Assessment of the constraints encountered by women farmers in empowerment leading to poverty reduction in Imbulpe DS Division in Sri Lanka

S. D. D. Rathnachandra, S. H. P. Malkanthi

Abstract: Many countries have proved that there is a strong relationship between empowerment of farmers and agricultural production. Empowered farmers have a considerable level of potential to enhance their agricultural production and thus alleviate poverty in rural areas. However, women farmers who live in most of the developing counties have obtained in lower level of empowerment. Simultaneously, Sri Lankan agriculture is moving towards feminization and the role of women in agriculture growth and development has increased considerably. The level of empowerment of the women farmers and constrains of them for agricultural production haven’t been studied yet in Imbulpe DS division. Therefore, this research was conducted to assess the awareness level of empowerment of these women farmers and constrains of them for agricultural production to reduce the poverty in this area. Out of all the women farmers in the area, 238 was used in this study. Necessary primary data was collected using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire survey from March to July 2019. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of the descriptive statistics showed that majority of the women farmers were within the middle ages (40–59 years), married, belonged to families with 4–5 members and literate up to junior secondary education level. Average land size was 0.84 acre and they had farming experience about 15 years. Moreover, findings reported that 82.2% of respondents knew about meaning of empowerment and they had received these knowledge though training programs and workshops, village organizations and meetings and government extension officers. When constraints of the women farmers were considered, according to the result of the multiple linear regression analysis, lack of initial capital, poor access to resources, difficulties in marketing facilities, and storage facilities were statistically significant. These are the main constraints for the women farmers’ empowerment and poverty alleviation in this area. Also these women farmers are facing the problem of lower access to potential services which could help them to smooth their agricultural production activities. Therefore, government and developing practitioners should help to empower them by providing access to agricultural production resources such as land ownership and other requirements for them to enhance the active involvement in agriculture.

Keywords: agriculture; constrains; farm women empowerment; feminization; poverty reduction; Sri Lanka

Date published: 2022-04-08