More Production and Better Livelihoods with Unhealthy, Undernourished and Fatigued Workforce? Rethink

Expecting high productivity and gains without paying attention to or improving the working conditions and health of the women labouring in the rice fields is a foolhardy and narrow perspective of development and social practice; without supporting and nurturing the latter, the former is bound to dwindle

D uring 2011–12, I was doing my field work in three villages of Odisha for my doctoral work related to labour issues in SRI. These villages were located in three different districts, with diverse agro-ecological features, (coastal plain, hilly and mountainous areas), ethnicity, labour use practices, and rice-growing practices. PRADAN has been working in one of those villages.

When I went to the villages, I noticed that the agricultural workforce was greying and comprised of more women, especially in the rice-growing areas. In my study, I focussed essentially on women from small and marginal farming households and landless women, who work in th

In this article, I discuss the condition of women rice-field workers in the Odisha villages that I visited and my experiences in Sambhav as a trainer and a practitioner of organic farming, researcher and development worker. I was aware of the condition of women engaged in rice farming earlier; and I gained more insights into their lives during my research work and systematic investigation.

Whether SRI uses more labour or less and how labour is one of the major constraints in the adoption and expansion of SRI has been dominating discussions, both academic and non-academic, related to labour issues. Most farmers and extension workers agree that production can be enhanced by following SRI principles.