Rainfed rice - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

Gender, Labour and Rainfed Technology
The emerging component technologies in farming systems in eastern
India will require changes in the allocation of land, labour and cash. This
will directly and indirectly affect female family members on account of
their active involvement in almost all crop operations as these
technologies will require new knowledge and a new cultural orientation.
Research needs
Assessment of the likely
implications of emerging component
technologies of farming systems for
men and women.
Special efforts have to be made to
develop skills in women and
educate them about the latest
technologies in rainfed rice farming.
Assessment of the implications of
male migration for the workload
and welfare of female family
members and children.
Assessment of female participation
in rice farming.
Inclusion of women (knowledge,
attitudes and perceptions) in the
selection of breeding lines for
different qualities.
Development and testing of
agricultural/mechanical
implements/ tools for women.
Ways to optimise the use of rice by-
products and home-based
technologies.
Prepared by:
A. Singh and Thelma Paris
It will be difficult to achieve
the goal of increasing rice
productivity if rice farm
management is left only to
female workers who do
not have access to
technical knowledge that
can help reduce the work
burden of female
landowners and
cultivators.
When women were asked
which operation they found
the most laborious, they
mentioned weeding as
being not only the most
laborious but also the most
monotonous.
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