Creating Livelihood Opportunities for Women through Agroforestry Systems

Abstract

In India, women spend more time on unpaid care work than men, and on an average, spend about thirty min to five hours in collecting fodder, fuel wood and water for the household. They are an essential part of farm households, it is equally important to recognize and value their role in agriculture, especially to ensure agricultural growth for reducing poverty, increasing the food and nutritional security and enhancing the livelihoods of women and family. Arranging fuel wood, fodder and water is the responsibilities of women in rural households, for which they depend on common property resources. Increasing demand for these resources outstrips the re-growth of these resources, which further enhances the work load and drudgery of women as now they have to travel longer distances (Laxmi et al. 2003, Veld et al. 2006 and Sahoo & Singh, 2015) for meeting the daily requirement, often settling for poorer-quality material