Women in Agriculture and Rural Production Systems

FOUNDATION OF AGRARIAN STUDIES | Women in rural areas have especially felt the ramifications of globalisation and economic liberalisation in the so called less-developed countries. Changes in policies governing land reform, public investment in rural infrastructure, the import of agricultural products, and the protection of fauna and flora have had a significant impact on women's work and livelihood in rural India. The research on women in agriculture has, however, lagged behind and does not reflect the complex changes that are occurring with respect to their work and livelihood in the Indian countryside.

In order to close this gap, the Foundation of Agrarian Studies (FAS) conducted an RLS funded project which focused on the role of women in rural production systems. Of course, this major aspect cannot be understood without taking into account the larger environment rural women work in. Therefore, the survey also explored how gender intersects with rural-urban migration and the complex field of social exclusion and discrimination in rural areas. The project has been successfully completed in 2018, but FAS and RLS continue their successful collaboration.

The findings of the research were integrated into an India-wide programme of village studies (PARI), which seeks to gather detailed data on various aspects of villages from diverse regions of the country. Extensive and accurate information on actual living and working conditions in rural areas are vital for the development of effective policies and programmes that benefit the most deprived sections of society.

To communicate its findings into the scientific community as well as the general public, FAS publishes the Review of Agrarian Studies. This bi-annual publication is India’s major academic journal exclusively committed to agrarian issues ranging from reviews and statistics to theoretical and empirical articles by national as well as international experts. The journal’s approach is interdisciplinary and covers insights from social, historical, economic, scientific and technological perspectives.  RLS supports this publication.