DRUDGERY REDUCTION OF FARM WOMEN THROUGH IMPROVED TOOLS

SURABHI SINGH¹, SANTOSH AHLAWAT², SARITA SANWAL³, T.R. AHLAWAT⁴, ALOK GORA⁵*
¹ASPEE College of Home Science & Nutrition, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Dantiwada, Banaskantha, Gujarat 385506
²ASPEE College of Home Science & Nutrition, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Dantiwada, Banaskantha, Gujarat 385506
³ASPEE College of Home Science & Nutrition, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Dantiwada, Banaskantha, Gujarat 385506
⁴ASPEE College of Horticulture & Forestry, Navsari Agricultural Universit, Dandi Rd, Navsari, Gujarat 396450
⁵C.P. College of Agriculture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar, Dantiwada, Banaskantha, Gujarat 385506
* Corresponding Author : alok.gora@gmail.com

Received : 24-02-2016     Accepted : 12-03-2016     Published : 28-04-2016
Volume : 8     Issue : 14       Pages : 1242 - 1249
Int J Agr Sci 8.14 (2016):1242-1249

Keywords : Farm women, drudgery, women friendly tools, energy expenditure, working heart rate
Academic Editor : Vikas Kumar, S Diengngan, Er Rajesh Gupta, Dr Harsimrat K Bons, Dr Dhiraj K Singh
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : None declared
Author Contribution : None declared

The present investigation aimed to equip farm women technologically for reducing their drudgery and enhancing their productivity. Three villages were selected purposively from Dantiwada taluka near to the university. Total one fifty farm women were selected using simple random sampling technique, fifty from each. The study illustrated that farm women were involved in wide range of agricultural and livestock activities and most of them were perceived as difficult to perform by majority of the farm women. On comparing energy expenditure of farm women during performing agricultural activities in traditional practice and by using drudgery reducing tools, their energy expenditure decreased by using hand ridger (13.381 KJ/min) while it is same by using sickle (10.996 KJ/min) and maize sheller (6.703 KJ/min). Though energy expenditure increased by using groundnut decorticator (9.724 KJ/min), the outcome increased almost ten folds by using each tool.