“Dynamics of gender equity and household food security in rice-based farming systems” presented by Kamala Gurung, IRRI-Bangladesh at the ReSAKSS-Asia Conference, Nov 14-16, 2011, in Kathmandu, Nepal.

1. Dynamics of Gender Equity and Household Food
Security in Changing Rice-based Agricultural Systems
A Case Study of Nishaigunj Village in Mymensingh District of
Bangladesh
Dr. Kamala Gurung, Dr. Thelma Paris and Dr. Samarendu Mohanty
Social Sciences Division (SSD), IRRI

2. Overview of the Presentation
 Introduction/Background
 Research Justification
 Research Goal and Research Questions
 Conceptual Framework
 Sites and Methods and Data Analysis
 Research Findings
 Way Forward-Expansion of the Study

3. Introduction
(Context of Bangladesh)
 Rice is main staple food along with fish
 The demand of rice and fish is constantly increasing
 Additional 5 millions tons of food grains need to be produced by
2015
 Shrinking of agricultural crop farm by estimated 0.08 million hectares
per year
 Non-agricultural related activities (houses, road)
 Emerging of market led agro-fisheries business/industry
(BRRI , 2007; Hossain, 2009)

4. Debate on market led agricultural intervention:
An example of agro-fisheries
Alternative development strategy for the livelihoods
improvement and food security
Significantly increased the workload for women and also men
Women are more likely to gain economic benefits
(Thomas-Slayter et. al.1994;Goetz and Gupta,1996; FAO, 1999)

5. Research Goal & Research Questions
Assess the implications of the commercial fish farming intervention
into the rice based farming for household food security and livelihoods
from gender equity perspectives.
1. Have the agricultural land use practices changed over time, how
these changes have affected the food security and sources of the
livelihoods of the various socio-economic groups?
2. Has the commercial fish farming affected the gender roles and
relations in terms their labor and resource allocation?
3. What are the driving forces of commercial fish farming conversion
into the rice fields?

6. Site Selection and Methodology of Research

7. Why Nishaigunj village as a research site?
Nishaigunj is one of the villages within the Baluka Upazilla
that has been massively expanding commercial fish farming
Farm land varies between low land and high land, devoted for
rice and jute cultivation as well as other crops in the past
Village are scattered with very rough access to road from the
Bhaluka Upazilla, with no electricity connection
(Group discussion, 2011)

8. Data and information collection matrix for key
objectives of the research study
Key
questions
Methods of data collection
Household
survey
Key informant
interview
Field
observation
Group discussion
Wellbeing
ranking
Before and
after method
SWOT
analysis
Question 1 *Yes - *Yes *Yes *Yes *Yes
Question 2 - *Yes *Yes - -
Question 3 *Yes *Yes *Yes *Yes
Note: *Yes indicates that the method has addressed the key objective of the research study

9. Criteria's of socio-economic stratification identified during the
group discussion
Criteria’s/Indicators for socio-economic stratification
Rich “Dhoni” Upper Medium “Uccha
Madhabitto”
Lower Medium“Nimno
Madhabitto”
Poor “Garib”
• Own about 8 to 10
acres agricultural land
•Engage as a fish
dealers or large size of
fish cultivators
•Own brick-built house
•Household members
has a high educational
qualifications
•Engage in government
services (i.e. teacher,
government agencies)
and also judges in
village
•Own about 4 to 6 acres of
agricultural land
•Engage in fish dealers or
own medium size of fish
cultivators
•Involve in government or
non-government
organizations
•Household members holds
a educational qualifications
Own small size of agricultural land
• Involve in vegetables
• Loan for household expenditure
•Do their own work themselves and
sometimes work for others
•Have small houses with roof of
corrugated iron sheets
•Works for garment factories
•No agricultural landholdings or
own only traditional thatched
cottage
•Food deficit for the whole year
•Livelihoods depend on wage labor
activities on a daily basis (e.g.
rickshaw, van pulling, catching fish)
•Loan from NGOs
•Earn from earthwork and catching
fish
• May cultivate other’s land
Source: VDSA Project-IRRI & Socio-Consult office, 2010

10. Distribution of survey households by gender
commercial
fish
leased-out
land
rice farming landless
5
8 8
2
3
7
8
Male
Female
N=41
Number
The main criteria’s of the
household survey selection
were based on:
i.commercial fish farming
ii.rice farming
iii.lease-out household
iv.landless.

11. Conversion of rice
farm in the
commercial fish
farming
Labor & resource
allocation: fish
farming intervention
Decision making
process over the
resources
Access to and
control over the
resources
Livelihoods pattern: Past
& present
On farm
Off farm
Non-farm
Driving factors of
conversion of rice farm
into the commercial fish
farming : Opportunities &
Challenges
Household
Food Security?
A
Dynamics of gender equity
and household food security
With effects
on
B
Changing land use pattern
C
Gender roles & relations: Intra
household level
With effects on
Analytical FrameworkConceptual Framework

12. Research Question
1. Have the agricultural land use operations changed over time, how
these changes have affected the household food security and sources
of the livelihoods of the various socio-economic groups?

13. Cropping calendar of major crops in high-land and low-land
Source: Group discussion, 2011
Baisakh Jestha Ashar Sravan Bhadra Aswin Kartik Agrahayan Poush Magh Falgun Chaitra
Apr-May May-Jun Jun-Jul Jul - Aug Aug-Sep Sep-Oct Oct-Nov Nov-Dec Dec-Jan Jan-Feb Feb-Mar Mar-Apr
Boro rice Boro rice
Amon rice
Aus. rice
Legums (e.g. mustard, pulses)
Jute

14. Out of total cultivable land
(180.95 acres), 69 percent of the
total land is dominated by fish
farm culture
Fish farm mainly initiated in the
leased-in land
The land use
operation
Land under crop
farm
Land under fish
farm
Own land cultivation 40.20 9.68
Leased-in 3.02 87.87
Total land operation 43.22 97.55
The present land use operations of Nishaigunj village (unit: Acre)
Source: VDSA project, IRRI, 2010

15. Group discussion, 2011
Decreasing rice production at the village level
 Loss of integrated rice-fish farming system
 Decreasing livestock population mainly cattle, goat
Difficulties to grow homestead gardening and also around the farm
land
The affects of monoculture commercial fish farming

16. Distribution of the Comparison of income sources from different livelihood activities
 50 percent of rich households and
only 11 percent of upper medium
households are engaged in the
commercial fish farming
 None of the lower medium and
poor households are
engaged/involved in commercial
fish farming
Rich Upper
medium
Lower
Medium
Poor
50
11
21
67
42
17
29
22
58
50
33
Landless
Rice farming
Leased-out land
for fish farming
Commercial fish
farming
Percentage
Source: Field survey, 2011
N=41

17. Comparison of different livelihoods sectors contribution for the household
income and food security “before and after” commercial fish farming intervention
86
77
54
19
73
21
29
21
29
70
16
17
40
14 23 17 11
27
63
54
39
non-farm
off farm
on-farm
“Before” “After”
Percentage
N=41
Source: Field survey, 2011
 On-farm is the main livelihoods
source shared about 77 percent
and 55 percent of the total
livelihood source of the upper
medium and lower medium
households, respectively
 Presently, main sources of
income are from non-farm
related activities (except rich
household)

18. Comparison of various livelihoods activities contribution for the household income
and food security “before and after” commercial fish farming intervention
79 75
52
19
10 7
17 17
8
63
14
10
4
2
3
29
70
5
30
16
13
10
14
14
11
7
10
15
13
13 9
3
12
2
3
10
13
1017
40
21
5
Income from leased-out land
Garment-labor
Business
Services
Fish-labor
Crop-labor
Livestock
Fish
Crop
"Before" "After"
Percentage
N=41
Source: Field survey 2011
 Crop farm shared more
than 50 percent of the
total household income
and food security (rich,
upper medium and lower
medium households)
 Presently, crop farm is
dominated by fish farm as
a main household income
of the rich household
 Non-farm is the main
livelihoods sources such
as income from leased
out farm land, business-
small shop and
services/remittance
(except rich household)

19. Second Research Question
2. Has the commercial fish farming affected the gender roles
and relations in terms of their labor allocation and access
and control over household resources and decision
making?

20.  Changes in the gender roles and relations at the intra household
level
 The commercial fish farming has substantially decreased the labor
requirement of both men and women compared to rice farming;
– Men labor for rice cultivation is much more higher than women
(e.g., land preparation, plantation, weeding and harvesting
– Women mainly involved in post-harvested related activities and
also preparing food for hired laborer
Gender Labor Allocation

21.  Although the labor allocation has been decreased, women are
concerned over the access to the crop related products for the daily
household consumption
– More dependent to the market based and to their husband to
purchase the food (rice)
– Women are not aware of the benefits from the fish farming since
their husbands deal selling fish and receiving money
 Women have more access to the resources over the consumption
based crop production systems than the large scale market
oriented agricultural production systems
Gender Involvement in Resource Allocation

22. Illustrations of the SWOT analysis of commercial fish farming intervention
SWOT Analysis N=16
Men (N=9) Women (N=7)
Internal
Strength
• High investment and high benefits (9)
• Far less workload compared to rice
cultivation (9)
• Needed few number of laborers
compared to rice farm (9)
• Save money and invest other
activities (2)
• Less workload compared to rice cultivation (7)
• High benefits (7)
Weakness
• Unable to secure food directly from
farm (7)
• Mental tension from loan debt (6)
•Highly effected by the high rice price
of the market (7)
• Unable to secure food directly from farm (7)
• Highly effected by the high rice price of the market
(6)
• Increasing dependent on the market based and
their husband for daily household consumption (7)
• Tension of securing food for daily consumption (e.g.
rice, vegetables) (7)
External
Opportunity
• Created other businesses outside the
village such as hatchery, feed factory
(3)
• Provides nutrition (6)
• Able to send children in school due to the less work
(3)
Threat
•Loss of soil fertility (8)
• Existing land erosion (3)
• High risk of fish related disease (5)
•Problem for crops cultivation in the future (7)

23. Third Research Question
What are the driving factors of conversion of rice fields
into the commercial fish farming?

24. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ranking
30
20
16
11
3 4
2 21
12
32
20
8
60
20
2
3
8
34
26
5
7
5
38
34
7
8
4
13
30
44
2 2
33 36
lack of extension
services
lack of quality fertilizer
unavailable improved
rice varieties
high labor cost
less benefits
unavaible labor
low production
Percentage
N=41
Ranking the farmers views on conversion of rice farm into commercial fish
farming
The initiation of the commercial
fish farming into the existing crop
fields mainly because of
following reasons:
Less profits from rice cultivation
(ranked highest)
High labor cost (ranked second)
unavailable of improved rice
varieties (ranked third)

25. Way Forward
 The study findings is inconclusive
 The study is further expanded with additional nine villages
 Provide comprehensive understanding and evidence-based
of dynamics of gender equity and household food security at
the micro-level
 Economic aspect mainly cost return comparison between
the rice and commercial fish farming systems
 Improve research methodology and data analysis

26. Sample villages Number of
Sample Village
Sample Household Information gathered Remark
Fish/Shrimp
farming
(monoculture)
6 villages 40 HHs X 6
villages=240
Gender concerns in fish
productivity, cost
benefits, effects on the
soil and water condition,
These total villages
is excluding
Nishaigunj village
Rice farming
(monoculture)
3 villages 40 HHs X
3villages= 120
sample HHs
gender concerns in rice
productivity, cost
benefits, Productivity
constraints,
9 villages Total Sample HHs
360
Selection of the sample villages

27. Southern region Northern region
Khulna district Satkhira district Mymensingh district
Non-control village
(commercial
fish/shrimp farming)
Control village
(rice farming)
Non-control Village
(commercial
fish/shrimp farming)
Control village
(rice farming)
Non-control village
(commercial
fish/shrimp farming)
Control village
(rice farming)
2 villages 1 village 2 villages 1 village 2 villages 1 village
•Surkhali village from
Botiaghatta Upazilla
• Sarappur village
Dhumaria Upazilla
Govindakati
village from
Dhumaria upazilla
•Chalitaghatta village
from Shyamnagar
Upazilla
•Baserhat village from
Asasuni Upazilla
Kaligunj Upazilla:
Bharasimla
village
•Haluwaghat Upazilla
•Gauripur Upazilla
Bhaluka Upazilla
Research districts and villages

28. Looking forward for your suggestions and advice!
THANK YOU