Relationship Of The Profile Characteristics Of Farm Women With Their Managerial Role

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N. SRIVIDYA RANI*, T. LAKSHMI, S.V. PRASAD AND G. MOHAN NAIDU

Department of Agricultural Extension, S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati – 517 502.

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted in the year 2013 by using Ex-post facto research design in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh with a sample of 120 randomly selected farm women, which revealed that majority of the respondents were under medium managerial role category. Independent variables viz., education, extension contact, value orientation, mass media exposure, achievement motivation, innovativeness, scientific orientation and risk orientation were found to be significantly related with the managerial role. Considering the substantial role played by women farmers, the extension services should be oriented with special efforts towards them.

KEYWORDS:

Managerial role, Farm Women

INTRODUCTION

The prosperity and growth of a nation depends on the status and development of women as they constitute about 50.00 per cent of the human resource of the country. Women play a significant role in agriculture and allied fields. They also perform several management and decision making roles in farming and home making practices with their male counterparts and sometimes alone (Sreenivasulu and Punnarao, 2005). Women have by and large remained as unimportant workers. Studies on women in agriculture conducted in India and other developing and under developed countries point to the fact that women contribute far more to agricultural production than has generally been acknowledged. Recognition of their crucial role in agriculture should not obscure the fact that farm women continue to be concerned with their primary functions as wives, mothers and homemakers. Justification for improving farm women’s access to agricultural extension system must begin with analysis of women participation in managerial aspects of agricultural production process.

With this back ground, the present study was conducted to unearth the relationship between profile characteristics of farm women and their managerial role.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A study was conducted by using expost-facto research design to assess the profile characteristics of farm

women in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh during the year 2013. Chittoor district was purposively selected for the study because maximum number of farm women were involved in agricultural operations. The researcher hailed from the same area and had the familiarity with social conditions, local language and culture of the people. Chittoor district comprises of 66 mandals out of which four mandals namely Ramanchandrapuram, Vadamalapeta, Puttur and GD Nellore were purposively selected for the study as most of the farm women were involved in agricultural operations. From each of the selected mandals, two villages were selected based on random sampling procedure. Thus, totally eight villages were selected for the study. A total sample of 120 farm women were selected by selecting 15 farmers from each village through simple random sampling procedure.

Keeping the objectives of the study in view, a semi structured interview schedule was developed and pretested. This was administered to sample respondents through personal investigation. The data obtained were coded, classified and tabulated. Finally statistical tools such as arithmetic mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage were used for the analysis of the data, so that the finding could be meaningfully interpreted and conclusions drawn.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

An attempt was made to understand the relation between profile characteristics of farm women and their managerial role. It could be noticed from Table 1 that 55.00 per cent of the respondents were under medium level of managerial role while 23.33 per cent and 21.67 per cent were in high and low groups respectively. Thus, there is a scope to increase the farm women participation and level of farm management. The findings of Khelkar (1995) and Shilpa (2001) were in conformity with the present finding.

Relationship Of The Profile Characteristics Of Farm Women With Their Managerial Role

Women were consulted more for selected agricultural decisions like quantity of grains to be used and stored, getting credit and its repayment, employment of labour for operations like sowing, weeding, harvesting and buying equipment etc. Their participation in matters like adoption of practices and farm credit was found to be supportive in nature. Farm women participation was found to be better in managerial roles like planning, organizing, supervision, communication, co-ordination and controlling aspects of cultivation (Sreenivasulu and Punnarao, 2005). With a view to understand the nature of relationship between independent and dependent variables, the data were subjected to correlation coefficient and presented in Table 2. The relational analysis revealed that the computed

‘r’ value of education (0.5707), extension contact (0.4650), value orientation (0.5277), mass media exposure (0.4981), achievement motivation (0.3236), innovativeness (0.5265), scientific-orientation (0.4510) and risk orientation (0.3475) were found to be significant at 0.01 level of probability. This indicates that education, extension contact, value orientation, mass media exposure, achievement motivation, innovativeness, scientific orientation and risk orientation exhibited a positive and significant relationship with managerial role of farm women.

Education is the means for development. Education facilitates for the understanding and interpretation of facts. The possible reason for the existence of positive and significant relationship between education and managerial role might be due to the fact that educated women had

more knowledge about cultivation. They were able to identify pest and disease incidences more clearly. Educated women could know the cost of cultivation of different crops. So education affects the managerial role of farm women. Sreedevi (1996) and Sreenivasulu and Punnarao (2005) also reported similar results.

Extension agents are the best and reliable sources of information for farming community. Farm women with good extension contact have more knowledge which develops favourable attitude towards agricultural activities which in turn leads to better managerial role. Of late many government programmes were introduced keeping in view of small and marginal farmers. The extension functionaries were making efforts to meet the farmers through different agricultural programmes which were mainly focused on the poverty alleviation and improving the socio economic standards of rural poor. Hence positive and significant relationship was observed between extension contact and managerial role of farm women. This finding was in accordance with the finding of Sreedevi (1996).

Farm women who are cosmopolite, liberal and hold scientific values are likely to acquire more information on recent technologies by exposing themselves to cosmopolite and mass media sources of information and adopt new innovations. They will also be enthusiastic and self-driven to seek information on advanced technologies which facilitates adoption of advanced crop production technologies. Thus contributes to better managerial role of farm women. Hence positive and significant relationship was established between value orientation and managerial role of farm women. This finding was in conformity with the findings of Kiran (2000) and Begum (2008).

The positive relationship between mass media exposure and the managerial role of farm women might be due to increase in the telecast of agricultural programmes through different channels and number of newspapers publishing a full columns on agriculture the women farmers were becoming aware of specific practices with regard to crop cultivation and this led to the better managerial role of women farmers. In the age of the information explosion and several new technologies were being diffused into agricultural communities through mass media. Farm women with good mass media exposure are in a position to pick up right technologies at right time and implement them. Hence, this trend was noticed. The finding was in conformity with the finding of Kiran (2000) and Begum (2008).

Majority of the respondents had achievement motivation to some extent as they were better educated, mass media exposure and extension contact and so on. This led to increased managerial role of women farmers in recent times. Individual with high achievement motivation would be determined to reach her goal with concentrated efforts. In this process, she knows the importance of recommended practices and this leads to efficient managerial role of farm women. Hence it is concluded that there was a positive and significant relationship between achievement motivation and managerial role of farm women. The results were in conformity with the findings of Begum (2008).

Innovativeness was associated with the individual’s earliness in the adoption of new practice. An innovative farmer always reaps windfall profits from new technologies. Farm women with this trait had better managerial role. Hence there was a positive and significant relationship between innovativeness and managerial role of farm women. The results were in conformity with the findings of Kiran (2000).

Woman farmers with high scientific orientation could prefer to cultivate the crops as per the production recommendations given by the scientists and extension personnel. This gave ample scope for the farm women to think logically and scientifically. Farm women having good scientific orientation will naturally prefer to know advanced technologies in agriculture. Therefore, they are very much interested in knowing about latest agricultural practices. In this process, they might have acquired more knowledge. Hence there was a positive and significant relationship between scientific orientation and managerial role of farm women. This finding was in conformity with the findings of Sreenivasulu and Punnarao (2005).

Risk orientation is expressed as the degree to which a farmer is oriented to take risk. Farm women with this particular trait have a tendency to try new innovations and would naturally prefer to know about advanced technologies and practice them. It is one of the characteristics of innovators and early adopters. Farm women with high risk orientation acquire more knowledge and would have better managerial role. Hence, positive and significant relationship was observed. The results were in line with the findings of Sreenivasulu and Punnarao (2005).

Multiple regression analysis was carried out in order to determine the combined effect of all the independent variables towards variation in dependent variable viz., managerial role of farm women and result was presented in table 3. It could be understood that out of 13 independent variables fitted in regression equation, four independent variables viz., education, value orientation, participation and scientific orientation were found to be positively significant. Coefficient of multiple determination (R2) was found to be 0.5823 indicating that the above said independent variables could explain variation towards dependent variable viz., managerial role of farm women to the extent of 58.23 per cent. An increase of one unit in education, value orientation, participation and scientific orientation would result in an increase of 3.9947, 3.3969,3.5159 and 2.1784 units of the managerial role of farm women.

The variables education, value orientation, participation and scientific orientation were positively and significantly contributing to most of the variation in managerial role of farm women. So these variables should be given proper attention while framing any training or developmental programmes intended for improvement of living standards of farm women.

CONCLUSION

It was concluded from the present study that majority of the farm women had medium managerial role. The farm women should have better education, mass media exposure and extension contact and more training should be given to them by the extension agents to improve their managerial role. Adequate extension facilities preferably by female extension workers should also be made available to acquaint them with latest agricultural developments.The transfer of technology to farm women would have to synchronize with the effort in technology generation to reduce drudgery in women life. There is an equal need to conduct research on other profile characteristics of the women farmers for improving their managerial role in agriculture and allied activities.

REFERENCES

  1. Begum, M.K. 2008. A study on participation and decision making of woman farmers in rainfed groundnut cultivation. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad. India.
  2. Khelkar, H.B. 1995. Managerial behaviour of farm women. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis.Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola.
  3. Kiran, S.M. 2000. A study on the participation of farm women in agriculture and allied activities in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India.
  4. Shilpa, D.K.2001. Managerial role of women in farm activities. M.Sc. (Ag.) Thesis. Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola.
  5. Sreedevi, R.1996. Gender analysis of managerial abilities and farming performance in Krishna Godavari Zone of Andhra Pradesh. Ph.D. Thesis, Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, Hyderabad.
  6. Sreenivasulu, M. and Punnarao, P. 2005. Managerial role of farm women. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 18(4):1026-1030.
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