PRAGATI SHAHI

Some five years ago, Som Bahadur Tamang, 35, left his village for the Middle East in search of a job after his agricultural produce dwindled owing to water crisis.

Five years on, his wife, Laxmi, who took charge of the family care and agriculture, does not find herself at ease. Her husband’s absence has increased her workload and at the same time the changing weather pattern has made farming economically risky.

A recent study by Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (WOCAN) shows that the women are now hardest hit by the impacts of climate change phenomenon such as drying of ponds and springs, erratic rainfalls, extended dry spells and droughts. Studies by the Ministry of Environment show most of the hill districts, including Kavre have been witnessing erratic rainfalls resulting in crop failures over the past few years.

WOCAN research shows these climatic phenomena in the context of a changed male-female roles in the household and agriculture sector (brought about by massive migration) are having far reaching effects on the socio-economic and health conditions of women.

In many Nepali villages, the male partner in every third household is a migrant worker. And it’s mostly the women who take charge of both domestic and other socio-economic duties, including attending the village meetings, guarding water supply to the farm. The census in 2011 states that around ninety percent of the Nepalis who migrate for a foreign job are men. “The high rate of male migration has left women with work on both productive and domestic fronts,” said Suman Bisht, a

gender and climate change expert with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. “The increasing fallow lands and reduced food production has ultimately affected the lives of women living in villages.” According to Bisht, women farmers are moving towards alternative crops that are less labour and time intensive such as vegetables, fruits and cash crops like broom and ginger. “This shift is expected to improve the living condition of women and their entire family,” she said.

NGO workers say women in the villages need greater support today and alternative crops have been effective. “Many women engaged in transitional farming are unable to manage time to attend trainings which could be useful for them,” said Dibya Gurung, coordinator of WOCAN. 

Ganesh Gurung, a former member of National Planning Commission, stresses the need to formulate policies favouring the women’s role and activities. “Technologies and equipment should be made accessible to women  to mitigate their hardship,” he said.

Publlished on:  25 January 2014 | The Kathmandu Post