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for rice but also for cash crops such as vegetables sometimes during the kharif andoften during the rabi season. Access to supplementary irrigation enables farmers togrow rice, wheat, berseem, and vegetables for consumption and for the market.Poor farmers, particularly the widows who can’t afford to pay the rental fees ofwater for irrigation, exchange their labor for water but are often taken advantage ofby the tube well owners, who pay them lower than normal wage rates.Human capitalA major factor influencing women’s productivity is the extent to which they haveaccess to education, training, and extension. There is general agreement that educationincreases productivity and a substantial literature exists documenting the positiveeffects of women’s education on human capital development, paid labor forceparticipation, and agricultural production (Cloud 1985). There is a wide disparity inaccess to education by caste and gender of adult workers (Fig. 4A). Among all theadult females of the upper castes in Chandpur and Mungeshpur, about one-fourthhave not gone to school. Illiteracy rates among the lower caste female adults, however,are very high at 80% in Chandpur and 91% in Mungeshpur. In both villages,most of the upper caste adult males are literate. In contrast, among the lower casteadult males, 37% in Chandpur and 58% in Mungeshpur were not able to go to school.Literacy rates among children 15 years old and below, especially for girls, are higherin Chandpur than in Mungeshpur among the lower caste (Fig. 4B). This trend is similarin Sariyawan where female illiteracy is higher than male illiteracy.Literacy rate (%)100806040200A Chandpur Mungeshpur10080B ChandpurMungeshpur6040200Males FemalesMales FemalesUC LC UC LC UC LC UC LCIlliterate LiterateFig. 4. Literacy rates of (A) adult family members of farming households(above age 16) and (B) males and females (15 years andbelow). UC = upper caste, LC = lower caste.Using gender analysis in characterizing and understanding . . . 365