Socio-economic Status Of Rural Women Research Articles

Rural Women Farmers’ Participation In Maize Value Chain And Socio-Economic Empowerment In South-West Nigeria

In recent times, there has been increased participation of women in agricultural value chain, but their empowerment status is poor. Thus, evidence-based data revealing the socio-economic status of rural women participating in maize value chain is important to further strengthen women’s participation in the agricultural value chain sector. The study aimed at examining participation in maize value chain and socio-economic empowerment among women in South-west Nigeria. A three-stage sampling procedure was employed in the selection of respondents for the study. The first stage involved proportionate random sampling of three states in South-west, Nigeria. Second stage involved the generation of a sample frame from the various associations of rural women farmers in MVC in the Agricultural Development Programme zones. Last stage, 20% of the total of rural women farmers involved in MVC was selected to give a sample size of 539 respondents. Data were collected through interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study were that the participation mean score of the respondents in marketing and processing were high (71.2%, 73.1%) respectively, the mean participation score in MVC was 67%; respondents’ percentage mean score based on socio-economic empowerment status after participation in MVC was high (60%). Major constraints to participation in MVC activities were high cost of transportation to market (x̄=1.27) ranked 1st and inadequacy of extension service delivery (x̄=1.22) ranked 2nd; and participation in MVC activities had positive and significant relationship with the socio-economic empowerment status of the respondents (r=0.380; p=0.000). The study concluded that the level of rural women farmers’ participation in MVC activities was high and impacted their socio-economic status positively. The study recommended that agricultural extension agency should focus on empowering the rural women by providing extension services needed for market linkage and bulk transportation of produce to target markets.

A Study on Socio-Economic Upliftment of Women JEEViKA Beneficiaries and to Analyse the Constraints Faced by Them in Begusarai District of Bihar

Majority of the population in Bihar are residing in rural areas and have low source of income which leads to poverty. Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) or JEEViKA project, 2006 is a poverty alleviation project supported by World Bank, which aims to enhance the socio-economic status of rural women. JEEViKA project brought a whole new platform for women empowerment. The present study aims to analyse the significant increase in the level of women’s empowerment through JEEViKA project and also to find out the major constraints faced by women beneficiaries. The study was conducted in the Begusarai district of Bihar which was selected purposively as JEEViKA livelihood training programme is currently running in the district. Teghra block was selected by purposive sampling for the study as the block has the largest number of trained beneficiaries. Total six villages were selected for the study by purposively considering the fact that these villages have a greater number of JEEViKA beneficiaries A total number of 120 respondents were taken for the study out of which sixty benrficiaries and sixty non-beneficiaries were there. The data were collected by personnel interview method by using pre structured interview schedule and later appropriate statistical analysis was done to find out the meaningful results. The present study revealed that the there is considerable increase in the socio-economic empowerment of women JEEViKA beneficiaries after going through livelihood trainings. The study further found the major constraints faced by the beneficiaries in various income generating activities such as lack of proper marketing, lower price etc. It is recommended that to enhance the socio-economic condition of rural women government should organize more such income generating livelihood training under JEEViKA project.

Use of ICT in Provision of Information to Rural Women for Sustainable Development©

Information and Communication Technologies are critical tools in disseminating of information for Socio-Economic Development. Every person globally strives to have access to this vital information. However most women in rural areas have limited access to this information. This study therefore was set to find out how ICTs could be used to empower rural women of Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeiyo/Marakwet County through provision of information for sustainable Development. The objectives of the study were to; assess the information needs for rural women; find out how use of ICT could influence socio-economic status of rural women and challenges in accessing this information for sustainable Development. The study was informed by Harris Info-Mobilization theory. The study adopted a qualitative research design. The target population was 3070 women in Keiyo South. Stratified sampling was used to divide the constituency into divisions and locations and purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to obtain 141 respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedules supplemented by document review and observation and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that the rural women of Keiyo South has limited access to ICT Technology and infrastructure, which has affected negatively on their socio-economic and political status. Access to information was mainly through informal sources such as friends and neighbors; they need education and training to provide them with knowledge and skills for accessing ICT information, which can help them to attain sustainable Development. The study concluded that use of ICT has helped to reduce poverty through economic empowerment and has enabled the rural women to obtain new life skills. In addition, ICT has enabled them to participate in political election online. With relevant ICT infrastructure and policies in place, ICT could be used to improve the socio-economic status of rural women for sustainable development in Keiyo South. The study recommended that the County government of Elgeyo/Marakwet should empower rural women economically by providing them with information through ICT and by enacting policies that support development of ICT infrastructure and projects for rural women. Through these projects, the rural women could be trained to gain the knowledge and skills for searching and retrieving information through ICT. This knowledge could help them develop socio- Economic strategies for sustainable Development.

Socioeconomic Dynamics in Women's Access and Utilization of Health Technologies in Rural Nigeria.

Technology has become a powerful tool for resolving women's health problems hence women's access and use of healthcare technologies have become an important aspect of the Sustainable Development Goals. Though health technologies have improved the lives of women worldwide, in Nigeria, especially in rural settings, use of health technologies remains low. The objective of this study was to examine the socioeconomic dynamics that influence the use of health technologies by women in rural Nigeria. A cross sectional survey using qualitative methods to collect data from 147 purposively selected women (15-65 years) was conducted in three rural Local Government Areas in Enugu State. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and In-depth interview guides were used to collect information from 147 purposively selected women and healthcare workers on access and use of health technologies among women in rural communities. Thematic analytic method was used to analyze the data. The data gathered revealed that there was unavailability of health technologies in some communities studied while many had skeletal provision of health technologies. Bad road networks, cost of transportation and unavailability of health technologies impacted on access. Low socioeconomic status of rural women influenced their use of health technologies. Health technologies especially diagnostic technologies are not available in rural communities. Women cannot access what is not available. The study recommends need for the provision of these lifesaving technologies at little or no cost.

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Nowadays Self-Help Group or SHG plays a vital role not only in social transformation and upliftment of rural women but also in social-economic betterment of them. The main objective of this paper is to examine the impact assessment in the socio-economic status of rural women through Self Help Groups with the help of a micro-level study of two C. D. blocks namely Dhaniakhali and Polba-Dadpur in Hooghly district. 40572 SHGs are consisting of 394897 members in 18 C. D. blocks of Hooghly district. Among the blocks, Daniakhali and Polba-Dadpur were selected for the study, of which 28 groups are chosen randomly. From these selected groups 108 members have been selected to conduct the primary survey. Personal interviews were conducted to find out the major purposes of the study i.e. to examine the role of SHG in developing the socio-economic status of rural women and to analyse the impact of SHGs in decision making. The study is mainly based on primary data and simple per cent calculation is used for analysing the data. The major analytical tool employed for the study is tabular analysis to facilitate easy interpretation. Map of the study area is prepared through ArcGIS 10.5 software. The present study explains a detailed socio-economic profile of the SHG members in the study area.

Improving the Socioeconomic Status of Rural Women Associated with Agricultural Land Acquisition: A Case Study in Huong Thuy Town, Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam

Since the 2000s, agricultural land acquisition (ALA) for urbanization and industrialization has been quickly implemented in Vietnam, which has led to a huge socioeconomic transformation in rural areas. This paper applies the sustainable livelihoods framework to analyze how ALA has impacted the socioeconomic status (SES) of rural women whose agricultural land was acquired. To get primary data, we surveyed 150 affected households, conducted three group discussions and interviewed nine key informants. The research findings reveal that ALA, when applied toward urbanization, has significantly improved the occupational status of rural women by creating non-farm job opportunities that have improved their income, socioeconomic knowledge and working skills. While their SES has been noticeably enhanced, these positive impacts are still limited in cases where ALA is applied toward industrial and energy development, since these purposes do not create many new jobs. Moreover, the unclear responsibility of stakeholders and inadequate livelihood rehabilitation programs of ALA projects have obstructed the opportunities of rural women. To improve the SES of rural women, we recommend that ALA policy initiate a flexible livelihoods support plan based on the purpose of ALA and the concrete responsibilities of stakeholders and investors.

The Value of Skills – Raising the Socioeconomic Status of Rural Women in India

Using primary survey data collected in two sub‐districts of Gujarat, India, on a unique programme that trains rural women with low human capital to repair village water handpumps, we examine the effect of skills training on their socioeconomic outcomes. We find that participating in the training programme significantly increases the probability of being employed outside household farms and women's contribution to household income in the lean season. Further, we find that programme participants spend more on female‐favoured consumption goods and have a greater say in household spending decisions, though only from the women's perspective and not husbands’ or adult sons’ perspective. Consequently, providing skills training, even for part‐time employment, can have positive effects on rural women's overall socioeconomic status.

Impact of bee keeping training on socio-economic status of rural women

Bee keeping is an ideal activity for the socio-economic development of rural people. It does not require any sophisticated equipments and the technology employed is simple and within easy grasp of illiterate rural people. The study was conducted in Pusa block of Samastipur district selected purposively. A list of women trainees, who have obtained from Apiculture Research Training Centre, Pusa. From these lists 50 trained women were randomly selected who have attained seven days duration of training programme. Equal no of untrained women beekeepers, who have not undergone any skill oriented training, were also selected randomly, to serve as control group. Hence, trained from seven village selected for this study. The majority of trained as well as untrained women belonged to middle age group as (31-50years). Bee keeping was adopted by most of the backboard cost it was not influenced caste system of the society. Most of the trained women were belonged to high category of education while untrained women, maximum 50.00 per cent of respondents belonged to low level of education. Maximum percentage of trained as well as untrained respondents were enjoyed in laborer followed by farming, business and service, respectively bee keeping was adopted by most of the small family size. Most of the rural women preferred nuclear family and also it is in product. The maximum respondents do not possess any land in both groups hence they have opted divested to words bee keeping occupation for this livelihood. The percentages of women in for categories were more or less same in two groups i.e., trained and untrained. Maximum respondents had lived in pucca house and enjoy with traditional materials like radio, chair, cycle, watch indicating medium level of economic in study village. Both of groups one almost similar with respect to social participation. Bee keeping training might have somehow or the other helped in developing compel, tines among the trained group. As for as economic motivation trained as well as untrained women maximum percentage fell under the medium economic motivation category.

Empowerment as a Potent Tool for Alleviating Poverty and Stress Among Nigerian Rural Women

Economic independence for women is crucial to break the barrier of financial disability, poor health care service etc. Invariably, poor rural women with little political, economic education and social visibility are often by-passed by development planners. This leads to lack of adequate access to food, insufficient nutrition and children being denied the right to enjoy healthy diet that is needed for the growth. In a developing country such as Nigeria, the socio-economic status of rural women is generally low. Thus, they are marginalized in decision-making, opportunity to be in power, education and employment, thereby limiting their effective use of available resources. These amount to lifetime denials, poverty frustration, hunger, threaten peace beyond the immediate environment and stress. It is against this backdrop that the paper examines causes and effects of poverty and stress women and the need to empower them educationally to improve productivity and facilitates access to information and higher wages. Useful suggestions are also proffered.

Microcredits contribution to the socio-economic development amongst rural women: A case study of Panchagarh District in Bangladesh

Rural women in Bangladesh have a lower socio-economic status compared to men. They have very limited access to income generating as well as social activities due to number of social, cultural and religious barriers. Thus, microcredit programme is intended for improving the socio-economic status of rural women in Bangladesh. In the present study, an attempt has been made to assess how microcredit programme contributes to the socio-economic development of rural women. The study is based on empirical data collected through interviewing the two groups of rural women for example, ‘with credit’ and ‘without credit’ rural women. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors influencing the respondent’s contribution to the total monthly family income. The multiple regression analysis shows that there were strong positive effects of age of respondent, level of education, family size, earning member, occupation of respondent’s, and also monthly income of respondent’s while status of marriage has a strong negative effect. It was found that majority of the ‘with credit’ respondents contribute much higher to the family incomes than the ‘without credit’ respondents. The results also reveal that the ‘with credit’ respondents show higher educational attainment (schooling, secondary and higher secondary certificates) as well as engage in economic and social activities in a larger scale compared to ‘without credit’ respondents. The study concludes that microcredit programme contributes to the development of socio-economic status of rural women in Bangladesh through adequate and timely availability of credit for income generating and productive activities, improving women’s education level, and initiating skill development training. Key words: Rural women, socio-economic status, microcredit programme, Bangladesh.

Gender and Rural Energy Technologies: Empowerment Perspective—A Case Study of Nepal

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes whether alternative energy technologies have been able to lift the socio-economic status of rural women in Nepal, and mountain women in particular, in terms of saving their labour and time spent in managing household energy. It also examines if these technologies have provided increasing opportunities for women to be involved in socio-economic activities in rural villages. It is based on research conducted in Kavre, one of the jirst districts where the Rural Energy Development Program (REDP), supported by the UNDP, implemented micro hydro plants and other rural energy technologies.