Agricultural information networks of Uttarakhand farmers: Gender matters

Agriculture is the largest livelihood provider in India and in the years following the green revolution, the focus has shifted from food grains to horticultural crops, which include fruits and vegetables. Growing vegetables in the Uttarakhand hills remains an unorganised activity and farmers still rely on traditional methods, and are not as familiar with the current extension system as the farmers cultivating food grains in other parts of the country are.

Growing vegetables can be a financially lucrative technique that could replace subsistence farming in the hills. Most of the vegetable growers in the Himalayan states like Uttarakhand are small and marginal farmers and while the agro-climatic and soil conditions of Uttarakhand are favourable for the production of vegetables, vegetable growers need timely information, advice, inputs and resources to grow more produce and gain maximum profit. 

Women farmers form an important section of the workforce for vegetable growing in Uttarakhand, but they continue to lack access to information due to the lack of identity of women as farmers and restricted access to information providers and technology. Barriers in the societal, economic, legal and, in some cases, educational spheres limit the access of women to these services . 

Thus, understanding the structural organisation of the social network of smallholder farmers is crucial in order to improve their access to information. This paper titled 'Do the information networks of farmers differ across gender? Evidence from the hills of Uttarakhand, India using social network analysis' published in Current Science aims at identifying the dominant information networks accessed by men and women farmers to improve their agricultural practices and the factors affecting information network usage among male and female vegetable growers in Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas.

The study found that:

Information networks of vegetable growers varied across gender 

Local, interpersonal sources of information were popular among women farmers as they chose relatives/family members, neighbours/friends and group members as their most preferred information sources. Men farmers preferred more formal interpersonal information sources  and they derived most of their information from the State Horticulture Department, followed by progressive farmers and shopkeepers/input dealers. Both male and female farmers chose mobile phones with the internet over television as the most preferred mass media.

The network of female farmers was less dense than that of male farmers, while the communication network among males was relatively more efficient than females. Informal sources of information, such as family members, followed by neighbours and friends, and group members limited spread of information among women. In the case of male farmers, formal sources such as the State Horticulture Department, progressive farmers, dealers and shopkeepers helped in spreading information quickly and had significant influence over the flow of information in the network.

Factors affecting information networks usage by female vegetable growers

Factors such as education, farming experience, time dedicated to farming, group membership and contact with extension agencies influenced information networks among men and women.

Women farmers

Being a member of self-help groups, commodity interest groups, etc. had a positive and significant relation, whereas time dedicated to farming was negatively related to agricultural information network usage among women farmers.

Women shouldered various responsibilities like working in the fields, feeding the cattle, rearing children, taking care of elderly members of the family, preparing food, collecting firewood, etc and had fewer opportunities to interact with formal information sources such as the State Horticulture Department, Block Agriculture Officer, shopkeepers, input dealers, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (farm science centre), etc. Thus, they preferred local interpersonal sources, which were easier to contact.

A more educated woman was found to be more likely to acquire information on any subject, and she would seek various sources to get valid information. Women’s independence in their information-seeking behaviour was impacted by the level of education. Women vegetable growers who dedicated more time to farming were left with less time to interact with the information sources in the agriculture networks. 
The farming activities predominantly carried out by women were time-consuming, monotonous and done manually without any mechanical aid.

Group membership also affected the information usage pattern, since women members of collectives were more likely to obtain information related to agriculture as compared to women not associated with collectives. Women’s collectives are approached more often by the extension agencies and are also a platform to discuss livelihood-related problems and their possible solutions. 

Male farmers

Income, landholding, access to mobile phones, contact with extension agency and frequency of contact were the main factors that affected the agriculture network usage among male vegetable growers. The male vegetable growers had more access to mobile phones than the female farmers. Male farmers preferred formal sources of information, and mobility was not an issue for them and they could visit the relevant offices and be exposed to social forums, training, exposure visits to other places, etc.

Way forward

The study highlights the need for policymakers, researchers and organisations involved in improved vegetable production to understand the gendered determinants of social networks that enable the dissemination of information among men and women farmers.

The study argues for the need for: 

• Strengthening the existing extension and delivery system as there are few training institutions in villages, which indicate that infrastructure development and changes are required at the village level. Many women find it difficult to engage in social and economic activities because they lack mobility, and it affects their standard of living. More women will be able to access such training institutions by breaking the mobility barrier they face due to the cultural and infrastructural constraints in the hills. 
• Provisions to promote basic and functional media literacy among women and men. Since every farmer cannot afford or operate smartphones, there is a need for establishing centres or interactive kiosks where male and female farmers can visit and get information. 
• Recruiting helping staff (information providers) at the community level who can help farers in accessing and operating such kiosks, mobilising farmers, arranging meetings with extension personnel and subject experts so that the farmers get acquainted with the ICT and other forms of information sources
• Promotion of traditional media such as folk media, fairs, puppet shows, plays and exhibitions which can be complemented with ICT usage, as both male and female farmers are still less familiar with ICT. 
• Provision of simplified information in local languages as the information material presently available is complex and high-tech, and farmers find it difficult to understand. Audio visual and voice based information services can be provided to women farmers as they are less educated in comparison to their male counterparts. 
• Promotion of group formation at the community level and encouraging women farmers to join these groups so that they can learn from fellow group members and interact with the experts to gain knowledge. Extension personnel should be encouraged to visit the farmers’ fields more often so that women farmers who find mobility a constraint can meet them. Women prefer informal information sources. There is thus a need to enhance the capability of people who form important sections of women’s informal networks who can provide valid and accurate information to the women farmers. 
• Popularising success stories of progressive and successful farmers in the community to motivate fellow women farmers to get inspired to gain information and knowledge about new technologies. Information disseminators, preferably women workers, can be appointed at the village level so that the women farmers feel more comfortable contacting them. 
• Programmes for providing smartphones to women farmers at subsidised rates can also promote the usage of ICTs and social media platforms to access updated information on farming
• To disseminate information in ways that impact improved production and marketing of vegetables in the hills, the information providers need to meet the farmers (especially women farmers) where they are so that the mobility issue can be addressed. 

Although policymakers and programme planners might be able to use social networks to disseminate information effectively and in a cost-effective manner, the decision of whom to target within a network has implications for who would benefit from the information. Targeting training and information to the most influential nodes within the social networks can lead to more knowledge dissemination to the other people, especially males who are fairly wellconnected. To determine the most helpful strategy, service providers need to be mindful of the structure of the social networks (i.e. formal and informal) in vegetable production, argues the paper.