Empowerment of Women through Self-Reliance Approach in the Rice Processing Village Programme

Paddy farming is a direct source of income for the rural farmers in Sri Lanka. However, the middlemen involved in the rice supply chain reduce the farmer’s profit from paddy while increasing the market price of rice for consumers. The Rice Processing Village programme (RPV) was introduced by the Institute of Post Harvest Technology (IPTH) of Sri Lanka in 2005, as a self reliant venture under which farmers parboil and process paddy into rice and other rice-based products. This venture leads to a high income for the farmer and low price for the consumer. One of the main beneficiary groups of the RPV programme was housewives of the farming communities. This paper aims to determine the effect of the RPV programme on empowerment of women with respect to their human, social, and economic capital. A total sample of 150 members including 110 women and 40 men were randomly selected from 30 RPVs in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Data were collected through a field survey using a questionnaire, key informant interviews, observations and secondary data sources. The study revealed that the women members have improved their social contacts with fellow farmers and stakeholder organizations, learnt to use resources efficiently, and developed their knowledge, skills and attitudes to become a productive workforce in the rural economy. The RPV programme has helped them to use their free time in generating an additional monthly income of Rs. 6,463 per family. Therefore, it can be concluded that the RPV programme had empowered the women members in their human, social and economic aspects in these villages. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 25 (3): 307-315 (2014)