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COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DECISION MAKING POWER OF SELF HELP GROUP AND NON-SELF HELP GROUP WOMEN IN RELATION TO FARM ACTIVITIES
Abstract
This study was conducted in Katwa block- I under Katwa sub-division of Burdwan district, West Bengal, India to study the influence of Self Help Groups on women’s decision making in farm activities. Through stratified random sampling technique respondents were selected. Findings revealed that majority of respondents (59%) were young women in the age group between 20 to 35 years. Most women respondents (98.5%) were from Hindu Scheduled caste and tribe. Mostly literate women sampled in this study participated in farm activities. Women were engaged in various activities such as farming, livestock rearing and farm labour, There were significant differences between the woman members of SF and MF households of both SHGs and non-SHGs in relation to their decision making in farm activities. The decision making level of SHG women appeared leading edge than the non-SHG women indicating the significance impact of Self-help groups on rural women’s decision making process. The most striking feature of this study was that woman respondents of MF households of both SHGs and non-SHGs had taken mostly joint decisions in every decision areas showing the negative correlation between the joint decision score and the amount of land holding. Moreover, both SHG and non-SHG women had taken decisions jointly in most farm activities indicating the goals of equality development, achieving peace of the family and improvement of the socio-economic status of the family. From this study, it is recommended here to take immediate steps for empowering them by providing latest scientific knowledge and skill through effective and appropriate channel so that they can help, motivate and influence the male farmers in taking accurate decisions in farm activities. Hence, it is the need of hour that both male and female should jointly take the decisions and women farmers should be encouraged and motivated to participate in on farm decisions also.
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References
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