eChapters

Gasification is a process that turns materials containing carbon, like wood, crops, coal, or waste, into a type of fuel called producer gas or syngas. This is done by heating the carbon-rich material with a controlled amount of oxygen at high temperatures. Gasification is a type of partial oxidation, which means using less oxygen than needed to burn the same amount of fuel. Knowing the necessary amount of air for the conversion process is important to run a gasifier correctly. This requires understanding the stoichiometry based on the composition of the biomass. A chemical formula for the biomass can be calculated by analyzing the elements present, which serves as the basis for estimating the air-fuel ratios through stoichiometric calculations. Gasification only uses 25 to 40% of the theoretical oxidant, producing heat for fuel conversion. In gasification, the main combustible products are carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

Gastric Ulcer a well defined ulcer involving the mucous membrane of the stomach with a tendency to progressive destruction, beginning in the mucosa and sometimes extending to and even through the deeper layers of the walls of the stomach.

We have not been able to name a definite cause. "Altered composition of the blood and the resulting insufficient nourishment of the cells'⁷. Riegel says the ulcer is due "to a self-digestion of the stomach at the limited spot." He calls attention to the fact that the gastric juice is always hyperacid in these cases and thinks it is more than a mere coincidence. Virchow says the cause is emboli or thrombi, which form in the nutrient gastric arteries, which have lost their tonicity. He claims that an ulcer forms at the point of obstruction.

Gastric ulcers occur most frequently between twenty and thirty years of age. This is an average, which we arrive at from the fact that in females it is from fifteen to thirty and in males from forty to forty-five. The predominance of women over men as shown by clinical statistics is two to one, but pathologically the numbers are about equal in two sexes.

No occupation seems to grant exemption. Cooks seems to be more predisposed. Next come metal workers in those factories where there is much dust. Some claim that shoemakers and tailors are also prone to the condition.

Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach, sometimes accompanied by more or less severe constitutional manifestations.

Key Points

• Neurologic dysfunction, which can show up as a wide range of perplexing symptoms and indicators, can accompany gastrointestinal disorders that cause malabsorption and the ensuing nutritional deficits.

• Digestive illnesses are among the most common problems in animals living in tropical countries. They often manifest as intestinal blockage, malabsorption, malnourishment, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, diarrhea, and stomach pain or distention.

Introduction

Animal digestive problems can be brought on by a range of conditions, including infections, parasites, and other illnesses. In older dogs and cats, gastrointestinal (GI) disorders of the alimentary tract and hepatobiliary system are prevalent. The majority of the time, GI symptoms in affected animals are caused by inflammatory illnesses; however, degenerative lesions and motility issues can also occur. Acute and chronic conditions are two general classifications for gastrointestinal diseases. Dietary errors, or the worsening of long-term gastrointestinal disorders, are the most frequent causes of acute gastrointestinal disorders. Alongside chronic gastrointestinal disease, colitis or inflammatory bowel disease are frequently diagnosed.

Introduction
Gastrulation is a vital stage in the development of multicellular animals because it establishes the basic body plan, including the primary body axes (dorsal/ventral axis and the cranial/caudal axis) and prepares the embryo for organ formation. The process of cleavage leads to formation of blastula which is followed by gastrulation. The blastula consists of inner cell mass (Cell mass made up of darker blastomere and present at animal pole which is going to form embryo proper) and trophoblast (Cells made up of clear cells and arranged periphery near to Zona pellucid). The morphogenic changes occur during gastrulation is the formation of three germ layers. Gastrulation is the process in which single- layered blastula is converted into a trilaminar structure consisting of an outer ectodermal, a middle mesodermal and an inner endodermal layer and occupy their characteristic position in embryo. They will be give rise to different organs and extra embryonic membranes. The gastrulation is an important step of cell differentiation.
Gastrulation in Mammals
The process of gastrulation is variable among different domestic animals. It takes place in the uterus when the blastocyst is floating in the uterine fluid. After the degeneration of zona – pellucida, the cells located in the ventral margin of the inner cell mass separate out and extended ventrally along the trophoblast layer. Due to further proliferation, splitting (delaminate) and migration of cells from the inner cell mass, form a complete cellular lining on the inner site of trophoblast. This newly formed layer is called endoderm corresponds to the hypoblast of chick blastoderm. The remaining cells of the inner cell mass correspond to the epiblast of chick blastoderm. With formation of endoderm the blastocoel is divided into 2 cavities. The portion enclosed within endoderm is called primitive gut and area between endoderm and trophoblast layer is extra embryonic coelom. During this time trophoblast cells covering the inner cell mass degenerate and compact inner cell mass exposed and it is called as embryonic disc The embryonic disc occupies a position at the animal pole. Note: The development of the germ layers in mammals closely resembles that of birds with the formation of the primitive streak and primitive node.7

Introduction
Consumer surveys and feedback forms are critical tools for understanding customer preferences, behaviors, and satisfaction levels. They provide actionable insights that drive improvements in products, services, and overall consumer experiences. This chapter outlines best practices for preparing, conducting, and analyzing consumer surveys, as well as designing and utilizing feedback forms effectively.
Section 1: Gathering Data from Prepared Consumer Surveys
Gathering data from prepared consumer surveys refers to the systematic process of collecting information from a target audience using a structured set of questions. These surveys are designed to capture consumer opinions, preferences, behaviors, or feedback about products, services, or experiences. The collected data provides insights that businesses or organizations can use to improve decision-making, customer satisfaction, and overall performance.
Consumer surveys are structured questionnaires aimed at collecting specific information from a target audience.
1.1 Designing an Effective Survey
Creating a well-designed survey is the foundation of accurate data collection. Key steps include:
1. Define Objectives
• Identify what you aim to learn (e.g., customer satisfaction, buying preferences).
• Example: “Assess the factors influencing customer loyalty in e-commerce”.

Sources of information

News is constantly occurring. There is a newsworthy event happening somewhere in the world every minute of every day.

People, letters, books, files, videos, cassettes, and other materials thatjoumahsts utilise to put together news articles can all serve as sources of information.

Types of sources

Primary sources: A person with first-hand knowledge of a problem or a document they produced can both be considered primary sources.

They are typically the best sources of knowledge regarding their particular aspect of what occurred. They should be able to provide you with reliable information as well as powerful opinions.

Example: Artifacts, audio recordings, diaries, internet communication, interview, letters, peer-reviewed journal articles, original documents, patents, photos, proceedings, records of organizations, speeches, videos, survey results, works of art, web sites.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the antibacterial effect of Eucalyptus robusta leaves extract loaded-solid lipid nanoparticles. Eucalyptus robusta leaves extract loaded SLNs was prepared and characterized. The particle size of SLNs was around 200 nm, zeta potential was 566.93 mV and the entrapping efficiency was 81%. Prepared nanoformulation was spherical in shape. Eucalyptus robusta leaves extract loaded SLNs did not exhibit any promising antibacterial activity against clinical isolates of E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus as determined by Agar well diffusion method. Therefore, further studies were undertaken only on crude extract of Eucalyptus robusta leaves. Experimental endometritis in rats was developed by inoculating the clinical isolate of E. coli (1x107 cfu/ml) in to the uterine horns during diestrus stage followed by cervical ligation. Endometritis in rats was confirmed based on presence of visible pus in the uterus, edematous uterine horns, thinning of endometrial lining and presence of bacterial load in uterine tissue homogenate. Eucalyptus robusta leaves crude extract (25 mg/ml) and Ciprofloxacin (50 mg/ ml) were administered orally found to significantly reduce uterine weight and uterine secretion index. But bacterial load in the uterine tissue homogenate was not significantly reduced by both the treatments. Histopathological lesions in uterus also showed efficient induction of endometritis based on presence of inflammatory cells (neutrophils count) in uterine microscopic sections and their number was markedly reduced after treatment with Eucalyptus robusta leaves crude extract and ciprofloxacin. Compared with the effect of ciprofloxacin, Eucalyptus robusta produced almost similar curative and protective effects against endometritis. Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) gene expression was found to be markedly reduced after treatment with Eucalyptus robusta leaves crude extract as compared with ciprofloxacin treatment. Based on our findings, it may be inferred that Eucalyptus robusta leaves crude extract possesses promising anti-inflammatory activity against experimental endometritis in rats and, therefore, it can be exploited in drug development program for treatment of endometritis in animals.

The mass spectrometry (MS) is not very well suited to the analysis of mixtures of similar substances because of the multiplicity of fragment ions. The gas chromatography (GC), of course,  has no ability to identify compounds on its own. The GC/MS can easily overcome these defects and can identify the components (fractionated by GC). The combined instrument of GC/MS is an unexcelled instrument that can identify the compounds after their  fractionation.

The GC-MS is composed of two major building blocks: the gas chromatograph and the mass spectrometer. The gas chromatograph utilizes a capillary column which depends on the column’s dimensions as well as the stationary phase properties. The difference in the chemical properties between different molecules in a mixture and their relative affinity for the stationary phase of the column will promote separation of the molecules as the sample travels the length of the column. The molecules are retained by the column and then elute (come off) from the column at different times and this allows the mass spectrometer downstream to capture, ionize, accelerate, deflect, and detect the ionized molecules separately.

Introduction

Geese are found all over the world. There is great demand for day old green gooseling. Currently it produces in various country, but about 80% of the world production from the France. Geese are well adapted to hot climates, shady areas and to high rainfall regions. They are especially well suited in warm, shallow and water ways. It is difficult to estimate the percent contribution of geese in poultry numbers, but it would be a fraction of 1%. This intended that, little effort has been made to improve the strains of geese in relation to their genetic capabilities. In future, breeders and producers are likely to take a more technical approach to goose production and need to give greater attention to breeding, feeding and general management.

Peculiarity of geese

Geese are mainly ornamental birds and good forager. They are capable for taking care of itself by foraging after reaching adult stage. Swimming water is not so essential. They can digest 40-45% fibre which is higher than other poultry. Geese kept as a watch dog in farms either by biting or making noise. Geese don’t need elaborate housing but is necessary to safeguard against predatory animal. Geese are hardy in nature and resistant to most of diseases. Meat is very palatable with great calorific value. Gander reared as weeders; for this 6 weeks old gooseling used. Gander eats grass and weeds as quickly as they appear but don’t eat crop. After weeding season, they are fed with fattening diet for 3-4 weeks and marketed. Age of sexual maturity is 24 month and produces 50-60 eggs/years. Hybrid varieties produce even 90 eggs and 60 gooseling per year. They are broody in nature. Egg weight is 200-250gm. Grow very fast greater than other species of poultry. Reach 3.2 kg at 6 weeks with feed efficiency of 2.5. At 9^th week have 4.5 kg body weight with feed efficiency of 3. Adult male of goose is called Gander. Sound produced by goose is called Honking. Young one of goose is called Gooseling.

Proteins

Proteins are of central importance in the structure and function of all living organisms. Some proteins serve as structural components while others function in communication, defense, and cell regulation. Some proteins serve as enzymes that act as biological catalysts which control the pace and nature of essentially all biochemical events. Although DNA serves as the genetic blueprint of a cell, none of the life processes would be possible without the proteins.

Electrophoresis of Proteins

Proteins can be separated and purified. Methods for separating proteins take advantage of properties such as charge, size, and solubility, which vary from one protein to the next. Because many proteins bind to other biomolecules, proteins can also be separated on the basis of their binding properties. The source of a protein is generally tissue or microbial cells. The cell must be broken open and the protein must be released into a solution called a crude extract. If necessary, differential centrifugation can be used to prepare subcellular fractions or to isolate organelles. Once the extract or organelle preparation is ready, a variety of methods are available for separation of proteins. Ion-exchange chromatography can be used to separate proteins with different charges (similar to the way amino acids are separated). Other chromatographic methods take advantage of differences in size, binding affinity, and solubility. Nonchromatographic methods include the selective precipitation of proteins with salt, acid, or high temperatures. In addition to chromatography, another important set of methods is available for the separation of proteins, based on the migration of charged proteins in an electric field, a process called (gel) electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is especially useful as an analytical method. Its advantage is that proteins can be visualized as well as separated, permitting a researcher to estimate quickly the number of proteins in a mixture or the degree of purity of a particular protein preparation. Also, gel electrophoresis allows determination of crucial properties of a protein such as its isoelectric point and approximate molecular weight.

Gel-filtration chromatography or molecular sieve chromatography is a method based on molecular dimension. The gel consists of beads which are composed of dextran polymer (sephadex, agarose or polyacrylamide gels). The separation depends upon the different abilities of the various sample molecules to enter pores which contain the stationary phase. Very large molecules, which never enter the stationary phase, move through the chromatographic bed fastest. Smaller molecules, which can enter the gel pores, move very slowly through the column, because they spend a proportion of their mobility, time in the stationary phase. Molecules are, therefore eluted in the order of their decreasing molecular size.

To mimic the natural seeds, the embryos from cultures are encapsulated in a nutrient gel containing essential organic/inorganic salts, carbon sources, plant hormones and antimicrobial agents and coated completely to protect the embryos from mechanical damage during handling and to allow the development and germination without any undesirable variation. When looking at the history of synthetic seed technology, a wide number of encapsulating agents have been tested in time for their capacity to produce beads like, potassium alginate, sodium alginate, carregeenan, agar, agarose, guargum, polyox, gelrite, sodium pectate, carboxymethyl cellulose, nitrocellulose, ethylocellulose, polyethyleneamine (Kersulec et al., 1993), chitosane (Tay et al., 1993), tracanth gum etc. have been tested as hydrogels (Table 3.1), out of which alginate emasculation was found to be more suitable and practical for synthetic seed production. Some plants exudates of arabic (Acacia senegal), karaya (Stereculsia sp.), or seed gums of gaur (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), tamarind (Tamarindus indica) or microbial products like dextran, xantham are also being used for encapsulation.

The word GELSEMIUM is derived from Latin word GELSIMINO meaning jasmine and SEMPERVIRENS meaning ever green.

Gelsemium is one of the most effective remedies in the treatment of influenza where there is body pain, pain in the head at the base of the brain, that is, in the occiput, and where there are accompanying throat problems.

Mentally, the Gelsemium patient desires to be left alone in peace. He is torpid, sleepy and dreads movement. He is dull. He cannot think clearly or concentrate.

As indicated above, Gelsemium is one of the remedies used in the treatment of influenza where there is body pain, a feeling of chill going upwards in the spine and congestion on the occiput. The eyes burn and itch with great discomfort. The patient sneezes and experiences coolness at the root of the nose. There may be acute running nose with dull headache and fever. At times the nose is blocked. The face is hot, flushed, dark red and looks like that of fool. The skin is very hot. The temperature goes up. There is itching and tickling in the soft palate, in the throat and in the nasopharynx. The throat feels rough; it burns. At times there is the feeling of a lump in the throat, which cannot be swallowed. There is pain in the temples, in the throat, radiating towards the ear. The entire system of the ears, nose and throat appears to be affected.

Introduction

Gender is a topic that cuts across all subjects and should be considered. The generational dimensions of rural and agricultural growth, whether we’re talking about kids, teenagers, or the elderly, have also grown in importance in recent years. Therefore, it is not surprising that a specific focus should be given on the issues of gender and youth and their relevance to the growth of agriculture. However, it is our custom to start with a few points to lay a foundation of thoughts. Nations Like India where majority of farmers practise subsistence agriculture, rural development is the cornerstone of agricultural development. According to the type of the problem in each country, an assessment of the present global response to the food crisis has indicated that various strategies are being implemented with varying degrees of success and failure. Different tactics are being used to shield the underprivileged from the rise in price shocks. Investment in the agricultural sector is consequently important for rural development and a rise in agricultural output. The contribution of women is also essential to the overall success of initiatives aimed at rural development to boost agricultural production in India. In sub-Saharan Africa, Women engage in more agricultural work than men do and supply the bulk of the labour for a variety of agricultural tasks. Women make up around 90% of the workers directly involved in producing arable crops (Ogunlela and Aisha, 2009). Therefore, rural development will occur when different pertinent institutions are given attention, including cooperative societies, the system of land tenure, banks and credit, the creation of sustainable local governments, educational institutions, medical institutions, and agricultural marketing outlets.

1. Introduction

There is a global evidence of deterioration of nutrition and food security condition following the Pandemic and subsequent economiclockdown (Summerton, 2020; Laborde et al., 2020). In India, the status of nutrition and food security has been a matter of concern for decades. India scored an alarming rankof 102 out of 116 countries in Global Hunger Index (IFPRI, 2019). The problem has also been a gendered one, with an abysmally higher proportion of malnourishment and hunger in women and children in India. As per NFHS 4 (2015-16), every second woman in reproductive age in India was suffering from anaemia, two in five children were suffering from stunting and every tenth child in India was suffering from acute malnourishment (IIPS, 2017). It is not difficult to imagine that this existing malnutrition-crisis has only worsened in the post-lockdown period. There is a consensus among academicians, policy makers and planners that the nutrition crisis needs to be linked to gender-based exclusions & vulnerabilities (Quisumbing et al., 2020). This chapter attempts to discuss some of these complicacies of food-nutrition-gender linkages to put forth gender advocacy for food & nutrition policies.

Evidence of linkages between gender and nutrition are there althoughit is difficult to establish precise empirical connect. Also, the pathways through which gender influences nutrition and food security are multiple and complex. Food/nutrition-policy, therefore, has a long way to go till it is gender-informed. To begin with, the understanding of the concept of gender is limited at the policy-level. Moreover, most of the nutrition-food related policies in India have not mainstreamed gender or are working ina gender-specific manner rather than redistributive manner¹.

It is in this pretext the chapter reviewed the available evidence on gender-nutrition linkages to put forth an argument not only in favour of gender-aware nutrition policies, but also to guide as to how Gender should be integrated. The chapter is structured in five sections with sections that discusses the concept, i.e., importance of context in policy-level for conceptualising gender-needs. This is followed by a review of existing work from a Gender Needs framework and selected empirical evidence from recent primary study of the author are also presented as another separate section. The relevance of reviewing gender-nutrition linkage after COVID19 Pandemic also find place in the chapter. Finally the summary concludes the discussion on gender advocacy in nutrition.

1. Introduction

The gender gap in agriculture is perceived worldwide. It signifies that farm women have less access to resources, finance, capital and advisory services compared to men (FAO, 2011a). Further, women own only 1 per cent of the world’s property in spite they dominate in world food production (50 to 80 per cent) and they own less than 10 per cent of land globally (Huyer et al., 2015). But, in a healthy society, both men and women should enjoy the equal right, opportunity, accessibility and also should shoulder the equal responsibility in family building, society building or nation building. But till date, the equal status and opportunities of men and women has remained a desired goal. It happens so, as the livelihood needs of men and women are different due to their different roles, responsibilities, accessibility to resources and cultural norms. However, of late the researchers and policy makers have realized the importance of gender equality for national development and it has been one of the avowed targets in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030. This has led to the recognition and conceptualization of the concept of ‘gender analysis’ in development research. Gender analysis frameworks provide a step-by-step methodology for conducting gender analysis (Ochola et al., 2010). Gender analysis is relevant to education, although the frameworks used for development projects must be adapted to meet the needs of educational projects (Leach, 2003).

The chapter discusses the concept of Gender Analysis along with the tools and frameworks available in undertaking gender analysis. Each method is discussed in detail covering the context of use, merits and limitations. The data collection formats are also discussed.

2.1 Gender Analysis

Inequalities between men and women are becoming more visible and glaring particularly in developing countries of the world triggering serious concern over developed experts. UNESCO statistics reveals that women perform 75 per cent of work, earn 10 per cent of the income and own 1 per cent of property. The 3rd UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) has called for gender equality and the components of women to battle poverty, hunger and disease and to restorative development that is precisely sustainable.

The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) very well support this fact in form of twelve objectives and action points viz., women and poverty, education and training for women, women and health, violence against women and armed conflicts, women and the economy, women in power and decision making, institutional mechanism for the development of women, human rights of women, women and media, women and environment, and the girl child. Prior to the above declaration there were First, Second and Third World Conference on Women at Mexico (1975), Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985), respectively.

1. The Context

Poverty continues to be a major issue the world over. Over the last decade there has been a significant reduction in the number of the extremely poor. Extreme poverty rates fell from 10.1 per cent in 2015 to 9.2 per cent in 2017 (https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/global-poverty-reduction-slowing-regionaltrends-help-understanding-why). However, despite these achievements, we still have 689 million people living on less than two dollars a day and estimates by the World Bank in 2020 indicate that if one takes an account of higher poverty lines we have 24.1 percent of the world living on less than $3.20 a day and 43.6 percent on less than $5.50 a day in 2017 (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview). The disturbing aspect of this analysis are the facts that half of this poor are children and in most areas where poverty is encountered women represent a sizeable chunk of them. Poverty in real life is translated into lack of access to education and consumption of diets that are both quantitatively and qualitatively deficient in crucial micro nutrients and vitamins, placing them at higher risks on account of protein energy malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency and the all pervading problem of anaemia. The social consequences of such diets and implications for human capital of the world in the later part of this century would be devastating.

Poverty among women has huge repercussions for the citizens of tomorrow. It is in this context that the role of livestock products assumes crucial importance. Milk, eggs and meat have some of the highest bio-availabilities of crucial protein, iron and vitamin A. Berrazaga et al. (2019) observed that though plant proteins are beneficial in terms of the advantages that they offer from environmental and health points of view, the anabolic effect of plant proteins is generally lower than that of animal proteins. This is on account of their lower digestibility, relatively lower contents of essential amino acids such as leucine and the lack of sulphur amino acids such as lysine. The authors further observed that food protein quality was assessed by digestibility, net protein utilisation and biological value and these

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN LIVESTOCK ENTERPRISES

GENDER AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY: The women and men enjoy equal status in the law of the constitution, though there exists a wide difference as looked upon by the society. This gender gap is a socially constructed attribute as being male and females are assigned roles and responsibilities in respect to one’s gender. Gender disparity is a serious concern in all sectors and must be addressed immediately for the development of the country. To address gender issues, it is imperative to understand different fundamental gender concepts to deal with it effectively.

Gender: Gender identifiers social relations between men and women. Gender refers to the relationship between men and women, boys and girls and how this is socially constructed. Gender roles are dynamic and changed over time. Gender determined, what is expected, allowed, and valued in a man or woman in a different context.

Sex: Sex identifies the biological difference between men and women, such as-women can give birth and men provide sperm. Sex roles are universal. These are universal, obvious and generally permanent. It is what, we are born with and does not change over time, differs from place to place.

3.1 Introduction

To remove the inequality in technology development and its use, the concept Gender and technology arises. Economic resources should be equally distributed among the men and women. Technology can also help challenge and break gender stereotypes and biases that often limit women's potential. First of all, much equipment tends to be gender-typed. There are machines and tools suitable" for men as saws, trucks, wrenches, guns and forklifts. Some other technologies are "suitable" for women as vacuum cleaners, typewriters and food processors. The main focus of year 2023 is on innovation and technology for gender equality. Innovation and technological change are deep shifts reshaping life in the twenty-first century. Technological progress allows for unprecedented advances with the potential to improve social, economic and political outcomes for all.

In recent years, there is gradual realization of the role of women in the field of agriculture & allied areas. Besides domestic work, they are involved in various types of field works relating to production of crops, milk, fish meat, egg, mushrooms & honey bee and other material. Employees in agriculture sector of the country, contributes nearby 80% of all economically active women (Bhatt, 2013). Therefore, rural India is now going through a process of “Feminization of Agriculture”.

Women are critical to the well-being of farm households. Besides child bearing and rearing, women are expected to prepare all meals, maintain the household jobs and assist in crop and animal production. Perhaps, ironically, it is because women who have so many responsibilities that they have been over-looked by agriculturalists and policy makers–it has been more convenient to label men as farmers and women as child raisers and cooks. Rural women form the most important productive work force in the economy of majority of the developing nations including India.

In spite of several efforts there still exists gender gap in the field of agriculture and allied areas. Closing the gender gap is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do for improved agriculture and food security for all. This was a key message for family farming interventions to close the gender gap.

World wide women play a major role in agriculture; including fisheries, forestry and livestock production. The nature and extent of their involvement is different in various agro production systems. Their role is diversified from management to landless labourer. In overall farm production, on an average women’s contribution is estimated at 55 to 66 per cent of the total labour (Singh, 2013).

Gender relates to socially assigned roles and responsibilities attributable to men and women. Gender roles are played by both women and men, which are not determined by biological factors, but by the socio-economic and cultural environment or situation (Mollel and Mtenga, 2000).

Women from poor households engage in a variety of income earning activities. In some cases, these activities supplement the contribution by males, while in others they are the primary or the sole source of household livelihoods (Kabeer 2003). Women are twice as likely as men to be involved in agricultural activities (Odame et al., 2002). According to Fernando (1998), activities, resources and opportunities of people are significantly influenced by gender that is, by the socio-economic and cultural dimension of being male or female. Moreover, different types of activities are generally allocated to women and men within the family with a view for subsistence production and marketable production. In most of the societies, tasks related to child bearing and care and maintenance of the household (cooking, fetching water and firewood) are assigned to women.

Pulse production is an integral part of food production, which helps in ensuring nutritional security by way of providing plant protein in human diet. In spite of several efforts, lots of people in third world countries suffer from nutritional deficiencies due to lack of balance diet. The women folk are the most sufferers, who are deprived of taking adequate quantity of protein rich food that helps in growth and development of human body.

Teaching, Research and Extension are interrelated and interwoven in development. It may be in any field, like agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, forestry etc. Whenever we talk of extension, it implies the participation of clients in the program. Extension can never be defined without inclusion of participation of people. Extension approach means application of tools and methods by which we can reach people. The participation is the core value of extension but its use differs from situation to situation bringing out a degree of differences leading to variation in result. In extension the farmers are advised and the blue print prepared for them are recommended to be adopted. Such approach did not yield desirable result, as result regarding realization was under question the impact of extension on farming communities. The studies conducted on extension approaches tend to reveal poor result as the participants failed to own and shape the program designed for them.

2.1 Introduction

Women and Girls are born in to social and cultural system steeped in inequality and discrimination. They receive an unfair shape of opportunities, attentions and resources from the moment of their conception. One of the most inequality is Violence against Women and Girls [VAWG]. Violence against Women is a serious obstacle to development, peace and equality. It dehumanizes women and nullifies human rights and fundamental freedom. Present Article explains types of domestic violence and Government support system against Gender based Violence.

Violence againstWomen [VAW]is globally pervasive.It existsin every country, cutting across boundaries of culture, class, caste, education, income, ethnicity and age. These trends are also reflected in the status of women in India. Census data shows that while the sex ratio has risen since the last decade, it is still low at 933, the juvenile sex ratio in India hasreached an all time low of 927. Census data 2001, official statistics from the National Crimes Record Bureau [NCRB] reveals a trend of rising crimes Record Bureau [NCRB] reveals a trend of rising crimes against women. Cultural practices in India such as dowry, child marriage, sati, the Devadasi tradition and ill treatment of widows enhance girls and women’s vulnerability to the experience of violence. Gender differential treatment related to nutrition, health care, education, mobility and other life opportunities places girls and women at a higher risk of gender violation.

Chapter Overview

This chapter provides an in-depth examination of Gender Budgeting in India, exploring its historical development, principles, and the tools used to promote gender-sensitive budgeting. It delves into the key concepts, institutional frameworks, and the necessity for gender budgeting. The tools for deepening gender budgeting, such as the Five-Step Framework and gender-sensitive checklists, are explained in the context of the Livestock sector. Furthermore, it elucidates the importance of valuing unpaid work and the role of gender budgeting in monitoring policy goals.

1. Introduction

Women empowerment is critical to the process of community development as well as for economic growth. Gender budgeting is recognized as a distinctive technique of women empowerment that directly upholds women development through allocation of budgetary fund. It aims at bringing gender equality through allocation of public funds and affirmative action for under-privileged sections. In fact, the term gender budgeting has been explained differently by various authors. A comprehensive definition states “gender budgeting as a dissection of the government funds to establish its gender differential impacts and to translate gender commitments into budgetary commitments” (Sharp, Rhonda, 1999). It can be viewed as a mainstream application of gender in the budgeting process. It ensures gender assessment of the budget, including reorganization of revenue and expenditure to incorporate gender perspective at all levels of the budget process. Gender budgeting therefore deals with gender specific formulation of laws, policies, plans, schemes and programs by allocation of resources; implementation and execution; monitoring, review and its impact assessment. It analyses the government budget from a gender perspective to assess how it addresses the needs of women in the areas of health, education, employment etc. It uses the budget as an entry point and apply the gender lens to the entire process of programme implementation.

Public budgets have different effects on women and men, and describe the unequal distribution of power in society in terms of economic disparities, differences in living conditions and ascribed social roles. Gender budgeting aims to visualize the gender impact of budgets and to transmute them into an instrument for increasing gender equality. Gender budgets basically includes all types of governments at the national, regional and local levels.

Sex

Sex is the biological make-up of male and female human beings. It is biological difference between men and women. Sex is universal, permeant, Biological. John money draw the distinction between the biological differences and behavioural characteristics that differentiates male and Female. First person used Gender opposite to sex. Founder of Gender Identity clinic at John Hopkins University in the Baltimore in US in 1966.

Gender

First used by anna Oakley. It is neutral term, dynamic, change over time and place. It is a socially constructed roles and responsibilities assigned to men and women in a given society. It refers to socio-cultural differences between males and females. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman / man in different contexts. In simple words, gender refers to the set of relationships between men and women at a particular point of time in a given society

Gender Blindness

It is the failure to recognize that gender as an essential determinant of social outcomes impacting projects and policies. Gender-blind policy ignores the different situation, roles, needs and interests of women, men, girls and boys.

1. Introduction

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed”

Mahatma Gandhi

Natural resources form the core of ecology that is put to economic use. It is usually defined in terms of materials created in nature that are used to satisfy human needs. Soil, water and energy supplies (eg. coal, natural gas) that serve to satisfy human needs and wants comprise the major natural resources (Barsch and Burger, 1996). Based on the impact on an environment, cost of extraction and rate of exhaustion, natural resources are broadly categorized into renewable and non-renewable resources. Major renewable sources comprise of wind, solar energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, forest etc. which have the potential to be renewed or replaced through natural processes over time, once consumed. Unlike this, nonrenewable resources such as coal, petroleum, natural gas and similar types have finite reserves that cannot be regained once consumed. However, environmental degradation, aggravated by the growing population and climate change vagaries, has intensified the competition for these scarce resources in recent years. This has necessitated sustainable natural resource management strategies and advanced experimentations to convert nonrenewable energy sources to renewable forms as they form the basis of all present day development and economic growth. Increasing demands on natural resources have warranted a more prudent and diligent efforts in ensuring sustainable natural resource management. The dichotomy of unlimited human wants and limited resource availability is at the heart of all natural resource management principles that guide economics of resource allocation and optimum utilization.

1. Introduction

For a proper understanding and analysis of women’s position in India’s rural economy, we require adequate and good quality data. This chapter examines the limitations of gender-disaggregated data on the rural economy of India with respect to three aspects: the ownership of land and other assets, participation in the rural workforce, and women’s share of agricultural incomes and earnings. In approaching the need for better data on gender, the following features of gender statistics as identified by UN organisations should be kept in mind (Corner undated)

Introduction Agriculture plays a vital role in human societies and economies around the world. It is the prime food source for human populations, ensuring a reliable supply of nutritious food for the health and well-being of people everywhere. It is a major contributor to the economy of many countries, particularly in the developing world, where it provides livelihoods for millions of people and supports local and national economies. Agriculture is both impacted by and contributes to climate change. However, sustainable agriculture cultivation can also help to reduce the consequences of climate change by decreasing emissions of greenhouse gas and increasing resilience to extreme weather events.

Introduction

Agriculture is that the back-bone of the economics of eveloping country likes India. It’s additionally the most “culture” for rural families even nowadays agriculture and allied activities build the one largest contribution to gross domestic product. Female are mother of the race and liaison between generations. Female’s role in agriculture and agricultural heritage described and recognized by the United Nations Organization (UNO) that has sustained the expansion of society wrought the long run of states. Within the rising advanced social state of affairs female have a role to play. Rural females are the foremost vital productive hands within the economy of majority of the developing nations together with India. Female are concerned all told the aspects of agriculture. India incorporates a preponderantly rural economy. Seventieth of her population is rural; of these households, have interaction in agriculture as their main supply of financial gain. It’s forever been India’s most vital economic sector. Female plays a significant role during this vital agricultural sector, as a result of it’s for the most part a ménage enterprise. Female in India are major producers of food in terms important, volume and variety of hours worked. Nearly 63% of all economically active men are engaged in agriculture as compared to seventy eight per cent of female. Nearly 50% of rural female employees are classified as agricultural labourers and thirty seventh as cultivators. Concerning 70% of farm work was performed by women. In several countries, women play a major and crucial role in agricultural development and agricultural allied fields together with, main crop production, live-stock production, gardening, post-harvesting operations, agro/social biology, fishing etc. as it is evident; it’s a reality long taken without any consideration however unheeded since ages. Hence, here a try has been created (i) to review the role of female in agriculture and changes in their position at small level, that’s village level (ii) to review the gender discrimination in land, labour and wage market.

1. The Invisible Gender

India, as is always said, is primarily an agrarian economy. Despite the forward leaps taken by our society in the different novel and pioneering areas of development, agriculture remains the force that supports rural India. According to the economic survey of 2020-21, the contribution of agriculture to the country’s GDP has increased from 17.8% in 2019-20 to 19.9% in 2020-21. It is a sector that provides almost half of all the employment opportunities available in the world. The rural agricultural workforce all over the world comprises 37 per cent women and in low-income countries, it is as high as 48 per cent. Women also represent close to 50 per cent of the world’s 600 million small-scale livestock managers and about half of the labor force in small-scale fisheries. They also have a highly significant presence in the post-harvest, processing, and small scale value addition sectors also. However, these numbers are pessimistic estimations as the women’s contributions to agriculture are often unpaid labor and therefore their contributions are not fully captured (FAO, 2020).

They also have a highly significant presence in the post-harvest, processing, and small-scale value addition sectors also.According to the latest reports from Oxfarm Research, the agriculture sector employs 80% of all economically active women in India, which comprise 48% of the self-employed farmers, and 33% of the agriculture labor force.Barring few states like Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal, most of the women in rural India are engaged in agriculture. It is estimated that 85% of the rural women in India work in agriculture yet own only 13% of the land. The modeled estimates of the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows a drop in females employed in agriculture from 74.38% in 2000 to 54.59% in 2019.However, under the cultural backdrop of Indian society, a significant number of women still exist as “invisible contributors.

1. Introduction

Gender equality in agriculture is a long time demand to achieve the sustainable agricultural development goals. According to the World Bank (2009) differences in the socially constructed gender roles and gender relations affect agricultural development as it creates inequality in the distribution, access to and control over agricultural resources between men and women; that in turn affect the agricultural development outcomes. However, role of men and women in agriculture is not constant across the world due to the disparities existing in the allocation of productive farm resources to women and men among different societies and cultures. Most of the agrarian social systems recognize men as the key players of crop production due to their ownership over agricultural land and other resources. This often masks the significance of activities carried out by farm women in the crop production process. Currently agriculture provides employment to nearly 27.2 percent men and 25.4 percent women globally (World Bank, 2020). Irrespective of the unequal power relations between men and women, their relative representation in the agriculture workforce remained almost equal throughout the years. Hence, it became inevitable to address the concerns of both genders in agriculture rather than concentrating only on women centric issues while formulating programmes and policies aiming agricultural development. These trends in agriculture motivated social researchers like Safiliou (1990) to propose gender as a ‘variable’ similar to ‘social class’ to rationalize agriculture. Globally, gender based researches has covered various dimensions of contributions of men and women in agriculture as cultivators as well as agricultural labours in different time period. However, studies on topics related to women’s rights, women empowerment, and gender equality in order to achieve food security and agricultural development has increasingly been carried out after the “fourth world conference on women: action for equity, development

and peace” held at Beijing (China) during 4-15 September, 1995. Though gender research in agriculture mostly revolves around farm women and their empowerment concepts like marketing extension, market-led extension etc., it has led to the empowerment of both women and men cultivators.

The chapter discusses the concept of gender in research and development, its evolution and its integration into research perspectives in agriculture. A brief description of gender analysis tools is also included.

1. Emergence and history of the concept of gender in development

In a chronological point of view it was the period of late 1960s to mid1970s that marked a turning point in development that saw the emergence of gender as an issue of concern. It was during this period that many important publications on psychology of women and gender roles started its manifestation. However, the recurring theme in most of these publications focussed the white male bias in research and research interpretation. Yet, these research publications served as a platform for a thorough discussion of the biological and social factors that contributed to the understanding of psychology of women. The book entitled, The Development of Sex Differences, edited by Maccoby (1966), can be seen as a pivotal moment in the field of gender psychology. The book with several chapters that lay the foundations of children’s gender development focused on theories of gender development. The publication of the book Man and Women, Boy and Girl in the 1970s put forth an advanced theory about gender identity and suggested that social factors played a more significant role in gender identity and gender roles. This sparked the debate of nature - nurture issues which are still significant to this very date. It’s during the same decade that scholars started to challenge the conceptualisations of masculinity and femininity and migrate from the unidimensional simplistic models of bipolar opposites.

Contributions of Carl Gustav Jung (originally Karl Gustav Jung) also had a great role in this migration. Carl Jung’s school of analytical psychology, proposed the concepts of anima and animus. These were part of his theory called collective unconscious which suggests that every woman has an unconscious masculine realm known as animus and every man has an unconscious feminine side known as anima. He postulated that this personal unconscious symbolized prototypical masculine or feminine principles and not an aggregate of either father or mother. It had the potential to transcend to the personal psyche and influence the behavior.

Fisheries as a source of food, livelihood and income is probably as old as human civilization. Millions of men and women across the world, especially the developing world, are dependent on the sector. While fish capture in the open seas has generally been a male preserve conditioned by various social, cultural and economic factors; women also have significant contributions for sustaining household nutritional and income security. They have been engaged in fishing in inshore coastal waters, inland water bodies like rivers and ponds; and in post harvest activities like pre-processing, processing, drying, salting, and allied activities like marketing, net making and mending etc. With increasing volumes of fish coming from culture fisheries the participation of men and women in these activities are also increasing. Suffice to say that both men and women contribute to the overall growth and development of the fisheries sector. However, often women and their contributions tend to be marginalized in the fisheries development debate.

Women’s roles in fisheries

In the marine fisheries sector, fishing is largely a male preserve. Women rarely venture into the sae, conditioned by cultural and social taboos rather than by skill and endurance. However, the support from women in managing the households and in taking up subsistence or other livelihood activities related to fisheries activities that may actually go into the household income security need to be acknowledged. Studies show that women comprise about 46% of the labour force in small-scale capture fisheries-related activities (FAO, World Bank, IFAD, 2008). It is as high as 73% in Nigeria to a low of 4% in Mozambique. At least 50 % of the workforce in inland fisheries and 60 % of those marketing fish are women in Asia and West Africa.

1. Introduction

Adequate nutrition is the fundamental keystone of any individual’s health. It is especially crucial for women because it causes havoc not only on the woman’s health but also on their children’s health and in turn the community. Malnutrition causes a variety of risks to women. It undermines women’s ability to survive childbirth, makes them more susceptible to infections, and leaves them with fewer reserves to recover from illness. Children of malnourished women are found to face impaired cognition, short stature, decreased resistance to infections, and an increased risk of disease and death throughout their lives. The increasing number of malnourished population in any country is a threat to its technological and economic development. Moreover, a chronically undernourished woman in every probability will give birth to a baby who is likely to be undernourished as a child.Thus malnourishment in women perpetuate the cycle of under-nutrition to be repeated over generations.In other words, women’s nutritional status impacts the countries nutritional status.

Despite economic progress, India has failed to combat malnutrition that adversely affects the country’s socio-economic progress. This is reflected in the hunger score of 27.2 which categorized India in ‘serious’ hunger category. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) rank of the country is 94 among 107 countries in 2020 and was 102 out of 117 countries in 2019. In fact, GHI is calculated based on the four indicators viz. undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting and child mortality. Estimates also suggest that more than one-third of the world’s malnourished children are in India. Among the varied causes of malnutrition in the country, major ones include mother’s nutritional status, lactation behaviour, women’s education and sanitation. These in turn affect children in several forms and get manifested as childhood illness, stunting, and retarded growth. Therefore, addressing the nutrition of women population at all levels is essential to safeguard the future generations, and in turn the human capital and economic development of any nation.

Agriculture is vital to the development of any nation, India being no exception. Development must include the youth and therefore the government seeks to encourage their participation in the agricultural sector. This effort seeks to change the negative perception the youth have of participation in agriculture as uneducated, unskilled, physical labourers with extremely low economic return. Modern agriculture is more than tilling the soil and animals. The sector today offers career opportunities in research, environment, financial management, engineering and other technical areas for the youth to explore. The introduction of the Youth in Agriculture is necessary and important to facilitate food and nutrition security for the sustainable development of the nation.

Abstract

The paper examines some important issues of gender inequity in Agriculture. The issues are women’s contribution to agricultural GDP and their access to agricultural resources such as land, water, credit and technology. The paper also examines gender discrimination in agricultural wages. The paper is in three parts. The first part examines the contribution of women to agriculture in terms of time spent by women on activities and number of women engaged in productive agricultural activities with the help of the data from time use surveys and the National Sample Survey Organization’s Reports and the 2001 census. The second part of the paper then analyses Women’s poor access to land, water, credit and technology that reduces their productivity. The second part also elaborates how the women’s work is undervalued in the economy resulting in a huge amount of unpaid work in family agricultural enterprises and low wages in paid work. The third part explicitly elaborates the adverse consequences of such imbalance in terms of misallocation of resources to unsustainable agricultural production as against sustainable production.

ABSTRACT

This study critically examined the access of women farmers to Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) as against their male counterparts. The study was conducted Kapasiaupazila of Gazipur district. A total of 120 respondentswere selected using proportionate random sampling technique and interviewed through structured questionnaires. Data collected were subjected to descriptivestatistics, Chi-square and rank test. The results indicated that the women folk, despite their dominancein agricultural activities, were dominated in terms of access to and full participation in the use of ICTs. In terms of access to agricultural information through ICTs, it was evident that, people in the study area capture the advantages of increased number of ICTs to access information related to their farming business. Most of respondents valued ICTs as easy, fast and convenient way of communicating agricultural information and also allow more contacts among the farmers for family farming along with increase income of the family people in the community. Chi-square analysis on the relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the respondentswith their access to ICTs showed that age, education and innovativeness have significant relationship with therespondents’ access to ICTs. Kruskal Wallis rank test showed that there was a significant difference inthe gender access to and the uses of ICTs (P d” 0.005) with the male dominating the female gender. Chi-squareanalysis revealed that age and educational background and innovativeness of the respondents had significantrelationships with their access to ICTs (P d” 0.005). On the other hand religious/cultural barriers, language barriers and cost of possessing and accessing ICTs were the main reasons for gender disparity in gaining access to ICTs.

Introduction

Women perform two-thirds of the world’s work hours, yet are poor in resources and are poorly represented in positions of power. Most of the low-income women in developing countries are primarily employed in agriculture, but many literatures show that men have been the primary adopters and shapers of agricultural technologies. These inequalities are seen in all parts of the world. Without acknowledging gender inequalities, economic development and globalization cannot be achieved. Gender bias is a universal phenomenon and there are a number of issues that farm women face.

Importance of Gender Mainstreaming in Agriculture

Indian Women spend 354 minutes a day, compared to 36 minutes a day by men, on household activities including cooking and child care. In developing countries, nearly 75 - 80 percent of women are involved in agriculture. They face gender issues in land ownership, access to credit, market, technology, seed, water, information, education and other services. NSSO survey (2010) revealed that 40% of male farmers want to quit farming due to less profitability. Gradually, male farmers are migrating to earn from non-farming activities. In this situation, women have to look after household as well as farming activities.

1. Feminization of Agriculture

Almost all active women in rural India can be considered as ‘farmers’, in some sense – working as agricultural labourer, unpaid workers in the family farm enterprise, or combination of the two. Moreover, several farm activities traditionally carried out by men are also being undertaken by women as men are pulled away into higher paying employment. Thus rural India is witnessing a process which could be described as ‘feminization of agriculture’. The significantly high and growing population of female headed households has also highlighted women’s contribution to agriculture.

Gender Concepts

Gender is different from sex. Sex is the biological and physiological characteristics that define humans as female or male. Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being female and male and to the relationships between women and men and girls and boys. Sex symbolizes biological differences between men and women whereas gender is recognized as a social characteristic that cuts across caste, class, occupation, age, and ethnicity. Gender identifies the social relations between men and women and gender differentiates the roles, responsibilities, resources, constraints, and opportunities of women and men. Gender roles are dynamic which change over time. In contrast, sex identifies the biological differences between men and women. The difference between gender and sex is indicated in Table 12.1.

Although women and men enjoy equal status in the law of the constitution, there exists a wide difference in how men and women are looked upon and handled by society. It is the society that has nurtured the ‘Gender gap’, as it is a socially constructed attribute of being male and female, by assigning roles and responsibilities with respect to one’s gender.

In order to address gender issues, it is imperative that we understand the different fundamental gender concepts to deal with them effectively.

Gender roles: Men and women have multiple roles. Women have productive, reproductive, and management of community assets roles whereas men have productive and other roles. Gender roles are learned behaviors in a given society/community, or other special group, that condition which activities, tasks, and responsibilities are perceived as male and female. Gender roles are affected by age, class, race, ethnicity, religion, and geographical, economic, and political environment. Some common terms relating to gender in use are indicated below.

Relevance of Gender Mainstreaming  in Agriculture

Indian agriculture is characterized by farming systems wherein men and women perform mutually interdependent as well as independent roles right from production, processing, marketing, and decision making as farmer, labourers and entrepreneurs. The extensive contribution by women in wide ranging tasks in production and processing in agriculture, influences household food security and determines national competitiveness in agro industry at large. Even though women make substantial economic contribution towards the sustenance of the farming systems and livelihood security, most often women’s roles remain invisible and their problems and needs are unaccounted and unattended. Historically dictated by social norms, family traditions and economic factors, participation of women and men in various farming contexts in India still remain gender specific and highly women discriminating. Women’s work is considered as unskilled and remains undervalued and underpaid. It is to be appreciated that at international and national level efforts of women empowerment and gender perspectives are being brought in development approaches and the situation during the past few decades is slowly changing as policies, efforts and budget are being specially allocated for the upliftment of rural farm women. But it is to be noticed that most of the programmes are of short term, narrow focussed and without continuity.

Abstract

Livestock remain a lifeline for many of the world’s poorest people. Cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and other farm animals form part of the livelihood portfolios of an estimated 70 per cent of the world’s rural poor women and men. For many smallholder farmers, livestock are essentially four-legged bank accounts, allowing hundreds of millions of unbanked poor to build assets and to insure themselves against shocks such crop failures, accidents and illnesses. Such assets and insurance are particularly important to women, who remain the backbone of global smallholder agriculture and who are one of the best hopes for ensuring future global food security. Across the world’s varied livestock production systems, women are main actors in poultry, small ruminant and micro livestock production as well as in dairying including the processing and marketing of milk and milk products. But women are often still excluded from household decision-making processes, especially regarding the disposal of animals and animal products. This lack of female control over livestock assets and income impinges on family welfare as well as economic growth.

Key words: Economic growth, Livestock assets, Insurance, Women.

Chapter Overview

This chapter delves into the concept and application of gender mainstreaming within the context of animal husbandry and the livestock sector. Gender mainstreaming is a comprehensive strategy aimed at promoting gender equality by integrating a gender perspective into all aspects of policies, programs, and projects. It recognizes and addresses the distinct roles, needs, and contributions of women and men involved in animal husbandry. This chapter provides insights into why gender mainstreaming is essential in this sector and outlines practical approaches for its implementation.

The term ‘gender’ was first used by Ann Oakley and others in 1970s to describe the characteristics of men and women which are socially determined in contrast to biological differences. The term ‘gender’ further explains, a neutral term meaning, either men or women or both are in a particular context. The goal is to improve the status of disadvantaged class and get rid of socially created and approved discriminations. The green revolution in India changed the face of agriculture but apparently it contributed to two general trends (FAO, 1996) where wealthy have benefited more from technological change in agriculture than the less well off and secondly men have benefited more than women. In general, it is true that the priorities are set by men and some women, who are unaware of gender issues, and that these are seldom considered unless the research is sociological. But even social research can be totally gender blind.

1. Introduction

Much of humankind has either at least interacted with forests or benefited from forests for their lives and livelihoods. Approximately 1.6 billion rural people worldwide, mainly in tropical regions, depend upon forests in one form or the other. People rely on forests or forest services as sources of food, shelter, energy, building materials, fiber, fodder, income, medicine, and inspiration (Gabay and Rekola, 2019). The earlier efforts of international forest development practices were focused only on the production and industrial sector. Nonetheless, in the late 1970s and 1980s, this focus shifted to better understanding the links between people and forests. The same period has witnessed the birth of community-led (social/participatory) forest management in many countries. Women’s role in the forestry sector has also started to receive more attention and understanding during this time (FAO, 1986; Ginsburg and Keene, 2020; Kristjanson, 2020). Thus, gender roles have remained an area of interest in forest management, especially in developing countries, and the perspectives have evolved over the years. The agenda 2030 of the sustainable development goals (SDG) encompasses strategies designed to tackle gender inequities and protecting ecosystems, including forests, biodiversity, and oceans (UN, 2015). In fact, the interlinked trajectories of women and the environment have led to the emergence of the theory of ecofeminism and women environment and development (WED) in the late 1970s (Tyagi and Das, 2017). It integrates the ethics of ecology with feminism to explore the intangible interconnections between environmental degradation and sexist oppression (Warren, 1993). Though feminist discussions are not new to the forestry sector, attempts to generate gender-disaggregated data exclusively on forestry management perspectives have been scarce.

1. Introduction

Agriculture and its allied sector is the largest economic sector in India and Indian economy depends heavily on the performance of this sector. Along with production, changes are occurring in supply, machinery, processing, distribution and marketing in the agriculture sector. All over the world, agriculture is passing through a phase of transition, and elements such as discrimination free trade, fair trade, transparency and its resulting predictability, scope for fair competition are being facilitated in to the agriculture sector through different norms and agreements. Due to the concerns about the environment, requirement of clean fuel which can be derived from vegetable sources are also getting increased. All these developments have created new opportunities and scopes for agriculture and agribusiness. Agripreneurship is considered as an employment in the strategy in the country especially for rural people. It promotes our economy by improving productivity and integrating the products into different markets including international markets. It helps in the reduction of cost and avoiding the uncertainties related to markets. To promote micro to medium scale industries, agripreneurship has a major role. Agripreneur faces constraints in related to identification of scope, proper time management and allocating budget etc. and proper project management skills are required to counter these constraints. Agripreneur should also consider sustainability, social and economic factors also (Gupta et al., 2017).

The male-centered business models were considered as the norm till the advent of the present century. But now we have entered an era where there is consensus that women entrepreneurs’ have huge role in the national economic development. Moreover, a significant number of studies show that even though there is a gap between the number of men and women entrepreneurs, the contribution from

women entrepreneurs has been constantly on the rise. This is despite the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs with respect to availability of credit, training, networks and information access and policy constraints. In order to ensure sustainable economic growth, it is necessary to embrace women’s entrepreneurship as it gives new market opportunities and greater development impact. In this chapter, emphasis is given to women entrepreneurship and its contribution to national economy, social empowerment and national integration. Also the challenges and opportunities faced by women in agri-entrepreneurship and changes in the perceptions on women entrepreneurship are discussed.

1. Introduction

Fisheries is an important sector of food production which besides providing nutritious food to millions also serve as a livelihood option for many. It helps to bring about people centered rural development that protects the environment. Conventionally, fishing has been considered a male domain, because of the assumption that social, cultural, or religious taboos prevent women from participating in fishing activities. In fact, the involvement of women in fishing and related activities has remained invisible and unrecognized till the late 1980s. However, the publications and policy reports during the period highlighted the valued contributions by women in fisheries sector to economies and food security around the world (Harper et al., 2020). Several high-level fisheries reports and policy instruments that followed added to this momentum and emphasized the importance of principles of gender equality in ensuring sustainable coastal livelihood security. Present day estimates indicate that there are around 60 million people who are directly engaged in the primary sector of fisheries and aquaculture globallyof which 14 per cent are women (FAO, 2018) Asia tops the list with the highest number of fishers and aquaculture workers (85 per cent of the world total), followed by Africa (9 per cent), America (4 per cent) and Europe and Oceania (1 per cent each) (FAO, 2018). However, despite growing attention to women and gender in fisheries there exits glaring gap in the gender disaggregated data from fisheries sector that is skewed against women worldwide. These warrant the need for the implementation gender balanced fisheries policies and management strategies that support women empowerment in the sector.