International Food Security Dialogue – 2014

Enhancing Food Production, Gender Equity and Nutritional Security in a Changing World

University of Alberta, Edmonton, CanadaApr 30 – May 2, 2014

Rachana Devkota1, Kamal Khadka1, Hom Gartaula2, Asis Shrestha1, Swikar Karki1 and Pashupati Chaudhary1

Women-friendly interventions in finger millet cultivation in Nepal

1Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), Pokhara, Nepal

2Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba and International Development Studies, Menno Simons College, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg

Correspondence: PO Box 324, Pokhara, Nepal, Email: rdevkota@libird.org,

The is part of the CIFSRF supported project “Revalorizing small millets: Enhancing the food and nutritional security of women and children in rainfed

regions of South Asia”

Background• Finger millet is 4th important cereal crop grown in Nepal, covering

9% of total cultivated area.

• It is a climate-smart crop with the quality of resilience over drought, low soil fertility, and fragile and marginal land.

• Finger millet is rich in iron, calcium, zinc, and dietary fiber; good for a healthy food choice.

• It is a culturally important crop for some ethnic groups.

• Women are important players in agricultural activities (>90% involvement).

Research Problem • Men’s increased entry into non-agricultural activities (within and

outside the country) has put agricultural sector in the hands of women and elderly.

• Women are less prioritized for agricultural technological development.

• Neglected technological development, gender biased approach, and marginal millet cultivation go together.

Conceptual Framework• Women in agriculture: • Women are the main players in agriculture• Men’s entry into non-agricultural activities increases feminization of

agriculture• Labour out-migration:• Movement of an individual or a group of individuals outside of

his/her residence in search of employment. • Farm mechanization: • Farm machineries are considered men’s domain, women are less

concerned• Women-friendly mechanization improves gender equality

• Practical and strategic gender needs

Research Sites

Map 1: Country map showing the study area in Nepal

Kaski

Dhading

Research Methodology• Action research - RESMISA

• Baseline study comprised a survey among randomly selected 357 households from the three village development committees, conducted in 2012.

• Focused survey comprised 106 respondents (61 women and 45 men).

• Focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews.

• IBM SPSS Statistics and Excel computer programs were used for data analysis.

Results

• Women in agricultural research• Involvement in variety selection• Involvement in technological

intervention

• Reducing drudgery and workload of women• Introduction of pedal thresher, fork

weeder, line transplanting

• Empowerment through women’s involvement in variety selection• Gender differences in varietal preference: • Example: Men did not consider the production of straw, while

women did; women preferred non-lodging variety, while men preferred the grain yield

• Involvement in technological intervention• Gender differences in the choice of specific machinery or

technology according to their involvement in a particular pre- and post-harvest agricultural practices

• Example: Women are interested in thresher, men in (mini) tillers

• Introduction of pedal thresher

Advantages:• Increased participation of male

members in threshing, which was rare before

• Lesser time required for threshing• Less inert materials in grains

Future scope• The initial assumption was to overcome the

problem of power-cut and unavailability of electric drum thresher.

• There is potential for up scaling pedal thresher, but there is demand for electricity operated thresher, as at the current form it requires two persons

Limitations:• Needs at least 2 persons to operate• Pedal still requires some physical effort

Reducing drudgery and workload of women

Introduction of fork weeder

Advantages:• Less effort, time and labour needed for weeding• Easy for weeding• It saves workers from snake and snake bites• Contributes to less back pain and less injury on

hands while working

Future scope• Though farmers shown their interest to take this

technology over, but it needs modification to make it applicable for upright type weeds.

Limitations:• Mainly suitable for tailing type weeds, but not upright type• More efficient in other crops such as cauliflower and cabbage• Finger millet have upright type weeds

Introduction of line transplanting

Advantages:• Reduces time and labour for weeding• Easy thinning of finger millet• Easy fertilizer application• Improved plant population of maize

Future scope:• Due to less time and labour

required, there is potential for up scaling

Limitations:• Due to larger spacing, there is

high weed infestation

Conclusions

• Should acknowledge women’s role in agriculture• Gender sensitive farm mechanization policy

• Gender-sensitive intervention identifies specific gender needs• helps develop technologies that address the problems specific to men and women.

• Participation in technology development increases women’s role in agricultural decision making.• Agricultural decision making can lead to household decision-making that

ultimately leads to women’s empowerment

Thanks for your kind attention