Contribution and decision making among farm women with special reference to potato*

Generally, purchase of inputs, ploughing the fields and levelling tasks, were carried out exclusively by menfolk, both in Shimla hills and in the plains of Bhojpur district of Bihar. Milking, grazing and animal care in sheds were exclusively carried out by women folk. As for the pooled information on potato for hills and plains, 54 to 86 per cent respondents reported that all the other operations were carried out jointly by men and women. In plains of Bhojpur district of Bihar, fertilizer application, spraying the crop, and irrigation operations were also considered to be exclusively the tasks of the menfolk as reported by 58.82 and 68% farm women, respectively. The month of April (71%) in hills of Shimla and November (68%) and July (59%) in the plains of Bhojpur district of Bihar, were found to be peak months for the farm women. January–February and March were reported to be slack months by respondents from Shimla hills and May, by the respondents from the plains. Generally, women devoted 6–8 h/day during peak months and 2–4 h/day and 4–6 h/day during peak and slack months, respectivcly, in Shimla hills. The women provided ‘High’ level of consultancy in decision making on farming with regard to marketing of produce and storage, ‘Medium’ level of consultancy on sale and purchase of land, purchase of farm machinery, sale and purchase of animals, purchase of fertilizers, sowing time and method of sowing and inter culture operation and ‘Low’ level of consultancy on adoption of new technology, crop protection, fertilization, use of chemicals for spraying and irrigation. The final decisions on all these matters were taken by menfolk only.