IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Women's Place in Agriculture

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Divya Prakash Singh

Abstract

Agriculture has the potential to be a significant driver of development and poverty alleviation. However, many nations' agricultural and rural economies are failing, in part because women, who are frequently a vital resource in agriculture and the rural economy, suffer restrictions that decrease their output. We use available empirical data to investigate which regions and to what extent women engage in agriculture in this article. Women make up approximately 43% of the agricultural labor force worldwide and in developing nations, according to statistics. However, this number conceals significant variance in age and socioeconomic status between areas and nations. Time usage surveys, which are more thorough but usually not nationally representative, provide further insight into the significant variability in women's contributions to agriculture between nations and within countries. Female time usage in agriculture varies by crop, production cycle, age, and ethnic group, according to the study. Data from a few time-use studies broken down by activity indicate that weeding and harvesting were mostly female tasks. Overall, rural women's labor load surpasses that of males, with a larger percentage of unpaid household duties such as food preparation and fuel and water collection. Women make a substantial contribution to agricultural and food production, but it is difficult to verify the proportion generated by women experimentally. Women's involvement in rural labor markets varies greatly by area, but they are always overrepresented in unpaid, seasonal, and part-time employment, and the data indicates that women are frequently paid less for the same work as males. Data on rural and agricultural feminization indicates that it is mostly a Sub-Saharan African phenomenon, but it is also seen in certain sectors like as unskilled labor in the fruit, vegetable, and cut-flower export industry. The importance of women's contributions to agricultural and rural businesses in developing countries is reaffirmed in this article. However, women's responsibilities are diverse, and overgeneralization weakens policy relevance and planning. The context is crucial, and strategies must be founded on reliable data and gender analysis.

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