Participation of women of Gandhinagar district of Gujarat in dairy farming activities

Abstract

India’s economy is based on agriculture, animal husbandry and allied occupations. Dairy farming and dairy industry are important component of India’s rural economy. Gujarat is one of the leading state in milk production. Majority of the work connected to dairy farming from fodder collection to looking after the livestock is all done by women. Although women are performing the majority of the work, yet their role in dairy farming and agriculture is grossly underestimated. Women perform all kinds of related work of looking after the livestock in addition to their domestic responsibilities but since they are rarely connected in marketing the produce; therefore, their work is invisible and not valued. Even the transfer of new technology in this sector is rarely transmitted to them because of the underestimation of their role. This study attempts to understand the role and contribution of women in the dairy farming in Gujarat. The study used purposive and random sampling methods to select 250 respondents who owned at least five dairy animals at the time of investigation.