Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Rajeshwari Desai, Geeta Chitagubbi and Shobha Kasar

Abstract:
Women in rural areas perform a major part of all agricultural operations like weeding, transplanting, sowing, harvesting, cleaning, storage etc. They work as programmed robots destined for drudgery as they are deprived of technology access, health care access and employment alternatives. Hence, the present study was conducted with an aim to empower farm women with scientific knowledge and gender friendly appropriate technologies developed on the principles of ergonomics through trainings. The training programmes were conducted in Kotur, Marewad, Sulla and Surshettikoppa villages of Dharwad and Hubli taluks of Dharwad distrct from Karnataka state. About 30 fw, 37fw, 33fw and 60fw were the beneficiaries from the selected villages respectively. Thus the total no. of beneficiaries of these training progrmmes was 200 farm women. The results of pre test revealed that the farm women had lesser knowledge regarding improved technologies before the training programmes. The post test scores showed knowledge gain among the farm women. Further, majority of the farm women accepted farm technologies and opined that these are gender friendly, drudgery reducing, convenient and comfortable to use. Hence, The Government and other agricultural institutions should organize intensive training programmes on use of these farm technologies to promote and popularize them. It should give subsidy on purchase improved farm technologies to hasten the adoptability rate among farming community.