Assignment Code: MGS-041/AST -01/TMA-1/2022-23

Course Code: MGS-041

Assignment Name: Introduction to Gender, Agriculture and Sustainable Development

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

All questions have to be attempted.

1. Explain the concept of Entitlement with suitable examples (10)

Ans) The term "entitlement" refers to legitimate claims and rights. It is a legal right that confers some advantages to the disadvantaged and impoverished population. In terms of gender, patriarchal standards deny women's equal rights to males and prevent them from having access to and control over both material and intangible resources. Thus, the failure of entitlement has a negative impact on women's position. Family and other social institutions limit women's potential, restrict their ability to act independently, and force them to put the needs of others before their own. So, the main prerequisite for pursuing gender justice is entitlement.

The right to property is frequently linked with entitlement in economics. Many people think that if women have access to and control over wealth and possessions, they will become more empowered. When viewed from this angle, it may be claimed that resources and assets are still the purview of men, and women don't have any right to access or management of them. Women don't have the same rights to inherit property. The 1975 Commission on the Status of Women in India made numerous recommendations on the rights of women in light of this. Among them are:

1. Instead of continuing the antiquated standard of real financial contribution, legal acknowledgment should be given to the economic worth of the contribution made by the wife through home labour for the purposes of determining ownership of matrimonial property.

2. The wife should be entitled to at least one-third of the assets accumulated before and during the marriage in the event of divorce or separation.

3. The Indian Succession Act of 1925 will be modified to remove the need that the wife's domicile be linked to the husband's. - Equal division of the afflicted man's independent or self-purchased property as well as his undivided rights in joint property.

Legal reforms are essential to guaranteeing women's rights. Even when the law is in place to protect women's rights, social norms and practises prevent women from fully exercising those rights. It is necessary to shift attitudes within the society. The social reform movement is essential for raising awareness and altering people's perspectives. The proposals below were made by Dr. Sarala Gopalan, a former secretary to the Indian government, to safeguard women's rights.

1. By using educational institutions, public awareness campaigns, and legal awareness programmes, raise awareness of the law.

2. Inform the judiciary, managers, and lawmakers about the importance of following the letter and spirit of the law.

3. Take into account recommendations for long-overdue changes to inheritance laws.

4. Introduce mandatory marriage registration and bolster the necessary administrative infrastructure.

2. Explain the influence of feminism in development discourse with examples. (10)

Ans) In addition to being tactical, feminist discourses are potent tools for self- and other-interpretation. They make feminism possible. These feminist discourses and acts are distinctive, varied, and contestation locations in and of themselves. We observe the establishment of a coalition when feminisms engage in development. In the context of gender and development, we shall now investigate these discourse coalitions or supporting the formation of coalitions across differences.

The relevance of "narratives advocating gender and development within development institutions" has been emphasised by Cornwall, Harrison, and Whitehead. These stories have contributed to the development of a group of experts and a "body" of organisations that deal with gender-related issues. These scholars stress the creation of "discourse alliances" based on specific feminist insights in the development discourse. These insights entail what? Two of the most crucial conclusions are:

1. Both collaboration and conflict occur in households.

2. Work that is both productive and reproductive puts a double load on women (now we speak of a triple burden including community management work).

The authors claim that "given the unstable geo-political realities of the world," developing suitable forms of solidarity across diversity has never been more crucial. They contend that efforts to redefine and reconfigure development intervention ought to be grounded in "gender" as an overarching organising element. One of the primary axes of difference in our communities is gender. We may talk about the shared experiences and solidarity of all women, for instance. But after doing more research, we find that women's experiences can genuinely differ depending on other axes of difference. Caste, class, religion, and ethnicity are axes of difference that can have profound effects and interact with one another to establish how a person is 'gendered' in and by society. These axes of difference can function together or in opposition; in certain circumstances, they can strengthen or weaken the influence of a difference. Feminists support, as Cornwall, Harrison, and Whitehead put it, "forging suitable forms of solidarity" or "oneness" in order to advance the cause of women's empowerment in various circumstances. In fact, adding gender to the development agenda can mean departing from its core principles and objectives. Because of this, we must concentrate on issues that are essential to ensuring that the development process also fosters empowerment.

3. Define and discuss gender segregation of work in India. (10)

Ans) There is a precedent for gender division of labour that has been accepted by society since women are given one set of gender roles and men get another. Gender roles are based on social norms of behaviour, attitudes, and beliefs that communities and societies have established as appropriate for men and women and their interactions. These norms are based on views of sex differences. For instance, having children is a female sex role because men are unable to do so. Despite the fact that either a man or a woman can parent a child, this duty is socially assigned.

There are many explanations for why there are sex differences. Those who favour biological explanations contend that gender is the primary influence in how people behave. However, sex-role behaviour does not follow any logical pattern based on biological distinctions, particularly in the workplace. For instance, despite having the requisite abilities, men are less likely than women to change a baby's diaper. It is also challenging to justify the lengths of time that working women spend at home cooking and doing laundry as a biological necessity. A type of social segregation that biology cannot account for is gender segregation.

Gender segregation is the process by which men and women end up in various occupation types, creating what is known as a male and female labour market. This segregation has developed from the idea of gender marking, which happens when the requirements and traits of an occupation start to be linked to gender. This helps us determine what gender a person should be for a specific job. When jobs are classified as being performed by men or women, gender marking is evident. Theoretically, gender marking of traits, features, jobs, and job activities could lead to gender segregation.

The complicated process of gender segregation is visible on all levels—horizontal, vertical, and internal. When men and women work in the same occupations (and occasionally for the same employers), internal gender segregation occurs because they perform separate job duties. This indicates that in practise, gender segregation may be very strong even in a gender-integrated profession.

Horizontal Segregation: When males work in some industries and occupations and women in others, this is known as horizontal segregation.

Vertical Segregation: Vertical segregation is the term used to describe the hierarchical separation when males have higher managerial positions within a given occupation and women hold relatively lower positions.

4. Examine the extent of women’s contribution to the household care economy with suitable   examples. (10)

Ans) It is concerning how much women contribute to the care economy. According to estimates, the care economy contributes an invisible $16 trillion to global production, of which the invisible, non-monetised contribution of women accounts for $11 trillion.

The following are ongoing processes of women's involvement in the care economy:

1. Composition of the family: Having a (young) child in the home tends to increase the amount of unpaid care work performed across all nations.

2. Life cycle approach: Marriage has a tendency to increase the quantity of unpaid caregiving that women must provide. The amount of caregiving work done by women declines as they get older and reach more advanced stages of life.

3. Household income: Increases in money tend to lead to a reduction in the quantity of unpaid care labour performed, whereas employment tends to reduce the amount of unpaid care work performed by women.

In the structure of the economy of care and the crucial role that women play in it, the needs of home welfare that are inherent to the well-being of family members are a constant. The home is, however, viewed more as a consumer of commodities and government services than as a producer who contributes important resources to both the public and private economies. The majority of how women contribute to the economy is through this unrecognised sector of labour, which includes caregiving, civic engagement, subsistence farming, and employment in the unorganised sector.

Due to its lack of visibility, this activity is not only undervalued or quantified incorrectly, but it is also excluded from the Gross National Product (GNP) and typically disregarded when making policy decisions. According to India's Time Use Survey (TUS), which CSO carried out in roughly 18,600 families in six specific states between July 1998 and June 1999, women spend 34.6 hours a week on average in the care sector compared to men's 3.6 hours. The research confirms how important women are to the efficient operation of the care sector as it now is.

5. Explain the complex nature of the relationship between technology and ecology. (10)

Ans) To start, it's important to understand the differences between "knowledge," "technology," and "innovation." Knowledge describes know-how and, more broadly, how knowledge is gathered, categorised, and then transferred or disseminated in any economic system. When there is a standardised way of communicating information and passing it from one entity to another, such knowledge may be considered formal. However, it might also assume a more covert, unofficial shape, which only comes to light through the process of on-the-job training. For instance, the development of a vaccine might necessitate the application of formal human anatomy and epidemiology knowledge by researchers. But in order for it to be successful, there will also need to be some tacit knowledge about how successful trials are conducted, how government regulations operate, marketing or sales experience, etc. Many of these things are based on prior experiences that researchers or organisations may have gained through their time on the job.

Technology and knowledge are intimately intertwined. Technology is a term that is frequently used to describe novel items or solutions, but in actuality, it refers to a particular category of knowledge that controls production. It alludes to the technical knowledge that determines how inputs are converted into products. Although the terms "technology" and "innovation" are frequently used interchangeably, they have fundamentally different philosophical underpinnings. Innovation is the term used to describe the net value that is added as a result of new organisational methods, business models, designs, and technology. In other words, innovation is the last phase of the commercialization of formal and tacit knowledge. Although innovation ultimately depends on knowledge, it needs to be formalised and conceptually separated from these ideas. Organizations, nations, businesses, and other entities can increase their skill set by utilising knowledge stocks that have amassed over time along with knowledge flows they acquire from others, which increases their capacity for innovation. However, there is not always a direct correlation between the creation of information, its eventual dissemination throughout an economic system, and its transformation into innovative results.

6. Examine India’s progress and preparedness toward SDG 13 in detail. (10)

Ans) India must fulfil its obligations under the Paris Agreement because it has ratified and signed it. Along with 192 other countries, India has signed the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Indian government has given NITI Aayog the responsibility of coordinating the SDG Agenda in India, urged the states to create action plans, and begun an effort to create national indicators for the 17 Goals in addition to holding discussions on specific goals. In anticipation of NITI Aayog's scheduled release of the long-term vision (2015–30) and medium-term plan (2015–22), the organisation recently created a short-term action agenda. The NITI Aayog has created a draught mapping of objectives and targets against already implemented programmes, and these objectives have been delegated to the appropriate ministries. States are being asked to submit their plans for achieving the SDGs to NITI Aayog, using the SDGs as a framework for their long-term development strategy. There is also activity at the state level. Included in this is a suggestion to create an SDG charter for each government ministry. The MoEFCC has been given direct control over three goals (Goals 12, 13, and 15), for which they must work with other ministries on separate objectives.

In addition, they will collaborate with other ministries on another seven goals for which they bear some responsibility. In light of India's commitment to the Paris Agreement, NITI Aayog is also in charge of creating an energy policy. The state governments, ministries, and civil society were consulted as the MoEFCC developed the Nationally Determined Contributions.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

1. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission.

2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency.

3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat.

4. National Water Mission.

5. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.

6. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem.

7. National Mission for a Green India.

8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.

The Government has achieved noteworthy strides toward achieving SDGs and SDG 13 thanks to these initiatives.

7. Examine gender dimensions of agroforestry in detail with suitable examples (10)

Ans) There has been a lot of writing about gender issues in agricultural production due to the significance of gender in all parts of production. The use of agroforestry technology, which involves growing perennial trees and shrubs on the same land management system as annual crops and/or livestock, is not well understood, though. The relationships between poverty (women are among the poorest of the poor), rural living, female-headed households, and which groups have access to health and environmental amenities like toilets are well demonstrated in reports. Participants' levels of education, knowledge, income, and gender roles are all acknowledged as having overlapping components in long-term watershed management. The poorest households, which are also the families that are least visible and hence most exposed to health and environmental problems, place a significant emphasis on gender.

The programme has helped stakeholders become more aware of the importance of gender equality, but it depends on the highly interactive nature of its many different activities to maintain social and gender balance. Women are mostly in charge of reproductive work, whereas men are primarily in charge of producing work. In addition, men and women exert authority in different contexts. In certain communities, specific fields, trees, and tree products are gendered. Furthermore, depending on gender, different parts of the same tree may be used in different ways. There are viewpoints on how women and the environment interact that do not favourably depict women's roles. Women's roles as child bearers are brought into question when population and fertility difficulties are connected to increasing demand for natural resources, and overcrowding by poor families poses a threat to the environment. The contribution of the poor to environmental degradation has been grossly exaggerated, and large commercial holdings rather than an increasing number of small subsistence farmers have driven up demand for resources, particularly land for agricultural use.

In addition to being essential for addressing women's rights, gender equality and women's empowerment are also wise financial decisions. When men and women have equal opportunities, the rural economy grows more quickly, communities gradually break the cycle of poverty, and the overall well-being of families improves. Women in rural regions are essential change agents. through encouraging the use of agroforestry techniques to increase crop yields. In Jamaica and Guyana, commercial growth brought on by a change in emphasis to the market and trade liberalisation is highlighted as posing a threat to environmental security (particularly in the area of land use). Because they rely on goods made from natural resources, people from underprivileged backgrounds are keenly interested in environmental protection. For poor women, almost all resources are limited, thus they must be wisely saved.

8. Narrate the present status of livestock in India. How the livestock system improvement  contributes to improving women's economic empowerment. (10)

Ans) India is one of the world's top producers of livestock goods and is blessed with a sizable number of animals. The livestock industry in India produces around 4.11 percent of the country's overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 25.6 percent of the country's total agricultural GDP, playing a significant role in the economy of the country, particularly in rural areas.

Generally speaking, the 20th Livestock Census Report's data is based on an animal census that is conducted every five years. The 20th Livestock Census was done in all of the states and union territories (rural and urban regions) periodically throughout 2018–2019 by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairy, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy, and the report was announced on October 16, 2019. According to this census data, the number of cattle has either increased or decreased through time, depending on the species. The majority of livestock species have seen increases in population since the last census, with the exception of the populations of pigs, yaks, camels, horses, and donkeys.

According to India's 20th Livestock Census, the number of pigs has decreased over the previous census. All other livestock species, with the exception of Mithun, have also seen population declines, including yak, horses, donkeys, and more. There is also a rise in poultry, including fowl, duck, emus, turkeys, quail, and other poultry species.

One of the crucial occupations and a major contributor to the Indian economy is livestock husbandry in the rural areas of our nation. For the majority of small and marginal farmers in rural India, livestock provides additional revenue in addition to crop production. It not only gives rural communities supplemental money, but also a fantastic supply of foods high in protein like milk, meat, eggs, etc. Women used to play a significant part in livestock rearing in rural regions since they supplied the labour for caring for the animals. The government has undertaken numerous initiatives to encourage farmers to employ high-quality livestock breeds, to prevent livestock disease, and to sell livestock products. All of these programmes are anticipated to provide roughly 70 million Indian farmers with sustainable livelihood alternatives as well as nutritional security.

9. Explain various branches of horticulture. (10)

Ans) Horticulture is the development, sustainable production, marketing, and usage of high-value, intensively grown food and ornamental plants. It is both a science and an art. Horticultural crops come in a variety of forms, including annual and perennial species, mouth-watering fruits and vegetables, and ornamental houseplants and outdoor plants. By supplying wholesome food, boosting the attractiveness of our homes and communities, and lowering our carbon footprint, these speciality crops support and improve our lives.

Horticulture has the following subfields, which make it a comprehensive field of study:

1. Fruits Science or Pomology: manages the orchards in order to cultivate fruit.

2. Vegetable Science or olericulture: It relates to vegetable crop production technologies.

3. Floriculture and Landscaping or floriculture: It is the art and science of cultivating flowers and decorative plants for both practical and aesthetically pleasing reasons. In cases where a plot of land is constructed for leisure purposes, landscaping is also included. The primary activity of this branch is the creation of parks and gardens.

4. Post Harvest Management: It deals with the preparation of different horticultural products for predetermined uses. In addition to increasing the value of the products as value-added goods, these strategies reduce the amount of horticulture items that spoil.

5. Spices, condiments, Medicinal Plants and Plantation crop: This include plantation crops like tea and coffee as well as spices like cardamom, ginger, and turmeric as well as medicinal plants like ashwagandha and lemon grass.

6. Arboriculture: For the benefit of people, it is the study of choosing, planting, caring for, and managing trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants.

7. Landscaping: It involves transforming an area into aesthetic features like a lawn, park, garden, etc. It comprises mowing, caring for, and using the lawn.

8. Viticulture: focuses on grape farming and marketing.

9. Post Harvest Physiology: entails preserving the quality of horticulture products and avoiding their deterioration.

10. Soil Science: It enlightens regarding the nature and properties of the soil.

11. Manure and fertilizers: Its most crucial elements are the regulation of soil fertility and plant nutrients.

12. Plant Physiology: Its scope encompasses research on plant growth and development.

10. Discuss gendered aspects of Sustainable development with examples. (10)

Ans) Women make decisions every day that have an impact on sustainable development, such as how much water or energy is used. Women have made contributions to locally relevant sustainable solutions for the current social, economic, and environmental issues. For instance, they employ ecologically friendly technologies and practises like crop mulching, reforestation, and rainwater collection cisterns. They also support education and give their children and themselves access to improved healthcare facilities.

However, women have been most affected by unplanned economic growth and mismanaged development. Women suffer from the effects of unsustainable development in both urban and rural settings. Women suffer the most during disasters like floods and disease outbreaks. Women are now asking that their voices be heard since for years their skills, knowledge, and perspectives have gone unheard.

The Rio Declaration's Principle 20 asserts that women are essential to environmental development and management. To achieve sustainable development, they must fully participate. In a similar vein, Chapter 24 of Agenda 21 recommended that women participate fully in making decisions, carrying out sustainable development initiatives, and distributing information. National governments were urged by the Agenda to create plans to "remove constitutional, legal, administrative, cultural, behavioural, social, and economic obstacles to women's full involvement in sustainable development and in public life."

Women must be taken into account as change agents. The advancement of economic and social conditions is aided by gender equality. Women have a crucial role in fostering sustainable development through their concern for the quality and sustainability of life for both present and future generations. They are consumers, producers, parents, and educators. Women are more likely than men to purchase things that are recyclable, eco-friendly, and energy-efficient. Following the tsunami, a network of women's self-help organisations in India met the basic requirements of the local populace, such as credit, water and sanitation, and healthcare.

Through their Self Help Groups and numerous People's Organizations, they have established a sense of mutual trust, social stability, skills, and access to technology and credit. The community as a whole has been inspired by the women's groups to participate in hygiene, sanitation, family planning, and health care activities. To provide food security for their members, several organisations have established grain banks.

Women from all around the world have started advocating for their part in protecting the environment globally. Women play a critical role in attaining socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development, which is widely acknowledged. To enable and encourage women to take advantage of access to credit, technology, and innovations, training and support are required. The development of their awareness, skills, and leadership, as well as their connections to industry, commerce, financial institutions, and local governments, can then enable them to take part in socioeconomic development on an equal footing with others.