WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN AGRICULTURE THROUGH VEGETABLE CULTIVATION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN JAMALPUR DISTRICT

Abstract

Women's empowerment is a significant issue all over the world. The study was conducted to know socioeconomic characters of the household, assess the contribution of women to their household income and identifying the influencing factors of women’s participation in the decision-making process. The study was carried out at three villages of Bakhsiganj Upazila under the district of Jamalpur. Data were collected from 60 rural households applying by simple random sampling technique with a structured questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed by using tabular and different statistical techniques. In the study area, women were participating in the various decision-making processes regarding agriculture. The multiple regression analysis showed that women’s income was positively significant to women’s education, age, farm size, and experience. The results of the MNL model indicate that farmer’s age, experience, access to agricultural credit, and access to information have a significant influence on decision-making strategies. Government policy should target improving farmers’ access to credit, delivering proper information to enhance the facilities for the women's decision-making process. Women performed different activities regarding vegetable cultivation like bed preparation, seed sowing, transplanting of seedling, fertilizer application, irrigation, weeding, insect control, seed collection, and seed preservation. In the study area, respondents also faced various problems such as lack of quality seeds and seedlings, lack of required information in time, higher vegetable of inputs, lower market vegetable of products, lower fertility of homestead land, lack of technical knowledge, lack of credit, lack of homestead land, insect and disease infestation, cattle and goat destroy the vegetables, social problems. To reduce their constraints, the study suggested providing logistic supports such as credit facility, input supply, agricultural extension services, needbased training, etc. in order to increase their participation in income-generating activities and

different household decision-making events.