Analyzing the Relative Importance of Factors Influencing Farm Women Empowerment

Abstract

Agriculture continues to be the backbone of the Indian economy and women form an indispensable part of this sector. Empowerment is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional process influenced by personal, situational, psychological and institutional factors. The present study aimed to assess the level of farm women empowerment and to identify the major factors influencing their empowerment across selected villages of Chitradurga district. The study was conducted in the three talukas of Chitradurga district. Sixty farm women were selected in each taluk, together formed 180 respondents. A structured interview schedule was administered to collect data on variables categorized under personal, situational, psychological, and extension dimensions. Regression Analysis was employed to obtain information about the order of importance of the independent variables in predicting the dependent variable. Farm women empowerment was selected as dependent variable and nineteen independent variables were considered in the present study. These independent variables classified as personal, situational, psychological and extension variables. According to the findings, step one identified training participation (X17), which accounts for about 59% of the variation in farm women's empowerment. The study's conclusions showed that the two key elements to increase farm women's empowerment were self-reliance and self-confidence. It recommends increasing access to capacity-building programmes, strengthening extension contact and foster behavioural and motivational enhancement among farm women in rural areas to promoting inclusive institutional interventions to expand opportunities for skill development, decision-making and livelihood advancement.