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Dialling up women farmers’ empowerment vis-à-vis agriculture: Exploring the effects of mobile phones in rural India

Berghoff, Vanessa LU (2021) MIDM19 20211
Department of Human Geography
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Abstract
Despite women being the backbone of the agricultural sector in India, the patriarchal agrarian system poses major obstacles and challenges specific to women farmers with consequences well beyond the individual.

This research aims to explore how mobile phones can empower rural women vis-à-vis agriculture. Taking the lens of Feminist Theory, the ambition of this research is to study real-life experiences and realities of often invisible women farmers. A mixed-methods case study design allowed to capture a holistic and at the same time nuanced understanding of technology in the rural context of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The findings of two focus group discussions and a telephone survey of 231 observations conclude that... (More)
Despite women being the backbone of the agricultural sector in India, the patriarchal agrarian system poses major obstacles and challenges specific to women farmers with consequences well beyond the individual.

This research aims to explore how mobile phones can empower rural women vis-à-vis agriculture. Taking the lens of Feminist Theory, the ambition of this research is to study real-life experiences and realities of often invisible women farmers. A mixed-methods case study design allowed to capture a holistic and at the same time nuanced understanding of technology in the rural context of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The findings of two focus group discussions and a telephone survey of 231 observations conclude that mobile phones enable rural women farmers to feel more independent, self-sufficient, and safe. Towards empowerment in agriculture, mobile phones promote change across all five domains under study: production, resources, income, leadership and time. Mobile phones provide women farmers with invaluable access to information and resources, allowing them to enter previously male-dominated steps along the agricultural value chain. (Less)
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author
Berghoff, Vanessa LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20211
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
agriculture, agricultural development, agricultural transformation, India, feminisation, farmer, women farmer, gender equality, empowerment, rural livelihoods, rural development, mobile phones, mobiles, smartphones, technology, ICT4D, ICT4Ag, mixed methods, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, case study
language
English
id
9064913
date added to LUP
2021-09-09 11:58:17
date last changed
2021-09-09 11:58:17
@misc{9064913,
  abstract     = {{Despite women being the backbone of the agricultural sector in India, the patriarchal agrarian system poses major obstacles and challenges specific to women farmers with consequences well beyond the individual. 

This research aims to explore how mobile phones can empower rural women vis-à-vis agriculture. Taking the lens of Feminist Theory, the ambition of this research is to study real-life experiences and realities of often invisible women farmers. A mixed-methods case study design allowed to capture a holistic and at the same time nuanced understanding of technology in the rural context of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The findings of two focus group discussions and a telephone survey of 231 observations conclude that mobile phones enable rural women farmers to feel more independent, self-sufficient, and safe. Towards empowerment in agriculture, mobile phones promote change across all five domains under study: production, resources, income, leadership and time. Mobile phones provide women farmers with invaluable access to information and resources, allowing them to enter previously male-dominated steps along the agricultural value chain.}},
  author       = {{Berghoff, Vanessa}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Dialling up women farmers’ empowerment vis-à-vis agriculture: Exploring the effects of mobile phones in rural India}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}