Rural women play a significant role in boosting agricultural production and in providing food security.

As agents of positive change, they contribute to most sub-sectors of the rural economy — crop production, livestock farming, etc.

Rural women form 76 per cent of all part-time workers but they face several constraints in approaching agricultural departments for facilities similar to those available to their male counterparts.

Those involved in farming need assistance to acquire knowledge about the latest modes of crop production, livestock and related industries. There are no specific information sources and training facilities available to them despite the fact they play a vital role in these sectors.

According to a report of Human Development of the United Nations Development Programme, female contribution to the economy are undervalued internationally. In both rural and urban areas of developing countries, women provide support to their households.

According to the World Bank and the Food and Agricultural Organisation, women play an important role in agriculture sector as well as in fisheries and livestock management. The FAO reported that women significantly contribute to food production, particularly in the field of horticulture and small livestock.

With full interest, the womenfolk take part in crops production right from soil preparation to post-harvest. Their role in poultry farming at household level is central in the sector but they do not get the opportunity to be conversant with the usage of modern management techniques, such as vaccination and improved feed.

Agricultural education services are responsible for accelerating the process of development. The agricultural extension’s aim is to educate farmers of either gender to enable them to make better decisions, and to transfer suitable technologies from research and other sources to farmers.

However, women do not have access to these resources. This hampers their potential in enhancing farm productivity. Still their enterprise work in the sector is impressive. They are often at a disadvantage when it comes to securing land tenure rights or owning land or livestock, accessing financial services, and receiving the kind of extension services and resources that would enhance their output.

Micro credit and access to other productive resources is generally denied to poor rural women. The establishment of special credit programmes is the need of the hour. There is now a growing realisation that the dream of sustainable development cannot materialise unless women fully participate in socio-economic development.

Women strive hard to improve the livelihood of their families by involving themselves in income generation at various levels.

An elderly Saraiki woman who works in a house in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, says: “A group of working women from her village moves out to big cities like Karachi and takes up jobs in houses to carry out domestic chores. Working in two to three houses for several months, they accumulate enough money before returning to their villages with the advent of wheat harvesting or cotton-picking season.

Once in their home with the few bucks they have been able to save,  they purchase either a sheep or a goat, and if nothing, some fowls at least to augment the income of the family.

“Cotton picking is the sole prerogative of rural women, she says, adding that the “rate of cotton picking at big fields is Rs300 per maund while small farmers pay Rs250. The period of cotton-picking keeps the womenfolk busy from dusk to dawn.”

So closing the gender gap in agriculture is imperative to increase productivity and ensure food security. Female empowerment is vital for economic development and women should be provided equal opportunities.