From Working in the Wheat Field to Managing Wheat: Women Innovators in Nepal

Cathy Rozel Farnworth (), Tahseen Jafry (), Kanchan Lama (), Sushila Chatterjee Nepali () and Lone B. Badstue ()
Additional contact information
Cathy Rozel Farnworth: Pandia Consulting
Tahseen Jafry: Glasgow Caledonian University
Kanchan Lama: Women Leading for Change in NRM (WLCN-Nepal)
Sushila Chatterjee Nepali: Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN)
Lone B. Badstue: CIMMYT

The European Journal of Development Research, 2019, vol. 31, issue 2, No 11, 293-313

Abstract: Abstract There is very little research on women in wheat in Nepal, and wheat is still considered a ‘man’s crop’. Consequently, extension services rarely target women, and women are not considered as innovators. However, research conducted in the Terai plains in 2014/15 shows that women are innovating in wheat to the extent that wheat farming is experiencing a shift from feminisation of agricultural labour towards women taking control over decision-making. Processes accounting for this include male outmigration, non-governmental organisation (NGO) work on promoting women’s equality which has developed women’s confidence, individual support from extension agents and strong cooperation between women to foster each other’s ‘innovation journeys’. Women who lived in seclusion 10 years ago are receiving recognition within their families and communities. This article provides recommendations for researchers, rural advisory services and other partners to bring their work in alignment with the realities of women wheat innovators.

Keywords: Wheat; Gender; Innovation processes; Nepal; Women’s empowerment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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DOI: 10.1057/s41287-018-0153-4

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