES
TILLING	114	6	76%	4%
SOWING	128	22	85.33%	14.66%
HARVESTING	129	21	86%	14%
THRESHING	146	4	97.33%	2.60%
IRRIGATION	20	130	13.33%	86.60%
TRANSPORTATION AND MARKETING	0	150	0%	100%

DATA INTERPRETATION 6 : The data illustrates that maximum respondents out of 150 , 146 female farmers (97.33%) did threshing while only 4 male farmers (2.60%) did the same work . 129 female respondents (86%)did harvesting while 21 male members(14%) of the family did the same work that is harvesting . followed by 128 respondents (85.33%) did sowing and 22 male members(14.66%) of the family did the same work .No women farmers (0%)participated in market related activities . All women respondents mostly participated in low skilled jobs but market related work was done by male members of the family.

NUMBER OF HOURS INVESTED BY PERSONS IN FARMING

TABLE: 7 NUMBER OF HOURS INVESTED BY PERSONS IN FARMING
INVESTMENT OF TIME ( IN HOURS )	TIME INVESTED BY :		PERCENTAGE
	FEMALES	MALES	FEMALES	MALES
2-4 HOURS	10	130	6.66%	86.66%
4-6 HOURS	20	10	13.33%	6.66%
6-8 HOURS	130	20	86.66%	13.33%

DATA INTERPRETATION 7 : The above data analysed that that out of 150 respondents ,maximum female farmers that is 130 (86.66%) spend 6-8hours in farming, followed by 20 female respondents (13.33 %) spend 4-6 hours in farming related work on the other hand only 10 female farmers which constitute 6.66% of the total respondents spend just 2-4hours in fields.

While maximum male members that is 130,( 86.66%) spend their day time of 2-4 hours in farming and that too in market related activities ,followed by 20 male farmers (13.33%) spend their time on fields and just 10 males farmers (6.66%) spend time in farms .

8- NUMBER OF HOURS INVESTED BY PERSONS IN HOUSEHOLD CHORES

TABLE : 8 NUMBER OF HOURS INVESTED BY PERSONS IN HOUSEHOLD CHORES
INVESTMENT OF TIME ( IN HOURS )	TIME INVESTED BY :		PERCENTAGE
	FEMALES	MALES	FEMALES	MALES
2-4 HOURS	0	140	0%	93.33%
4-6 HOURS	5	5	3.33%	3.33%
6-8 HOURS	145	5	96.66%	3.33%

DATA INTERPRETATION 8 : The above data analysed that that out of 150 respondents ,maximum female farmers that is 145 (96.66%) spend 6-8 hours in household chores , followed by 5 female respondents (3.33 %) spend 4-6 hours in house hold related work on the other hand no female farmers which constitute (0%)of the total respondents spend just 2-4 hours in household chores .

While maximum male members that is 140,( 93.33%) spend their day time of 2-4 hours in doing household chores ,followed by 5 male farmers (3.33%) spend their time working in homes and similar numbers of males that is 5 males farmers (3.33%) spend time in homes .

LAND OWNERSHIP BY RESPONDENTS

TABLE9 LAND OWNERSHIP
OWNERSHIP OF LAND	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
SELF OWNED	9	6%
OWNED BY MALE MEMBERS	135	90%
OWNED IN PARTNERSHIP	6	4%

DATA INTERPRETATION 9 : The above data examined that 135 female respondents (90%) do not have land ownership and the land ownership is in the name of male members of the family while 9 respondents(6%) and 6 female farmers (4%) have self owned land and owned in partnership respectively.

10- RATIO OF SHARING OF LAND

TABLE:10 RATIO OF SHARING OF LAND
RATIO OF OWNERSHIP OF LAND	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
DO NOT SHARE LAND WITH ANYONE	144	96%
MORE THAN 50%	0	0%
LESS THAN 50%	6	4%
EQUAL SHARING OF LAND	0	0%

DATA INTERPRETATION 10: The above data examined that 144 female respondents (96%) do not share land with anyone that is their male counterparts have the right of the land ,followed by 6 female respondents (4%) that have less than 50% ownership of land with their male counterparts , while none of the respondents have either more than 50% share of land or equal share of land .

RESPONSIBILITY OF LOAN REPAYMENT

TABLE : 11 RESPONSIBILITY OF LOAN REPAYMENT
PERSON RESPONSIBLE	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
SELF	5	3.33%
MALE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY	145	96.66%

DATA INTERPRETATION 11 : The above data analysed that that out of 150 respondents 5 respondents (3.33%) have the responsibility to repay the loan as they are widow and have no male member to repay the loan taken .Whereas 145 (96.66%) male members of the family repay the loan taken .

12 .PROFIT EARNED BY RESPONDENTS

TABLE : 12 PROFIT EARNED BY RESPONDENTS
PROFIT EARNED (IN RUPEES )	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
LESS THAN 5,000	127	84.66%
RS 5,000 TO RS 10,000	22	14.66%
MORE THAN 10,000	1	0.66%

DATA INTERPRETATION 12 : The above data illustrates that out of 150 respondents 127(84.66%) earn profits of less than 5,000 rupees ,followed by 22 respondents (14.66%) earned profit between 5,000 to 10,000 while just 1 women respondents (0.6%) earned more than 10,000 rupees as their profit .

MANAGEMENT OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF FARM AND HOUSE BY RESPONDENTS

TABLE :13 MANAGEMENT OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF FARM AND HOUSE BY RESPONDENTS
FINANCIAL RESOURCES ARE HANDLES BY :	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
SELF	9	6%
MALE MEMBERS	141	94%

DATA INTERPRETATION 13 : The above data examined that just 4 female respondents (6%) managed financial resources of farm and house on their own .Whereas 141 male members (94%) managed the financial resources of farm and house on their own and do not give powers to females to handle the financial resources.

14 HINDRANCES FACED BY THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE:14 HINDRANCES FACED BY THE RESPONDENTS
HINDRANCES	NO. OF RESPONDENTS	PERCENTAGE
LAND AND MARKET ACQUISITION	150	100%
FAMILY RELATED PRESSURE	129	86%
EDUCATION /ILLITERACY	110	73.33%
LESS/LACK OF TECHNICAL AWARENESS	11	7.33%
GENDER BIASNESS	119	79.33%

DATA INTERPRETATION 14 : The above data interpreted that majority of the women i.e., 150 respondents(100%) agree land and market acquisition is the major hindrance they face while working in the fields while 129 women(86%) agree that family restrictions also create hindrances . whereas 119 respondents (79.33%) and 110 female farmers (73.33%) agreed that gender biasness and lack of education respectively are the hindrances faced by them .Very few respondents that is 11 (7.33%) faced technical related hindrances .

CONCLUSION

It has been concluded that most of the female farmers, despite their hard work, do not see the results of their efforts. Most female farmers are between the ages of 47 and 57, indicating that middle-aged women are more involved in farming than young women; additionally, because most women are uneducated, they are limited to low-skill activities on the farm such as tilling, harvesting, and so on.Due to females’ low literacy, their counterparts manage market-related activities, loan repayment, and financial matters for both house and farm.This low literacy is also one of the hindrances that these women (110 respondents) face, and all of the respondents face land acquisition as a major hindrance. This clearly indicates that female farmers are victims of gender discrimination by their male counterparts. Female farmers must manage both their home and their farm, and they must devote more time to both than men. Most of the women, or 135 respondents, do not even have land ownership, and those women who do hold ownership of land in partnership have a ratio of ownership that is less than 50%, whereas very few women who are either widows or do not have a male member in the family have land ownership.

SUGGESTION

The need of the hour is that these hardworking women farmers get their rights, which means that the gap of gender discrimination should be minimized. The government should come up with many schemes for the welfare of the female farmers; they should be given land ownership. The laws governing land ownership should be amended to ensure gender equality in land distribution. Many markets should be open where just female farmers can sell their products; this will make them comfortable and will also encourage them to come out of their farm-related activities. Most importantly, they should be given proper education so that most of the problems will be reduced. For instance, most of the respondents are unaware of their rights and also about the new advancements in technology that are related to farms. This can be done by the government through awareness camps at the village level.

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