Jacqueline Halbrendt

Implications of Conservation Agriculture for Men's and Women's Workloads Among Marginalized Farmers in the Central Middle Hills of Nepal

Abstract Measures of gender-based labor distribution can contribute to understanding the feasibility of agricultural development in mountainous subsistence farming communities. Conservation agriculture (CA) can provide sustained crop yield and improved soil and water conservation in mountain areas prone to degradation and where few inputs are available. This study sought to measure the gendered labor impacts of CA practices and to assess their feasibility in remote farming communities. We surveyed farmers in 3 tribal villages in the Middle Hills of Nepal, where communities consist of smallholder (<2 ha) farmers cultivating highly sloping, marginal lands. Face-to-face interviews and time allocation surveys were used to quantify distribution of labor and to identify engagement in agricultural decision-making in 87% of the households. On-farm plots were used to measure differences between the gender-based labor demands of conventional and CA practices. Results show that women bear a disproportionate burden (53–55%) of on-farm labor. Field trials showed that women would predominantly manage increases in labor demands from CA, particularly where more labor for plowing, sowing, and harvesting is required, yet 51.3% indicated that they have limited control over adoption of new practices. In situations where women are already overburdened, technologies that require additional labor may prove unsustainable. It is crucial to adapt technologies to provide gender-sensitive solutions and meet the needs of the local community. Identifying the gendered constraints of CA is vital to improving understanding of agricultural livelihoods.