Role of Women in the Irrigated Agriculture Sector in the Fergana Valley: Findings of Field Surveys

Abstract

AbstractSince 2008 the Scientific‐Information Centre of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission of Central Asia (SIC ICWC) has been actively attempting to draw greater attention to the role of women in water management and irrigated farming, taking into consideration the specificity of current demographic and ecological conditions in the rural areas. In the past and at present, women's labour is widely used in the irrigated agriculture sector, especially for cultivating crops on household plots where they perform heavy manual work, particularly during harvesting. At the same time the current stratification of the rural population and the significant migration of men outside Central Asian countries as temporary wage workers have additionally increased the burden on women's shoulders of having full responsibility for maintaining their families and for childcare.In the process of its researches related to gender mainstreaming, the SIC ICWC uses direct working with women associated with enhancing their awareness and aimed at their involvement in the Women's Movement Network and special training for women engaged in the water management sector or irrigated farming.This paper presents the findings of such researches conducted in the Fergana Valley in the framework of different pilot projects. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.