Roles of women, children and elders in agriculture and household activities

70 percent of female labor (14-65 year) is allocated to income generating enterprises such as crop, livestock, gathering and business activities. In crop production, female contributions are not only found in every activity in cropping but also show greater proportion of labor hour as compared to male labor. (37 VS 34 %). In livestock production, however, female labor comprises a lower proportion than male labor with supplemental labor drawn from school-aged farm boy and male elders. Another important enterprise involving female labor is business, e.g., selling home garden products and weaving. Despite children's help in household chores especially in obtaining water in the dry season, their major contribution (50 % of total hour) is in livestock enterprise. The crop enterprise accounted for 25 % of their time whereas gathering enterprise consumed about 5 % of children's total time. Elders in this sample households contribute about 65 % of their time to livestock production but only 3 % in crop production. This is because tending free grazing livestock is time consuming. It is important to note that although crop enterprise account for only marginal labor hour of the elders' group, the activities reported are very decisive. It involves water inspection or repairing paddy bunds. A case study is also used to illustrate the roles of members in one extended family. If the household has sufficient area for agriculture, a daughter can play a major role in raising cattle that is because cattle or buffaloes can be free grazed on the family's land. With insufficient male labor in the household, as show in this case, a major role in cropping is delegated to another daughter who contributes almost all her time in rice and various kind of cash crop production. Swine raising in the household is the grandmother's major responsibility ranging from feeding to selling.