Your search found 2 records
1 Karn, Sujeet; Sugden, Fraser; Sah, K. K.; Maharjan, J.; Shah, T. N.; Clement, F. 2020. Shifting gender relations in agriculture and irrigation in the Nepal Tarai-Madhesh. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). 34p. (WLE Research for Development (R4D) Learning Series 10) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.211]
Gender relations ; Agricultural sector ; Women’s participation ; Women’s empowerment ; Gender equality ; Vulnerability ; Groundwater irrigation ; Communities ; Migration ; Role of women ; Farmers ; Land ownership ; Land tenure ; Water availability ; Irrigation canals ; Tube wells ; Climate change ; Water user associations ; Capacity building ; Social change ; Caste systems ; Households ; Livelihoods ; Villages ; Constraints ; Labour ; Poverty ; Economic resources ; Microfinance ; Remittances ; Enterprises ; Institutions ; Decision making ; State intervention / Nepal / Eastern Gangetic Plains / Tarai-Madhesh Region / Sunsari / Siraha / Ekamba Village Development Committee / Amaduwa Village Development Committee / Lohani / Kharotole / Bhagwanpur / Fulkahakati
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050103)
(2.95 MB)
This report explores how women perceive participation and empowerment vis-a-vis access to water and other agricultural resources in the Tarai/Madhesh of Nepal. The report argues that gendered vulnerability is indeed intricately connected with other axes of difference, such as caste and economic status, despite women’s critical role in agricultural production and their active engagement in access to water and irrigation in agriculture. Overall, women’s well-being seems to have decreased as a consequence of male out-migration. However, there are women who have also become empowered in new ways, taking up enterprise opportunities.
The authors point out that at the level of policy and external development interventions, a dominating narrative on women’s limited participation in agriculture being a result of ‘social norms’ exists. Public irrigation agencies have used this myth to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring gender equality in program implementation.
The report concludes that strengthening equitable irrigation user groups alongside capacity building for farmers and program implementers are critical measures for improving women’s access to irrigation and overall well-being. Women should be ensured meaningful participation, including leadership roles.
Finally, this report recommends linking irrigation user groups to other income-generation schemes, and facilitating access to better credit, finance and agricultural inputs.
The authors point out that at the level of policy and external development interventions, a dominating narrative on women’s limited participation in agriculture being a result of ‘social norms’ exists. Public irrigation agencies have used this myth to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring gender equality in program implementation.
The report concludes that strengthening equitable irrigation user groups alongside capacity building for farmers and program implementers are critical measures for improving women’s access to irrigation and overall well-being. Women should be ensured meaningful participation, including leadership roles.
Finally, this report recommends linking irrigation user groups to other income-generation schemes, and facilitating access to better credit, finance and agricultural inputs.
2 Goswami, T.; Ghosal, S. 2022. From rice fields to brackish water farms: changing livelihoods in agrarian coastal Bengal, India. Asia-Pacifc Journal of Regional Science, 6(2):453-484. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-022-00229-8]
Inland fisheries ; Brackish water ; Agriculture ; Rice ; Aquaculture ; Coastal areas ; Sustainable livelihoods ; Vulnerability ; Shrimp culture ; Land use ; Farmland ; Remote sensing ; Geographical information systems ; Coping strategies ; Economic aspects ; Villages ; Households / India / West Bengal / Medinipur / Bhagwanpur
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051145)
(2.90 MB)
The present study attempted to understand the dimensions of changing agrarian livelihoods because of haphazard adaptation of capitalistic shrimp aquaculture. Specifically, using multi-temporal Google-based geodatabase, we quantified the artificial conversion of agrarian landscape in an inland freshwater region of coastal Bengal. Further, we examined the long-term viability of transformed livelihoods by adopting a modified version of the Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA). The assessment of changing livelihoods was based on empirical information acquired through field surveys, focus group discussion (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII). Results from the geostatistical analysis depicted that the shrimp culture in the research area was very recent. In 2010, only 0.03 percent of the total area was occupied by shrimp ponds. However, within a decade and an expansion rate of 18 percent/annum, the conversion spread to 1/3 of the total study area. The findings also clarified that the adaptation of shrimp cultivation increased the overall profit by 6400 USD/ha/year over agricultural output, and resulted in a quick rise in the standard of living for the shrimp farmers. However, in the long run, due to decreasing productivity and salinization of the surrounding land, the conversion resulted in massive depeasantization, augmentation of wasteland, and biased wealth accumulation led to a wide rich-poor gap. Therefore, the entire ecosystem will suffer in the near future, if the local government does not strictly impose Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
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