1. Feminisation of agriculture, out-migration and new gender
roles: an imperative to change conventional engagements
with women water users
Fraser Sugden – IWMI Nepal
Photo: Saaliya Thilakarathna/IWMI
Research team: Fraser Sugden, Floriane Clement, Niki
Maskey, Anil Philip, Vidya Ramesh, Ashok Rai, Naryan
Prasad Sah, Yaman Sardar, Gajendra Sah, Lalita Sah
A water-secure world
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2. Introduction
• Political-economic and climate induced agrarian stress is causing
increase vulnerability for communities across the Eastern Gangetic
plains
• This is driving male out-migration and a transfer of new agricultural
labour responsibilities to females
• New patterns of vulnerability
• New adaptation needs for women who are left behind
• This calls for a new approach to gender mainstreaming in Agricultural
Water Management
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3. Survey sites
Tibetan Autonomous
Region
Kathmandu
Nepal
Janakpur
FORMER FOREST BELT
Bihar
Biratnagar
Madhubani
MITHILANCHAL
Darbhanga
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4. Contemporary agrarian structure
• Mithilanchal: large cultural region in North Bihar (India) and the
Terai-Madhesh (Nepal).
• Tenants and marginal farmers
– Tenants, marginal farmers (less than 0.5ha), and landless labourers, form
at least 75% of the rural population, and constitute base of agrarian
structure.
– Tenants and marginal farmers mostly Dalit and Mahadalit in caste
heartland, and adivasi in the former forest belt
• Large farmers and landlords
– At the apex of the agrarian structure, is a local landlord class in the
Maithili caste heartland. Mostly ‘large farmers’ rather than zamindars of
the past.
– Absentee landlord class in the former forest belt (predominantly in Nepal),
with mostly adivasi tenants.
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5. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Adhratadhi, Madhubani
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6. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Sitpur, Morang
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7. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Part 1 - New drivers of change
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8. 1. Climate change
• Significant changes observed in climate patterns
over last two decades
–
–
–
–
More unpredictability
Greater chilling during winter
Extended dry spells, particularly further west
More extreme precipitation events
• Dry season agriculture becoming increasingly
risky.
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9. 2. Broader pattern of agrarian stress
• Unequal terms of trade for agriculture, driving up price of
inputs, particularly in Nepal.
– High fuel prices on both sides of the border (affects fertiliser and
fuel costs)
– Limited subsidies for farmers in Nepal
• Rising cost of living
– Linked in part to rising fuel prices
– Increased monetisation of the economy, rising demand for cash.
• Political instability, state weakness
– Limited investment in key infrastructural works, including power
generation
– Rampant local level corruption
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10. 3. Agricultural adaptation?
• Limited spread of low tech climate smart
technologies
• Limited investment in surface canal networks
• On farm adaptation options?
– investment in tube wells and pumping equipment to
offset delayed harvests
– investment in labour saving technologies (threshers,
tractors).
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11. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
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12. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Thalaha, Morang
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13. • Adaptation not scale neutral
• Many technologies are out of reach for
poorer farmers
• E.g. Less than 6% of marginal/tenant
farmers own pumps sets or wells
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Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
3. Agricultural adaptation?

14. 4. Non agricultural adaptation: out-migration
• Diversification of livelihoods through non-farm
labour
– Can address both climatic and non-climatic stress on
livelihoods for marginal and tenant farmer majority
– Particularly as cost of ‘adapting’ within agriculture is high
• Significant rise in out-migration on a seasonal and
long term.
– Migration across all wealth groups– but marginal
cultivators are more dependent upon this income
– High waged versus low waged migrants
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15. Table 5: % of migrants from different wealth groups
80
70
60
50
Seasonal
migrants
40
30
Permanent
migrants
20
10
tenants or part
tenants
landless labourers
small owner
medium owner
cultivators <0.5ha cultivators 0.5-2ha
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Madhubani
Morang*
Dhanusha
Madhubani
Morang
Dhanusha
Madhubani
Morang
Dhanusha
Madhubani
Morang
Dhanusha
Madhubani
Morang
Dhanusha
0
large owner
cultivators >2ha

16. 5. Feminisation of agriculture
• Women are playing an increased role in agriculture
following the out–migration of male family members
• Significant rise in women headed households
• New tasks such as managing irrigation and on farm
technology and marketing are becoming part of the
female domain
• Agriculture remains crucial for family members left
behind, particularly for the poorest cultivators.
– Migrant remittances can not support whole family.
– 50-67% of women headed households are still engaged in
agriculture
– Women led agriculture subsidises migrant economy
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17. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Part II – Feminisation of agriculture:
new patterns of vulnerability
Jaleshwor, Mahottari
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18. 1. Vulnerability due to increased workload
– 66% to 83% of women headed households from marginal/tenant
farmer class
– Larger land owners employ labourers to compensate for loss of
male labour
– Greater vulnerability amongst marginal/tenant farmers
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Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
• Significant increase in work responsibilities for those ‘left
behind’.
• Affects wellbeing, while also reduces time to engage in
other livelihood activities
• Affects poorest cultivators

19. 2. Vulnerability due to loss of resources
• Loss of regular cash income in women headed
households from marginal/tenant farmer class
• Greater vulnerability to climatic stresses such as
droughts or late monsoons
– Sporadic income from migrant husbands/sons
– 2012: Estimated 75% loss of paddy due to late rains, and 65%
loss of wheat due to Spring thunderstorms
– Depletion of family grain stocks, yet no income to purchase grain
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20. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Bhuptatti, Madhubani
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21. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
PART III - Agrarian stress and equitable
adaptation in the context of out-migration
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22. 1. Challenges to investment in irrigation at a
household level
• Access to low cost, efficient irrigation becomes even more
important for those left behind in villages.
• Yet significant challenges remain
– Greater responsibilities does not always translate into greater
control over finances
– Challenges accessing institutional finance
– Tube well installation schemes biased against women headed
households (lack of land ownership certificates, citizenship)
• Capacity for females in women headed households to
adapt is dependent upon one’s position in agrarian
structure and migrant hierarchy
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23. • Irrigation canal management long the male
domain
• Limited effective efforts for meaningful women’s
participation aside from tokenistic ‘quotas’
• Significant challenge for women headed
households who need to negotiate for water, and
ensure their needs are met
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Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
2. Decaying communal irrigation
resources

24. • Sakhi foundation in Bihar successfully created women
run fishing collectives in Madhubani district
• Reserved fishing rights for women run cooperative to
half the village ponds.
• Combined with fisheries training and gender
empowerment activities
• All costs and profits shared equally
• Can this model be applied to irrigation resources?
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Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
3. Positive lessons in women’s leadership
in water management

25. Lessons and policy response
• The structure of the agrarian workforce has changed
significantly,
• High out-migration – yet agriculture remains critical for
women and family members remaining at home.
• Need to actively engage with women cultivators
– Too much focus by practitioners on ‘traditional’ female domain
such as sanitation, household water use
– Women are now taking critical role in supplying irrigation for
arable crops and are leading on farm management
– Need to engage with women directly, address issues of property
rights, and ownership of resources
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26. Photo: Fraser Sugden/IWMI
Thank you
Nayabazaar, Morang
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