Empowering women to own agroforestry: Myth breaking experiences from Bundelkhand region of Central India

Abstract

The goals of agricultural sustainability and disseminating agroforestry to smallholders cannot be achieved without taking women's vital roles into consideration and empowering them to play crucial role in the developmental processes. Complex array of socioeconomic-cultural factors and myths determine gender inequalities in projects relating to natural resource management including agroforestry. Empowering women to manage trees on farm, choose preferred species, have right to harvesting and processing of produce by breaking existing social barriers and myths, may generate self-esteem and enable them to own agroforestry on their farms. Hence, this article is aimed to understand the reasons and myths of gender inequality in agroforestry, the needs to empower women for scaling up agrofroestry, and also share some experiences on gendered management of agroforestry plantations in Bundelkhand region of central India. The experiences of working with farm families in selected villages of Bundelkhand region revealed that the social myths are far from the realities and women are playing key role in fostering concepts of “ladko ko khet, ladkiyon ko med aur har med par 100 saagon ke pedâ€, homeyard gardens for nutritional security of children and family members, and silvi-pasture (perennial grasses on farm-bunds) for regular supply of fodder for farm-cattle. These concepts also spelled out how gender specific management can be crucial for empowering farm women. The sense of owing materials and assets build self confidence in women which further enthuses them to enrich their knowledge and skills. It also enables women to generate their creativity, strengthen capacity to think, be decisive, and act in right perspective.