Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 6(3), pp. 283 - 296
DOI: 10.13189/sa.2018.060302
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Women's Farming Collectives: An Inquiry into the Resource Sharing Patterns across 3 Districts of Maharashtra to Provide Evidence for Sustainable Environmental Collective Action

Roshan Rathod ^*
Society for Promoting Participatory Ecosystem Management (SOPPPECOM), India

ABSTRACT

India is an agrarian country where, 80% of its agricultural labour is performed by women. Yet, she is not recognized as a farmer as being a farmer is synonymous to owning agricultural land. The land ownership statistics are obscure for women with only 12% of the operational land holding in India and 15% in the state of Maharashtra in particular. This study through its in depth understanding of women's farming collectives in the 3 districts of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Beed in the state of Maharashtra provides insights in the functioning, resource sharing patterns with respect to land, labour, seeds and water, and puts forward a case for collective action and its benefits in terms of accessing resources where absence of land holding for women farmers exists. The study in the larger context highlights the interesting experiments that women themselves are engaging in and growing organic produce while creating a collective space which is an economic as well as a social space. Ecological sustainability, economic democracy and social well-being are manifested in the nature of these collectives themselves. The main aim of this work is to ensure recognition of women as farmers and provide a platform for them to access land rights collectively.

KEYWORDS
Collective Action, Gender, Natural Resource Management, Organic Farming and Democracy

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Roshan Rathod , "Women's Farming Collectives: An Inquiry into the Resource Sharing Patterns across 3 Districts of Maharashtra to Provide Evidence for Sustainable Environmental Collective Action," Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 283 - 296, 2018. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2018.060302.

(b). APA Format:
Roshan Rathod (2018). Women's Farming Collectives: An Inquiry into the Resource Sharing Patterns across 3 Districts of Maharashtra to Provide Evidence for Sustainable Environmental Collective Action. Sociology and Anthropology, 6(3), 283 - 296. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2018.060302.