Women participation in field crop production:

Most of the women are not engaged in any other activities except managing their households in CHAHIDA working areas. Earlier, the people of the project area were not well-aware of the use of homestead gardening as the source of vegetable cultivation. After making necessary effort by the CHAHIDA to make sure the proper use of homestead as vegetable cultivation place, most of the homestead came under cultivation. Usually the people are producing tomato, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower, radish, country bean, bottle gourd, yard long bean, snake gourd, cucumber, sweet gourd, etc. in the homestead and nearby. CHAHIDA felt women's direct involvement with agriculture extension services to improved their agricultural farm management techniques and disease control methods. CHAHIDA staffs involved the women in pre-planting activities such as seed collection, seed preservation, drying and re-drying season, seed bed preparation, uprooting seedlings and transplanting of seedlings. Post-harvest activities like threshing, winnowing, storing and husking are also done by women. These supports increased the productivity in agriculture. The amount of production easily meets domestic need. In some extent it has been seen that they are selling the excess amount of vegetable in the market and earning extra income. The women/beneficiaries are mostly engaged with this process. The husband of the cultivators are seen to help them in collecting seeds, preparing land to some extent. The IGA women members are helping financially to their family expenses. The number of vegetable cultivator is increasing gradually. The practice is not limited to the trained beneficiaries onlyr Women participation were increased in vegetable production.