Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia

Rural women play a pivotal role in the agricultural sector to feed the world. However, rural women are usually perceived by others as "helpers" to their husbands, have low participation in the workforce, and are associated with poverty. The high illiteracy rate among rural women also limit...

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Main Authors: Yee, Siaw Shin, Man, Norsida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Human Resource Management Academic Research Society 2023
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/1/107395.pdf
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author Yee, Siaw Shin
Man, Norsida
author_facet Yee, Siaw Shin
Man, Norsida
author_sort Yee, Siaw Shin
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Rural women play a pivotal role in the agricultural sector to feed the world. However, rural women are usually perceived by others as "helpers" to their husbands, have low participation in the workforce, and are associated with poverty. The high illiteracy rate among rural women also limits their involvement in decision-making, even if they actively engage in home and farm activities. Thus, this study investigates the association between rural women's demographic profiles and their perception levels towards their participation in agriculture activities. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire with a sample of 248 rural women from Kundasang, selected through a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were employed to analyse the data. Findings revealed Kadazan-Dusun as most respondents, aged between 45 and 55 years old, married, and primarily engaged in farming. Most had 1 to 10 years of agricultural experience with no agricultural education background and earned a monthly income of RM 501 to RM 1,000. The study also revealed that age and education status significantly affect the respondents' perception level towards their participation in agriculture activities. The study recommended that government should encourage and assist rural women farmers in terms of necessary farm input and incentives and provide credit facilities through various women's groups or cooperatives to enable them to participate fully and effectively in agricultural activities.
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spelling upm-1073952024-11-04T02:51:11Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/ Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia Yee, Siaw Shin Man, Norsida Rural women play a pivotal role in the agricultural sector to feed the world. However, rural women are usually perceived by others as "helpers" to their husbands, have low participation in the workforce, and are associated with poverty. The high illiteracy rate among rural women also limits their involvement in decision-making, even if they actively engage in home and farm activities. Thus, this study investigates the association between rural women's demographic profiles and their perception levels towards their participation in agriculture activities. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire with a sample of 248 rural women from Kundasang, selected through a simple random sampling technique. Descriptive and chi-square analyses were employed to analyse the data. Findings revealed Kadazan-Dusun as most respondents, aged between 45 and 55 years old, married, and primarily engaged in farming. Most had 1 to 10 years of agricultural experience with no agricultural education background and earned a monthly income of RM 501 to RM 1,000. The study also revealed that age and education status significantly affect the respondents' perception level towards their participation in agriculture activities. The study recommended that government should encourage and assist rural women farmers in terms of necessary farm input and incentives and provide credit facilities through various women's groups or cooperatives to enable them to participate fully and effectively in agricultural activities. Human Resource Management Academic Research Society 2023-10-27 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/1/107395.pdf Yee, Siaw Shin and Man, Norsida (2023) Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13 (10). pp. 1304-1316. ISSN 2222-6990 https://hrmars.com/index.php/IJARBSS/article/view/19006/Does-Participation-of-Rural-Women-in-Agriculture-Associated-with-Sociodemographic-Characteristics-Case-of-Ranau-District-in-Malaysia 10.6007/ijarbss/v13-i10/19006
spellingShingle Yee, Siaw Shin
Man, Norsida
Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title_full Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title_fullStr Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title_short Does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of Ranau District in Malaysia
title_sort does participation of rural women in agriculture associated with sociodemographic characteristics? case of ranau district in malaysia
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/107395/1/107395.pdf