Determinants of Female Workforce Participation in Agriculture of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Most of the rural female workforce is engaged in the agriculture sector and unequally distributed in various operations. The gender inequality in workforce participation in agriculture sector is easily visible. There is a high participation of women in some specific tasks and some others are recognized as male dominated work. According to NSSO 68th round data (2012) , the participation of women in various agricultural activities is only 17% in Uttar Pradesh, India. The diverse socio-economic status of rural Uttar Pradesh affects participation in different ways. The female participation as agricultural laborer is high in Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and it is comparatively low in General and Other Backward Caste (OBC). Participation ratio is having an increasing trend from 15-29 to 30-44 years age groups, and later it is having a declining trend to older age groups. Female participation is increasing from small to medium-sized households, after which it has declined sharply here. Almost half (46%) of the women participation in agricultural is coming from households which derive at least half of their income from own farming. Education level and female participation are inversely associated. Female participation is found highest in families with marginal size of land holdings (74.61%), followed by small land holdings (12.66%) and medium land holdings. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) has been used to identify the key determinants of female participation in various operations. It is found that household type, education level and size of land are the most important among many other factors. This study is useful for offering suggestions to make the participation of women easier and more effective.