Beyond household income: the role of commercial vegetable farming in moderating socio-cultural barriers for women in rural Nepal

Abstract

BackgroundPromoting rural women’s agricultural entrepreneurship in the Global South has become a major policy and program priority for governments and development partners. Women’s income earning is viewed as a pathway to their empowerment and gender equality. The research goal was to understand how patriarchal socio-cultural norms and practices influence women’s participation in commercial vegetable farming (CVF) in the mid-hills of Sudurpashchim Pradesh, Nepal, and identify the specific and evolving strategies that women use to negotiate these changes.MethodologyData for the study were generated through in-depth interviews with 16 smallholder couples, eight each in Dadeldhura and Achham districts. Additionally, 17 key informants who were government agency and development organization agriculture support officials at the district and national level were interviewed. Besides in-depth interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) with women’s groups, women leaders, development actors, and government officials at district, regional, and national level were also conducted. Interview data analysis using NVivo was complemented with field notes, observations and government agency and development organization reports.ResultsCVF possibilities initially motivated a few women to discuss with their husbands, organize self-help groups, and seek development program subsidies. With strong support from husbands and parents-in-law, they actively engage in CVF, generate income, form cooperatives for savings and credit, and improve household food security and their own economic status. CVF-associated groups, cooperatives, meetings, exposure visits, skill development training, knowledge sharing, counseling, and advocacy are vital tools. Through them, women build self-confidence, contest and transform entrenched socio-cultural barriers, and negotiate new socio-cultural norms and practices within and outside the household. Dissolving gender stereotypes regarding the division of labor in CVF plays a significant role in encouraging more women to join CVF and increases gender parity. However, a diminishing minority of women still struggle to overcome the legacy of prior negative experiences and subconsciously fear community backlash, especially regarding extended travel outside their village.ConclusionSocio-cultural practices restricting women’s income-generating roles can be transformed through investment in women’s group initiatives, enhancing husbands’ and wives’ communication and livelihood planning, and community members increased appreciation for women’s role in contributing household income and food security.