Gender Analysis and Women Empowerment in Sweet Potato Cultivation in Odisha

In India, sweet potato is one of the important staple food crops among disadvantaged population and majority of farmers consider it as a major source of food. Ganjam district in Odisha was selected purposively for the study as more women were involved in sweet potato cultivation. One hundred and twenty respondents were selected from the district which included 60 women and 60 men. Majority (80.00%) of the women were middle aged and also men (70%). Majority (51.67%) had marginal farm of < 2.5 acres and only 3.33 per cent had big farm of 5 to 10 acres. Sweet potato was cultivated in a mean area of 0.90 acre by women. The overall participation of men was more (2.05) than women (1.79) in sweet potato cultivation. The overall empowerment index of men was 0.76 and for women was 0.57.