Padmaja, R and Bantilan, M C S and Parthasarathy, D and Gandhi, B V J (2006) Gender and Social Capital Mediated Technology Adoption. Documentation. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics , Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India.
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This publication is a result of a collaborative research project entitled Gender dimensions in social capital build-up and technology adoption funded by FAO-RAP (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific). We would like to acknowledge the excellent assistance of VK Chopde in planning the fieldwork for the study and conducting the Focus Group Meetings (FGMs) during the fieldwork. We acknowledge and thank Dr Revathi Balakrishnan of FAO-RAP for her advice and support for this initiative. Our special thanks to field investigators Paromita Choudhury and B Deshmukh. Thanks to Roopa Namboodri for her support in data entry. Thanks are due to Neetu Choudhary for her work on women and food security. We would also like to thank Prof Miriam Samuel for her review comments. Last but not the least, we are grateful to the men and women farmers of Umra and Astha who freely gave their time for the interviews and the FGMs and provided data for this study.
Abstract
This study explores gender-differentiated benefits from the social capital buildup in technology uptake, and the decision-making patterns of men and women with respect to production, consumption and household tasks; and allocation of resources. The background research examined women’s role in developing social capital, and research developed a case study of the groundnut producing areas of Maharashtra in western India, and compared ‘with’ and ‘without’ technology situations, and ‘before’ and ‘after’ situations in relation to the package of groundnut production technology introduced in the region in 1987. The paper addresses three aspects: (1) social networks in technology adoption, (2) the gender-based activity pattern, and (3) build-up of social capital leading to improvements in the welfare of farmers and the farming community with a gender perspective. Available evidence suggests substantial differences in networks of men and women, particularly in composition. The evidence suggests that men belong to more formal networks reflecting their employment or occupation status, while women have more informal networks that are centered on family and kin. Findings show that women who are engaged in agriculture and allied activities develop bonding social capital characterized by strong bonds such as that found among family members or among members of an ethnic group. Men who are engaged in agriculture, on the other hand, develop bridging social capital characterized by weaker, less dense but more crosscutting ties such as with farmers, acquaintances, friends from different ethnic groups and friends of friends. Women’s employment opportunities significantly improved with the introduction of technology. Finally, the study concludes that while technology development and exchange can build upon social capital as a means of empowering women, much more needs to be learned about the approaches that foster build-up of social capital.
| Item Type: | Monograph (Documentation) |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | UNSPECIFIED |
| CRP: | UNSPECIFIED |
| Series Name: | Impact Series No. 12 |
| Subjects: | Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics |
| Depositing User: | Ms Vibha Raju |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Oct 2011 05:41 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Mar 2014 07:21 |
| URI: | http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/3036 |
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