Engendering Rural Livelihoods in Karnataka – A Socio-economic Assessment

The study has analysed the existing livelihood systems and has identified the problems being faced by the women at work in the Dharwad district of Karnataka state. The multistage random sampling technique has been used to select 120 respondents comprising equal number of landless, marginal, small, medium and large farmers and primary data were collected through personal interview method. The techniques of descriptive analysis, multiple regression analysis and Garrett ranking test have been employed. The study has revealed that crop production is the main source of livelihood. The employment in terms of number of humandays per household has been found the highest in the case of non-farm wage employment compared to crop production. The income has been observed to be higher under crop production than from non-farm activities. In all the major livelihood options, the participation of males was the highest in terms of absolute number of household members, followed by females and children. Apart from crop production, female participation has been found high in dairying and farm wage employment activities. The women face numerous employment-related problems, the major being back pain due to continuous working, long working hours and harsh climatic conditions at work. Considering the crucial role and importance of female labour in agricultural operations, suitable implements/ technologies/practices need to be designed and introduced which reduce their drudgery and health hazards in agriculture.