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Table 3 Roles performed in traditional staple crop production

From: Beyond household income: the role of commercial vegetable farming in moderating socio-cultural barriers for women in rural Nepal

S.N.

Women only

Men only

Women and men

1. Production

Seed saving, tilling, planting paddy seedlings, preparing compost fertilizer (mostly animal waste), carrying fertilizer to fields, spreading fertilizer in fields, weeding

Repairing old irrigation canals, building new canals, preparing agricultural tools, plowing, leveling fields, sowing, irrigating, using chemical fertilizers

Ritual prayers and worship in the farm, land selection, digging fields, coordination for exchange labor, germinating paddy seeds, pulling paddy seedlings, observing crop situation (insects and diseases), protecting crops from wild and domestic animals

2. Harvesting

Cutting paddy crops and leaving them in the field for drying, cutting wheat, barley, finger millet, etc., carrying crop spikes home, carrying fresh finger millet straw for fodder

Storing straw hay, mostly paddy and wheat, in the field for fodder

Assessing readiness, coordinating exchange labor, collecting dried paddy at the field, storing it for a few days and harvesting, carrying grains home

3. Utilization

Removing husks, grinding grains for flour

Preparing wooden boxes to store grain

Purchasing bamboo baskets, storing grains safely, cooking (mostly women)

4. Surplus

Selling among neighbors and within the village

Selling in local towns (very rare occasion)

Sharing with relatives and friends (free of cost)