Tigabie, A., Tefera, B., Kasa, Y., Abe, D.M.A. and Ayele, T., 2022. Rural women’s role in agriculture and household workloads: the case of North Shewa Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The Official Journal of the Amhara Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI), 2(2) p.86.
The aim of the study in North Shewa Amhara Region, Ethiopia, was to identify the role of women in agriculture and other livelihood improvement activities, and compare them to the workload of household members. The study employed a mixed research approach, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from 252 randomly selected women. Descriptive statistics and Harvard gender analysis techniques were used to assess the status of the most crucial study variables. The authors claimed that mobilising women to participate in agricultural production increased their workloads. The main factors that affected women’s participation in the agricultural labour were age, marital status, and the number of non-relative people relied on for critical support.
The analysis explained production, reproduction, and the community roles of women in rural households. Production roles included agriculture and other income-generating off-farm activities. Women contributed more labour in livestock farming, off-farm businesses, and household core activities. Their major social roles include community involvement in social gatherings like meetings, religious congregations, wedding ceremonies, and community mobilisations.
In general, women contributed a higher share of household labour than men. More than 95 percent of the respondents from the entire sample of households depend mainly on agricultural activities, and girls were more likely than women to engage in agricultural production activities. Compared to married women, single women were better able to manage their households and engage in agricultural work. The idea of girls participating in agricultural activities was contrary to community norms, and those who did so were labelled as immoral. In addition to their economic standing, women were prevented from engaging in a variety of agricultural production activities by social taboos and traditions.
The authors came to the conclusion that interventions using technological assistance and extension services geared toward women would help lessen workloads and increase the production and productivity of agricultural resources, household income, and livelihood status throughout the community.