Empowerment Status of Rural Women Participated in Training on Integrated Crop Management

This study aims to determine the status of empowerment of the rural women who participated in a season long training on Integrated Crop Management (ICM) as provided by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) under the Ministry of Agriculture, Bangladesh. The study also aims to explore the relationship between selected socio-economic characteristics of the rural women with their empowerment status; and to identify the problems of the women to participate in ICM training. Data were collected during October 2012 to March 2013 from randomly selected 80 women of Dumki upazila under Patuakhali district. Personal interview and focus group discussion were used as the tools for data collection. Findings revealed that the selected women having ICM training had moderate level of empowerment status. Women’s higher educational status, longer training received on ICM, more daily time use and greater participation in IGAs (income generating activities) had significant contribution in improving their empowerment status. Less awareness of ICM training programme, low educational status, lack of cooperation from family members, lack of female extension worker, communication gap between extension worker and women, incompatible training programme, overloaded household activities and social and religious hindrances were the major problems faced by the women to participate in ICM training.