Female Work Participation in Kerala Agricultural Sector

The paper has studied the relationship between female work participation in agriculture and change in cropping pattern from food crops to cash crops in Kerala. The female work participation rate in Kerala has been consistently declining. It was 16.6 per cent in 1981, it declined to 15.8 per cent in 1991 and further to 15.4 per cent in 2001. As per the 1981 Census, 6.2 per cent of the female population was engaged in the agricultural sector; however, their share declined to 5.3 per cent in 1991, and further to 4.1 per cent in 2001. Palakkad district, which has the highest area under paddy cultivation, also has the highest female work participation in the agricultural sector. The work participation rate in the agricultural sector in Kerala declined from 11.0 per cent in 1981 to 10.8 per cent in 1991, and further to 7.4 per cent in 2001. The share of cultivators also declined from 5.1 per cent in 1981 to 4.0 per cent in 2001. The structural changes in the agricultural sector include the changes in cropping pattern from food crops to cash crops and use of mechanized inputs for cultivation. Thus, the structural changes from the traditional subsistence farming systems to more commercialized farming systems have resulted in the withdrawal of the female from labour force and have created an employment structure which is biased in favour of males.