Drudgery reduction of farm women through improved tools

Abstract

Introduction A huge proportion of rural women involve in agricultural and allied fields like the crop production, irrigation, manuring, post harvest operations, agro/social forestry, livestock activities, fisheries, etc. The extent of women's involvement and type of activities performed by them in agriculture and allied fields varies greatly from state to state even within a state. The farmwomen lead hard lives and perform grueling works in farm and homestead activities. This causes significant physical, mental exhaustion and other health problems. The foremost reason for all these problems are unawareness, hoary techniques of performing task, incompatibility of the technology and attitudinal constraints such as instinctive conservatism and confrontation to change. Women are lagging behind in the use of improved technology and equipments at farm. It was pointed out in a study that various agricultural projects were formulated keeping in mind men with the assumption that they would automatically give advantage to women though men have different physiological and ergonomical characteristics than women [2]. The tools or equipment which are designed considering men's physiological, anthropometric and ergonomical parameters, increase work load and occupational disorders in spite of decreasing, if not fit for the women. According to Armstrong (1983)[1], inappropriate design and excessive use of hand tools were found associated with increased incidence of both acute and sub-acute cumulative trauma of hand, wrist and fore arm. Designing and standardizing appropriate tailor made tools and equipment for women can reduce or entirely prevent physical fatigue, which is linked with farm work. Hence, the present investigation is designed with the broad objective to equip farm women technologically for reducing their drudgery during engagement in agriculture and for enhancing their productivity.