What agricultural transition means for women in male-headed households in South Asia: an in-depth exploration of intrahousehold evaluation processes

AbstractWomen’s participation in agriculture is increasing in the Eastern Gangetic Plains due to various external drivers, but they continue to play a limited role in agricultural decision-making. Yet there is limited understanding of the perspectives of spouses in male-headed households post-technology adoption. To understand post-technology adoption experiences of spouses, we conducted qualitative and semi-structured individual interviews with household heads and their spouses in 47 households. This approach aimed to understand their perception on recent adoption of conservation agriculture and its influence on their socio-economic status and roles in agricultural production. Both household heads and their spouses tended to prioritize technological benefits, status change, changing roles and responsibilities at the household level as important contributions/aspects of new conservation agriculture practices. However, upon deeper inspection, women had limited mechanistic understanding compared to men, and their use of free time was situation dependent with location-specific opportunities for women to upskill. Efforts to reduce the information gap and incorporate their technological preferences and needs into future promotional activities are necessary to improve women’s participation in decision-making. Similarly, opportunities to upskill can provide potential opportunities for women to realize their personal aspirations and have a positive influence on their household and community.Keywords: Genderdecision-makingsustainable intensificationfarmer resource allocationconservation agriculture AcknowledgmentsWe are thankful to the 94 respondents who gave their time for this research. We are thankful to the transcribers and members of our local partner organizations (Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Satmile Satish Club O Pathagar, Department of Agriculture, Sabuj Mitra Krishak Sangha and Sabuj Bahini, Gourangapur Farmers Club in West Bengal; Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute [BARI] and Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service [RDRS] in Bangladesh; Bihar Agricultural University [BAU] in Bihar; Nepal Agricultural Research Council [NARC] in Nepal) in assisting the team during data collection. We would like to thank Prof. Sucharita Sen for her very useful comments on earlier versions of this paper.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Ethical approvalThis research was passed by CIMMYT internal review ethics board and approved as low risk research (IREC-2019.010).Data availability statementAnonymized Data can be made available on reasonable request.Additional informationFundingThis research is funded by the Australian Centre for International Research via CSE/2011/077.Notes on contributorsE. KarkiEmma Karki is a Senior Research Analyst at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Kathmandu, Nepal. At CIMMYT, she is currently working on the Sustainable and Resilient Farming System Intensification project. She is interested in understanding institutions, structures, and systems for sustainable agricultural practices through a gender and social inclusion lens. She has a master’s degree in Climate Change and Development.A. ChaudharyAnjana Chaudhary is a Research Associate (social sciences) at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Kathmandu, Nepal. She has a master’s degree focused on public health. She brings a well-established background in the development field with exposure to various subjects, health, nutrition, gender, and agriculture. She contributes to the implementation of research activities and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Her research interests focus on understanding the gender dynamics that influence the decision-making, access to available facilities and its impact on health and living.A. SharmaAkriti Sharma is a Research Analyst at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Kathmandu, Nepal. She has a master’s degree focused on Environmental Science & Policy, and a bachelor’s in Economics. Her research interests focus on sustainable agricultural development for food security.P. TimsinaPragya Timsina is a Social Researcher at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in New Delhi, India. She has a master’s degree from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development and a bachelor’s degree from University of Delhi. She has previously worked in community development in different regions in India and is currently involved in various projects in India, Nepal and Bangladesh at CIMMYT. Her research interests include gender, marginalized groups, climate change and resilience.R. SharmaRama Sharma is a social researcher and development professional based in Nepal and was previously associated with CIMMYT and involved in Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) Project.A. LeipzigAva Leipzig was previously associated as an intern within the Sustainable and Resilient Farming Systems Intensification in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (SRFSI) Project at CIMMYT, Nepal.B. BrownDr. Brendan Brown is an agricultural innovation researcher at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He works on understanding the uptake and implications of agricultural system change, with a focus on sustainable agricultural intensification. He has a PhD that focused on Sustainable agricultural intensification in Eastern and Southern Africa, and a has a bachelor’s degree of Agricultural Science.