Role of women in homestead of small farm category in an area of Jessore, Bangladesh

Role of women in homestead of small farm category in an area of Jessore, Bangladesh

* On-Farm Research Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur 1701, Bangladesh.
** General Animal Science Department, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

The purpose of the study was to identify the role of women in homestead and family life. Bangladesh is a country of illiterate people. Only nineteen percent of women are educated in rural Bangladesh. Women are the half of society. They take part in completion of most homestead activities. They play an important role in domestic duties such as washing utensils, cleaning house compounds, livestock and poultry management and feeding, as well as post-harvest activities, guest entertainment, decision making and technology adoption. Women are superior in decision making concerning homestead activities but 70-96 percent decisions are executed by joint venture (Wife and husband). Conscientiousness of women and their education level are responsible for technology adoption. Adoption of technology was faster among higher educated women in the rural village.

Bangladesh is an agro-based over-populated country. Development of socio-economic condition of Bangladesh fully depends upon the development of the village. Women in rural Bangladesh are major but largely unrecognized contributors to agricultural and economic productivity. Half of these human resources consists of women and the majority of them (92.05%) live in rural areas (Islam 1977). Women in Bangladesh are responsible for grain processing and storage. They grow most of the family's fruits and vegetables and participate in post harvest activities. They care for poultry and livestock. Yet women's contribution to agricultural and household production receives less recognition than their domestic and child-rearing chores which are economic tasks in our view (Kabir et al 1977).

Nearly all agricultural policy and programme attention including the new technologies, are focused on grain production rather than on grain processing and storage. The problems of rural women cannot be separated from the problems of rural Bangladesh. For their poverty, illiteracy and ignorance are merely a part of the total society. As a part of the society women have an important role to play in the productive activities. In our country, specially in rural society, all women educated and uneducated alike generally remain involved in their domestic duties, Women are the part and parcel of family life. They are involved in every corner of household work even in any decision or planning of the family. The role of women in homestead and family life needs to be assessed for future research oriented development activities of the nation.

The study was conducted during January and February, 1987 at Abhoynagar upazila of Jessore district. A sample of one hundred families was taken and an interview schedule was used to conduct the study. Only small farm (0.51-1.00 ha) (BBS 1983-84) categories were considered for this study. The paper was prepared on the basis of means and percentages.

Education makes human beings great, wise and honourable. Women as the half of society, have the same human right and have to come forward for education to become an affectionate mother, loving sisters, dutiful wives and above all intelligent social beings. The study revealed that only nineteen percent women were educated in rural Bangladesh among these, only 4% was above class nine. Eighty one percent rural women were uneducated in the study area. Fifteen percent women were educated ranged class one to eight (Table 1).

Bangladesh is an agro-based over-populated country. The "grow more food" and "birth control" programmes of Government are directly related with each other. It is impossible to develop the country without success of the above two programmes. Agricultural products such as crops, livestock and fisheries are the main contributors of national income and self sufficiency. Only 36% rural women are familiar with crops extension personnel yet 90% of rural women are involved in crop productions. Only 19% and 6% women are known to livestock and fisheries extension people respectively. But 87% adult women are familiar to family planning people (Table 2).

In our country, specially in rural society, all women, educated and uneducated alike generally remain involved in their domestic duties. It is a fact that a family without women is not sustainable. Women were responsible in 75%, 69%, 50%, 90%, 97% and 91% of the following work activities: washing utensils and cleaning house compound, releasing poultry and its feeding, post harvest activities (crops), crop preservation, cooking and fuel collection (Table 3). In the case of homestead work, the daughter assisted more than the son. Others, like mother in law, grant mother, parents, sister in law and servants could help in the work. The husband was always busy with outside work. They spent less time on homestead activities.

Table 3: Activities in the homestead

	Categories (%)
	Women	Daughter	Son	Husband	Others

Washing utensils, cleaning house compound	75	17	1	1	7
Releasing poultry & feeding	69	21	6	0	3
Post harvest activities	50	3	12	50	20
Crops preservation	90	1	4	25	8
Cooking	97	1	0	0	3
Fuel collection within house	91	1	0	2	6

Over time, men and women became an exceptionally effective operating unit (Murdock 1949) as a result of the process of moralization, biological needs, physiological difference and economic interdependence between men and women. Participation of women in the decision-making process of farm activities and investment in homestead and cultivated lands along with household activities cannot be looked at in isolation. The participation of men, women and children in a family are so interdependent that they support each other in every day life in a large number of social, productive and economic activities (Hussain et al 1988). A woman is engaged with several responsibilities at the same time. Forty nine per cent of decisions concerned with homestead cultivation such as vegetables and other plant species were done by women. Forty per cent of house making, 48% of social festivals, 32% of selling vegetables, 25% of selling other crops, 17% of cattle sales, 21% of goat sales and 70% of selling and purchasing poultry and its byproducts were executed by women. Fifty percent or above 50% of decisions were taken by women. The role of mutual understanding between wife and husbands was observed to be prominent in deciding on purchase and selling of homestead goods. Seventy percent of decisions concerning purchasing and selling of poultry and its byproducts was done by women which was highest followed by vegetable cultivation (49%). Seventy to ninety percent of decisions were executed by joint venture (wife and husband) (Table 4).

Table 4: Role of women in decision making

	Women	Husband	Both	Daughter	Son	Others*
Items	%

Homestead cultivation (vegetables & species)	49	56	95	2	2	1
Housemaking	40	78	80	5	7	8
Participation in social festivals	48	53	96	3	5	6
Selling vegetables	32	65	75	4	25	12
Selling crops (Rice, wheat)	25	80	82	2	10	4
Selling cattle	17	85	70	1	22	5
Selling goats	21	83	90	5	15	3
Selling poultry & its by products	70	48	85	33	38	8

Among various types of agricultural technology, adoption of seeds, fertilizer, irrigation and insecticide use in respect of crop science; and breed, feed (feed balances) and preventive measures in respect of livestock have been considered for this study. This study revealed that education could play a significant role in new technology adoption.

In any development activities, the capability of the people in acquiring knowledge and technological skill depends on the receptivity of the people. Consequently the low rate of literacy has caused extremely low receptivity among the rural women. Technology adoption was higher in educated rural women than non-educated women. Twenty one percent educated and 14% non-educated women adopted new seed technology. When education level is increased, technology adoption is also increased. Irrigation technology (30%) was the highest adopted in the study area in the crops sector.

The positive relationship of education with poultry production means that the farmers with higher education level reared a greater number of birds than those who had less or no education (Shahidullah and Islam 1989). Preventive measures (12%) was the highest of adopted technology in case of livestock among rural women (Table 5). A few women knew about breeding and feeding of livestock.

Table 5: Women can be influenced by education for technology adoption (Figures in the parentheses indicate the percentages)

Enterprise:	Crops				Livestock
Type of Technology:	Seeds	Fertilizer	Irrigation	Insecticide	Breed	Feed	Preventive measures

No education
No adoption	70(86)	80(98)	58(72)	77(95)	78(96)	79(98)	76(94)
Adoption	11(14)	1(2)	23(28)	4(5)	3(4)	2(2)	5(6)
Class one to five
No adoption	8(89)	9(100)	7(78)	8(89)	8(89)	9(100)	8(89)
Adoption	1(11)	0(0)	2(22)	1(11)	1(11)	0(0)	1(11)
Class six to eight
No adoption	4(66)	5(83)	3(50)	5(83)	5(83)	5(83)	3(50)
Adoption	2(34)	1(17)	3(50)	1(17)	1(17)	1(17)	3(50)
Class nine to above
No adoption	3(75)	3(75)	2(50)	2(50)	2(50)	3(75)	1(25)
Adoption	1(25)	1(25)	2(50)	2(50)	2(50)	1(25)	3(75)

Women in the small farm category are the key persons for development of their socioeconomic condition. It was found that increasing level of education of women influenced positively the technology adoption status.

BBS 1983-84 Year book of Agricultural Statistics of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Hussain M S, Abedin M Z, Quddus M A, Hossain S M M, Banu T Ara and Ahmed D 1988 Women's contribution to homestead agricultural production systems in Bangladesh, Published in Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development, pp307

Islam S 1977 Women, Education and Development in Bangladesh; A few reflections, Role of women in Socio-economic development in Bangladesh-Proceedings of a Seminar, Bangladesh Economic Association Dhaka, March, 1977, pp121-131

Kabir K, Abed A and Chen M 1977 Rural women in Bangladesh: Exploding some myths. Role of Women in Socio-economic development in Bangladesh. Proceedings of a Seminar, Bangladesh Economic Association Dhaka, March, 1977, pp72-79

Shahidullah M and Islam M M 1989 Factors related to poultry production behaviour of the farmers of Boilor union in Mymensingh district. Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science 18:31-46

This subject is of immense political and strategical importance and papers such as the one reviewed here are specially welcome in the journal. It is fundamental for the wellbeing of any community or society that a continuing analysis be made of the role of women in development and in decision-making concerning their and their family's future. However, certain observations merit consideration.

It is perhaps a little too simplistic to use classical assessments of education (essentially years spent at school) as a criterion for measuring technology adoption. Experience in Colombia (CIPAV 1990) indicates that men and women, with no more than one year's formal education, have demonstrated a tremendous capacity to analyze, criticise and adopt-adapt new technologies, provided they have access to essential resources such as capital, labour and to traditional knowledge and skills to enable them to invent and experiment.

Other issues to be taken into account in technology adoption are: land tenure, family priorities for investment and the characteristics of the proposed technologies -- in terms of their suitability in socio-economic terms, so that they do not clash with traditional practices and knowledge, but rather optimise and improve them.

CIPAV 1990 Talleres de Capacitación de Campesinos en Tecnologías Agropecuarias Sostenibles. Datos no Publicados, CIPAV: Cali, Colombia.

Table 1: Level of education of the women

Categories	No. of respondents	Percentage

No. education	81	81%
Class one to five	9	9%
Class six to eight	6	6%
Class nine to above	4	4%

Table 2: Linkage with extension people

Categories of extension people	No. of Respondents (Women)	Percentage

Crops	36	36%
Livestock	19	19%
Fisheries	6	6%
Family planning	87	87%