The government of India declared year 2001 as women empowerment year and launched many useful programmes for awakening women. The present study was an attempt to know utilization of these programmes by rural home-makers. The study was conducted in 60 rural households of two villages selected from two blocks of Ludhiana district. The results revealed that few respondents (18.3%) were aware of the year of women empowerment as well as various empowerment programmes. Only 11.7 and 16.7 per cent were found having an awareness of Kishori Shakti Yojna and Sampooran Shiksha programmes, respectively. However, 30 per cent women started using women friendly technologies in their households for drudgery reduction and hence improving their quality of life. Further, none of the respondents was making use of credit facilities for starting their own enterprise to supplement family income as they were completely ignorant about various schemes. Schemes like Widow Pension Scheme, Maternity Benefits and Girl Child Benefits were fully utilized as these provide direct economic gains. Respondents strongly agreed that these programmes will make women aware of their rights but disagreed that these programmes will help to develop ability to make better decisions. They had no particular opinion whether these programmes will enable women to act as self sufficient. The suggestions from the respondents for the effective utilization of various schemes included expert guidance for starting any enterprise (96.7%) followed by training programme for elderly for changing their attitude towards women workforce participation (93.3%), programme for skill development (83.3%) and awareness generation programmes for credit facilities by government and non government organizations (86.7%).

A survey was conducted to evaluate the adoption trend of bee keeping as a subsidiary enterprise among the rural men and women in the district. The period taken in consideration was from year 2005 to 2014. All the beekeepers practiced bee keeping with Apis mellifera and before starting the enterprise the beekeepers took a formal training from Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK). Availability of flora, government policies and quick transfer of technology were important factors affecting the adoption in the area. The productivity of the boxes varied significantly depending upon the practice followed i.e., stationary or migratory. The average number of boxes owned by an individual outnumbered the number of subsidised boxes. A cluster of beekeepers was existing in the Baghapurana block and another upcoming cluster was located in Moga 1. The farmers were satisfied and wanted to start the enterprise due to quick returns, low investment and less time requirement. Rural women are showing an increased interest in getting the training and adopting the enterprise for enhancing the household income.

The present study was conducted with the objective of promoting consumption of green leafy vegetables among rural women through an intensive educational programme employing participatory techniques. The impact of this programme was assessed after three months by conducting a post test. The results showed that there was a significant gain in knowledge and change in attitude of the respondents thus pointing out the positive impact of the nutrition education programme. The post test revealed a significant change in the consumption of green leafy vegetables by the respondents. Locally available leafy vegetables were found to be included in the supplementary feeding programme of the five selected anganwadi centers. The study proved that this programme can be successfully implemented in all anganwadi centers of the state. The increase in the actual green leafy vegetable consumption will surely help to alleviate the micronutrients deficiency prevalent in the state especially among women and children.

Flower cultivation is a profitable venture for the small and marginal farmers, as the traditional crops are becoming less remunerative. Marigold cultivation in rural areas by farm women suits the most as it requires care and nurturing, picking and packing with care in which the female workers have an edge over the male counterparts. Cultivation of marigold variety Pusa Narangi in Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh has successfully demonstrated that this crop can be grown round the year. The variety was introduced in the year 2007 and was assessed through on farm trials, followed by front line demonstrations for three consecutive years. The present study was undertaken to assess the benefits of cultivating Pusa Narangi variety of marigold for crop diversification and boosting the income of farm women exclusively for which they were imparted practical training on the package of practices and marketing strategy. The result showed that round the year cultivation yielded 1.25 t/ha and giving a net profit Rs 1,17,609/-as against Rs 35,975/- with the local cultivar Saathi. Hence, it can be stated that this was a novel diversification model to economically empower the farm women on sustainable basis.

This study was carried out in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 120 respondents from 10 villages of two blocks. A structured interview schedule duly pre-tested and validated was used to elicit information from the respondents during February to April, 2014. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentage. It was found that majority of the poultry growers have primary to secondary level education and small size family. Agriculture was noticed as primary (51.7%) and poultry as secondary occupation (35.4%) with average flock size of 13.3±4.2 desi birds, reared with locally available materials at the household level. The egg productivity of desi birds was 36.5±0.2 eggs and selling price @ Rs 7.0±0.07/egg in local market whereas body weight gain was 1.4±0.02 kg/bird/yr and selling price @ Rs 310.2±2.1/kg live bird. It was also observed that involvement of women was more in housing, feeding, breeding, health care, marketing and consumption than joint and collective participation of family members which contributed to a large extent in increasing the household income of a small family. Later on, this income generated from backyard poultry rearing was invested for household, poultry production and recreation purposes depending upon the felt needs. From this study, it can be concluded that the backyard poultry rearing with full participation of rural women helped in empowering women\\\’s of tribal communities in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

Mushroom production can play a significant role to eradicate malnutrition, alleviate poverty and create employment opportunity for unemployed farm women in rural area. Vocational Training programme is generally conducted by the Krishi Vigyan Kendras with a goal that the trainee becomes an entrepreneur based on the acquired knowledge and skill. The vocational training programmes were conducted by Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Virudhunagar district to empower income generating ability of Self Help Groups (SHGs). Out of twelve SHGs trained, twenty five women from eight different SHGs were randomly selected for the present study. Findings of the study revealed that most of the trainees were in the age group of 21–35 yrs of age. Majority of them (36%) were having education up to middle followed by matriculation (28%). Four respondents (16%) were landless, more than half (64%) of these mushroom producers were small and marginal farm women and five (20%) were medium farm women. Total cost for mushroom production per unit was Rs. 44,823/- and gross income was Rs. 1,35,000/-. Hence each respondent may get Rs. 90,000/- as net income from their own unit every year. The mode of marketing was mainly direct sale in the unit itself, door delivery and local sale etc.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Namakkal popularized jasmine (Jasminum sambac) cultivation. For this, 7,660 three months old rooted cuttings of jasmine variety Ramanathapuram Gundu malligai was supplied to twelve farm women covering an area of 1.66 ha. as a sustainable livelihood income generating activity to mitigate poverty. Jasmine being a hardy crop withstood drought, long dry spells and survived to yield flowers throughout the year and was a perennial source of income (average profit Rs.40000/0.08 ha./year) that helped sustaining interest of the farm women. The income from jasmine cultivation improved the quality of life, mainly health of the farm family and also helped them to build their asset base by repairing of home and vehicles etc.

With a view to bring women in mainstream of life and involve them in the forest and environment conservation, Forest Department, Haryana initiated women development programme with implementation of European Union aided Haryana Community Forestry Project in the State from 1999–2008. Self Help Groups (SHGs) were constituted for women and the success achieved in this direction as a result of right approach, led to believe that the participation of women in various development activities strengthen the programme and hence the need for institutionalizing this in the regular working of forest department in the state. Accordingly, SHGs were constituted under Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project as well. SHGs constituted by Haryana Forest Department were evaluated in seventeen districts of Haryana state of India and while carrying out the evaluation on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of United Nations were also kept in view. It was found that on all these parameters, the women in SHG villages performed better than the non-SHG villages.

In Tamil Nadu, the Pudukkottai district is known for pulse production especially blackgram. A special Front Line Demonstration programme “Blackgram cultivation through commodity group approach” had been sanctioned to Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pudukkottai during 2013 – 2014. With consistent efforts of KVK through focus group discussions, meetings with farmers and other stake holders, five blackgram commodity groups with 20 members per group were evolved. All the groups opened joint savings accounts in their group names in nationalized banks in Alangudi taluk of the district. Among these, four commodity groups were purely women led with farm women as members. All the farmers and farm women gained knowledge through on campus and off campus trainings both in cultivation and marketing. They were able to sell the seeds in bulk at higher rate of Rs. 55/Kg compared to individual sale of Rs. 40/- per kg thereby an increase of 37.5 percent income raise in enhancing all the members’ living standards. The transportation cost and middlemen cost also got reduced in marketing of the produce.

Empowerment is defined as a collective undertaking, involving both individual and collective action. Hence, an attempt was made to study the empowerment dynamics of women farmers in the value chain of kadali banana cultivation. Sixty women farmers who cultivated kadali banana selected from Mattathur Panchayath of Thrissur district by applying simple random sampling. The dynamics of empowerment dimension was studied with the inclusion of knowledge, psychological, economical, social and political sub components and collected through well structured interview schedule and focus group discussion. Empowerment Dynamics Index (EDI) computed showed that 18 per cent increase in the overall empowerment dimension of women gender.

Women are actively involved in agriculture and contribute significantly in agriculture and allied activities. Despite their active involvement in all aspects of agriculture like crop selection, land preparation, seed selection, cold storage handling, marketing and processing, their work is unorganized, unvalued and unrewarded. Active involvement of women in agriculture clearly indicates the feminization of agriculture referring to increasing presence or visibility in agriculture labour force, whether as agricultural worker, independent producers or unremunerated family workers. Is this trend of visibility of women in agriculture equally visible when it comes to capacity building of farmers? Is women participation in training programmes proportionate to their participation in agriculture and allied activities? The present paper was an attempt to find an answer to this by looking at the various vocational trainings conducted in the field of agriculture and allied activities from gender lens. The trainings conducted in the field of poultry, dairy, bee-keeping, mushroom cultivation and agricultural engineering during the last five years (2010–2014) in Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar were analyzed. The study indicated that although the participation of females in training programmes related to agriculture and allied activities has increased especially in dairy and mushroom cultivation but it was not in proportion and according to the rate of participation of females in agriculture or their representation in the population.

The present study was designed to assess the impact of skill development trainings rendered with the help of local knitwear industry with a twin objective of solving the skilled labour deficit by providing training to local labour pool and for empowering rural women. The respondents for the study were selected by purposive sampling technique and consisted of rural women who showed interest in taking such training at the time of baseline survey. A total sample size of 90 respondents was selected through a purposive sampling technique at three locations. The training was provided through a modular training program on industrial machines as per the requirement of the industry. The data for benefits received by the rural women and the impact assessment was gathered through an interview schedule method and analyzed thoroughly. The study revealed that the trainings provided by industry were considered useful by 76 per cent of rural women and it empowered them in certain areas as decision making, selfreliance and confidence building. Though the training contributed a lot in empowering wo

Women form the major workforce in agriculture in general. In food processing sector participation of women is substantial particularly upstream activities. Keeping in view of involvement of women in fruits and vegetable processing, the present study was conducted in Jind district of Haryana state. A total of 200 rural women were selected for the study and training was imparted on fruits and vegetable preservation of 12 products. These findings revealed that there was great difference between pre- and post- training exposure, mean score of knowledge and attitude was highly significant. Maximum numbers of respondents has knowledge of products with their ingredients and methods of preparation and also have significant knowledge of precaution while making these products. Most of the respondents have positive attitude to start processing unit at a small scale as it is easy to manage small enterprise at village level.

The success of any training programme depends on periodic appraisal so that required changes can be made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the programme. One hundred and twenty five trainees were imparted training on value addition of fruits and vegetables by conducting 5 vocational training programmes and out of that 55 were selected for this study. The study was undertaken to assess the gain in knowledge of the participants, adoption status of the enterprise and suggestions from the ex-trainees.

It was found that maximum adoption of 52 per cent was observed during the year 2011–12. Among the various practices of value addition, maximum knowledge gain (42.9%) was observed for methods of processing/value added products, aspects of permissible limits of food toxins was least understood by the participants (28.4%) followed by F.P.O. specification(32.0%). Hence, it was concluded that more emphasis needs be given to these practices during future training courses. The characteristics of the participants viz., educational level, membership of society and extension contact had positive influence on the knowledge gain of the participants. As perceived by 55 entrepreneurs, timely availability of raw material at reasonably low cost (76.4%), training on advanced processing methods and new value added products with practical demonstration (70.9%) and advance techniques for preservation and storage (65.5%) were three major suggestions for successful development of value addition of fruits and vegetables entrepreneurship in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

An effort was made to evaluate the Quince fruit for its quality parameters and develop products namely pickle, preserve, jam, chutney, squash, RTS and candy. The different products were evaluated for various chemical constituents. On an average, it was founded that these products are well suited for table use as they are rich in various constituent especially fiber and low in fat content i.e. almost equivalent to zero. So such product can find their remedial use in various health related diseases.

The performance of five type of weeders viz., cycle weeder, twin wheel hoe weeder, cono weeder, three blade weeder, and a local make designed by the farmers themselves were assessed and compared in direct sown paddy crop. The parameters of assessment included weeding efficiency, plant damage, musculoskeletal disorders, and cost economics. The results showed that, twin wheel hoe weeders in DSR has highest percentage of weeding efficiency, highest performance index, lowest plant damage and is economical to the tune of 60 per cent. Using twin wheel hoe weeder can destroy weeds by completely or partially burying weeds, uprooting and breaking the weed root contact with the soil. The use of weeders at 20–25 days after sowing (DAS) proved to be more beneficial than at later stage. The efficiency of the weeder was found to be 0.3 ha./d/man labour day vs 20–25 women/d/ha. The timely weeding and application of fertilizers is ensured in case of weeding done with twin wheel hoe weeder, while the labour dependency and timely availability of labours is a major problem in manual weeding.

Gender equality and women empowerment are not only fundamental human rights but central for the success of sustainable development. Women entrepreneurship is echoing this zeal of the new millennium. With a descriptive design of the research, study on Women Entrepreneurs and Manufacturing Sector in Thrissur District examined the characteristics of the selected respondents, features of their enterprises, and institutional systems which supported them. Sample size of the study was 200 respondents selected by random sampling method. Survey was conducted with pre-structured interview schedules. Simple statistical tools like means, percentages and indices were used to analyse the data.

Majority of the women entrepreneurs of the study were married and entered into entrepreneurial career after 30 yr of age. Enterprises taken for study were basically micro and small scale units working for more than 10 yr under individual proprietorship by employing more females than males. Though there were many institutions to support women entrepreneurs, they lacked synergy in action. Respondents suggested an exclusive agency for women to integrate all information and inputs at the district level. Women had been empowered but inequality still prevails.

The investigation entitled Knitwear product development using kasuti embroidery motifs was carried out in Ludhiana city. For the selection of motifs and colour combinations panel of judges comprising faculty of College of Home Science, PAU, Ludhiana was selected. Three colleges in the city namely Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town; Khalsa College for Women, Ghumar Mandi and College of Home Science, PAU were selected for studying the preferences for the preparation of kurti. Traditional motifs of kasuti embroidery were selected, plates were developed through Corel Draw 13 and shown to 10 panel of judges. After the selection of motifs, three colour combinations of each motif were developed and again shown to 20 judges to finalize the 10 colour combinations of the 10 selected motifs for the development of design. After that two different design placements were prepared of the 10 most preferred motifs and their colour combinations. An interview schedule was prepared for the purpose of collecting data from 80 female respondents between the age group of 20 to 30 years selected randomly from three colleges of Ludhiana city. The results of the study revealed that majority of the respondents were graduates, belonging to nuclear families. Seventy per cent of the respondents were aware of knitwear designs and 51.3 per cent aware of kasuti embroidery and 70 per cent respondents preferred to buy knitwear kurtis. Readymade kurtis were the most preferred kurtis with medium length and V-shape necklines. Multi coloured combination was the most preferred colour combination followed by two colour and three colour combinations. Skin, pista green, red and cream were the most preferred colours.

Women fish workers in Assam play a critical role within the aquaculture and fishing communities, roles that are often not recognized or supported. Women are particularly active in fish culture, fish capturing by traditional and indigenous methods and in postharvest fisheries by engaging themselves as fish vendors. These women have to face several socio-cultural taboos who strive to earn for their family\\\’s subsistence in rural areas. To ensure the utilization of their full potential in profitable activities like aqua farming, it is necessary to provide capacity building support to rural women, which will eventually lead to their empowerment and food security to their household. This paper discusses on the occupational status of women fish workers in the state and the promising aspects in aquaculture and fisheries which can provide immense scope for improving the livelihood of rural women.

Women play an active role in agriculture, a strong need was felt to organize them into a group to bring out and improve their talent. The feedback obtained from the trainees of KVK sufficiently indicated that the impact of trainings and knowledge acquired by them during various training courses did not bear sustainable effects to bring about a desirable change in their standard of living. Hence, it was felt to organize the women and build a platform where regular interactions may sufficiently revamp their thinking and motivate their self-help spirit. KVK, Chomu emphasized the concept of social and economic empowerment of rural women through formation of self help groups. The members were trained in specific technologies, based on which they were engaged in income generating activities. The savings earned through various economic activities were utilized for meeting the needs of members. In spite of various constraints, the group could effectively function.

Empowerment involves an element of control and choice in power structures that exist in household communities, nations and worldwide. Women empowerment involves their right to have the power to control their own lives, both within and outside the home and the ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order nationally and internationally. Employment can be a source of empowerment for women as it provides financial independence and thereby identity in the society and power structure in the family. This study reveals the employment of women in Assam with reference to other states of India as well as various districts of Assam. Demographic study gives us data about sex ratio too. Sex ratio indicates status of women in a society. Education of women is the most powerful tool to get a respectful position in a society. From this study it is noticed that female literacy rate is lesser than male literacy rate. The literacy rate of women also varies in different districts of Assam. Although initiatives are undertaken for development of education, employment status of women there is a need to create awareness to achieve the desired goal of empowerment in the state.

Most of the works performed by farmwomen are tedious as well as time consuming. Also many of these operations are traditionally done in varying body posture. The present study was carried out with the objectives to evaluate the performance of improved sickle for reducing the drudgery level and harvesting efficiency by farmwomen using newly introduced and traditional tools. It was noticed that improved sickle resulted in higher harvesting efficiency than the ordinary sickle. The rate of perceived opinion for improved sickle fall in the category of highly acceptable tool as compared to simple sickle. The results of the study showed that improved sickle was helpful in reducing the drudgery level in which physical tiredness was medium to law, time saving was 12 to 20 per cent and cost saving 10 to 14 per cent compared to ordinary sickle.

Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformation in terms of economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. However, in developing countries women face a multitude of problems which an otherwise gender blind approach often fails to appreciate or even identify. The unpredictable social, political, economical and personal hardships they face daily are difficult to grasp. The participatory approaches find relevance in a way that they give appropriate weightage to gender differences and recognize the fact that needs of men and women are invariably different. The varietal development process also needs to be integrated into a holistic programme instead a compartmentalised activity where plant scientists, farming system experts, economists, extension persons, farmers and consumers are equally conscious to and contribute through their capacities towards development of varieties that meet the aspirations of small holder farmers in terms of productivity enhancement and livelihood security.

Sugarcane industry in India is an important contributor to the national economy through the production of multiple products for national and international consumption. The production and processing of sugarcane is a major source of employment in the country. Women form the backbone of sugarcane cultivation; they still tend to exist as “the hidden farmers” with almost negligible access on land, resources, technologies, financial services, markets and even education. With the growing feminization of agriculture, there is need to develop specific strategies for women in sugarcane agriculture to develop their skills and strengthen their capacities as it significantly contribute to domestic production and employment.