Role of Bangladeshi Women in Diverse Agricultural Production: A Review

Abstract

Bangladeshi women are traditionally involved in various agricultural activities but most of their efforts remain unnoticed. To emphasize the significance of women's role in agricultural production, this paper highlights the major activities performed by Bangladeshi women in diverse agricultural production based on published literature. It was observed that Bangladeshi women are subjected to face social restrictions, but despite this, they are active participants in field and homestead crops production, poultry and livestock rearing, and fisheries management. They are predominantly involved in post-harvesting activities of field crops production. They retain control over all activities of homestead crops production. Management activities of poultry and livestock rearing, and fish culture are mostly performed by women. Women's involvement in such activities improves socioeconomic conditions by increasing household food security, family nutrition, and employment opportunities, all of which contribute to a more stable lifestyle. Bangladeshi women's contributions to agricultural production are noteworthy which should be recognized, appreciated, and valued.

Factors Associated with Post-Natal Care Utilization among the Women of Reproductive age Group: Evidence from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18

“…47 , 48 This huge participation of women in such activities empower them with a more secure position in society by improving their socioeconomic status which resulted in their independence in decision-making while taking any care from the trained provider. 49 Indeed, the power of decision making often comes from achieving education influencing women to utilize PNC services which is also associated with women's autonomy and control over resources.…”

“…47,48 This huge participation of women in such activities empower them with a more secure position in society by improving their socioeconomic status which resulted in their independence in decision-making while taking any care from the trained provider. 49 Indeed, the power of decision making often comes from achieving education influencing women to utilize PNC services which is also associated with women's autonomy and control over resources. Several studies from different countries revealed that mothers from rich households are more inclined to avail PNC services from trained providers which is also an indication of comparatively lower utilization among mothers from poor households.…”

Large-scale rollout of extension training in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities for gender-inclusive participation

“…2. a non-animated video on how to plant healthy rice seedlings [33]; rice is a primary staple food that provides 48% of rural employment, about two-thirds of the overall supply of calories, and about half of the average person's total protein intake within the country, occupying around 74% of the total cropped area which accounts for 50% of Bangladesh's agricultural GDP and a sixth of its national income [5,34];…”

“…Finally, in order to enhance development outcomes, maximizing female participation in extension trainings should be a priority. A recent study [5] showed that females participate in most components of rice production in Bangladesh, although their activities tended to be mostly concentrated in the area of post-harvest (cleaning, drying, storing, bagging, income management, and sorting). Although female participation undoubtedly varies from crop to crop, it is safe to assume that it is significant across the commodity groups.…”

“…While progress has been slow, inclusion of women at all levels of development efforts is increasingly recognized as critical for sustainability [1][2][3], especially in the agricultural sector [4][5][6][7], where significant percentages of the workforce are women [2,[8][9][10][11][12].…”