Gender Divide in Provision of Extension Services in Agriculture

The role of women farmers in agricultural production has long been debated while their role continues to remain largely unrecognized by the extension machinery of the state and developmental programmes. The present study is aimed at studying the gender division of labour in agricultural production with reference to three villages in rural Purnea district of Bihar. The impact of liberalization and globalization on women is important in the current decade not only because they represent almost half of the total population, but also because they face constraints, which make them less beneficial from the liberalization. The assessments of developmental goals in relation to gender division of farmers for designing better policy implications as well as minimizing the effect of quantitative targeting of clients and developing policies and programs that strengthen women’s physical access to resources remain important.