Involvement of Rural Women in Homestead Vegetable Cultivation at Rangpur District in Bangladesh

Abstract

Ho mestead garden is a traditional agro forestry system and an imperative co mponent in the livelihoods of rural poor, and in the rural economy of Bangladesh. Ho me gardening activit ies are cente red on wo men and it can also increase the inco me of wo men, which may result in the better use of household resources and improved caring practices and empowerment. Th is e m- powerment of wo men also addresses a priority area of poverty alleviation and prov ides important socio-economic returns. The focus of the study was the involvement of rural wo men in homestead vegetable cultivation in Gangachara subdistrict of Rangpur district. Data were collected fro m 120 respondents by using random Samp ling method of Ganga chara subdistrict of Rangpur district. Majority (66%) of the respondent had medium involvement with homestead winter vegetable production. The highest proportion (68%) of the respondents had medium involvement in ho mestead summer vegetable production. Correlation analysis indicated that among the respondents selected characteristics, family size was no relat ion with each of their winter, summer and overall ho mestead vegetable cultivation. Farm size had no relationship with winter vegetable cult ivation but h ad positive rela- tionship with summer and overall vegetable production. Age, education, knowledge on homestead vegetable cultivation, annual family inco me, and farm size and commun ication exposure were positively related with each of their winter, su mmer an d overall homestead vegetable cultivation. The coincident impact of home gardening programs in terms of giv ing wo men a voice and promoting their fu ll involvement in domestic life can make an important contribution to the overall imp rovement of Bangladesh .