Role of Self Help Groups (SHGs) among the Rural Farm Women in Relation to Labour Days and Income of the Seasonal Crops

Most woman participants sampled in Katwa Block- I of Burdwan district, India, were young in the age group between 26 -35 years; and predominantly on nuclear families. Most woman respondents were from Hindu SC & ST and Hindu OBC households. Muslim women rarely participated as agricultural wage laborers. In agriculture, women were engaged in various activities except in ploughing. Participation of rural women in agriculture in others’ farm was highest in harvesting as well as in transplanting; and it varied with crop seasons. This study revealed that kharif was the main and busiest season of crop production; and there was a seasonability in wage employment and earning among the rural farm women. Both wage-employment and earning capacity increased among the rural women through participation in Self Help Groups. The most striking feature of this study was that there was no wage difference between the women labours of SHGs and non-SHGs. Keywords: Farm women, wage-employment, seasonal variability in employment and earning, Self Help Groups