Women farmers’ access to sustainable agricultural mechanization
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With the massive out-migration of men from the villages, women’s work has increased at both household and farm levels. Women thus face additional work burdens and challenges in securing their households’ food security and livelihoods. There is an urgent need to respond to women farmers’ demands and constraints along the value chain to reduce their drudgery and make their farming more profitable (Ghale and Gurung, 2020).
Women need access to sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) to manage their farms efficiently, profitably and timely.
In response to the problems and constraints faced by women farmers to access SAM, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Government of Nepal (GoN), initiated a Technical Cooperation Programme in Nepal.
The project established two Custom hiring centres (CHC) managed by mechanization committees represented mostly by women, who made up more than 75 percent of the committee (FAO, 2022). Custom hiring centres provide mechanization services for a fee to their members.
The established CHC benefit more than 250 members in the two districts through access to timely mechanization services for rice, maize, wheat and vegetables value chains (FAO, 2022). Their establishment allowed reducing drudgery, improving farm management and saving time and money.
Custom hiring centres are equipped with a diverse range of machines, tools and equipment to respond to the demand for mechanization services throughout the year. These centres also serve as extension enterprises for farmers to observe, test or use agri -machinery (FAO, 2021b).