Women's participation in small ruminant enterprise: A case study of three Felda schemes in Negeri Sembilan 9839576143, 9789839576146

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PAGE NOT AVAILABLE

Institut Pengajian Tinggi Kertas dan

KLB.

Bil. 5

Institute for Advanced Studies Occasional Papers and Reports: KLB.

No. 5

Women's

Laporan

Berkala:

Participation in Small

Ruminant

Enterprise

WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN SMALL 4 ,RUMINANT ENTERPRISE

A CASE

STUDY OF THREE FELDA IN NEGERI SEMBILAN.

JAHARA

SCHEMES

YAHAYA

SRSA, FA Institut Pengajian Tinggi/Institute for Advanced Studies Universiti Malaya/University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur 1991

~

GRAd

AQ

IST 2.6

N38

347.0

Jahara Yahaya 1991

199) Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Data Mengkatalog-dalam-Penerbitan Jahara Yahaya ‘Women's participation in small ruminant enterprise : a case study of three Felda schemes in Negeri Sembilan / Jahara Yahaya

ISBN 983-9576-14-3

1. 2. 3. L_

Women in agriculture - Negeri Sembilan - Case studies Women farmers - Negeri Sembilan - Case studies Small business - Negeri Sembilan - Case studies Title

331,.48309595117

Pendapat yang dinyatakan dalam terbitan ini tidaklah semestinya menjadi pendapat Institut Pengajian Tinggi, Universiti Malaya. The opinions expressed in this publication are the responsibility of the author and do not Teflect the views of The Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya.

Typset on the Macintosh II, using 8/14 Times. Printed by the Printing Unit, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, 59100 Kuala Lumpur. °

bl ~ SACS 7 8Ce. 4 + F

SNOT Bt

CONTENTS iti

Illustrations

Tables Abbreviations Acknowledgements

CHAPTER

I

vid

INTRODUCTION

AND

BACKGROUND

11

Background of the Study

12

Objectives of the Smdy

13

Methodology of the Study

14

Significance of the Study

CHAPTER 2.1

II

ECONOMIC MALAYSIA

PARTICIPATION

Participation of Women

WOMEN

Women

23

‘Women Labour Force Participation in the Agricultural Sector

III THE

SURVEY

IN

Labour Force

2.2

CHAPTER

Employment

OF

TO STUDY

Structure 13

RESULTS

3.1

Introduction

18

3.2

Socio-Economic Characteristics of Respondents

19

33

Household Help and Conveniences

22

3.4

Activity or Work

25

3.5

Intensity of Effort

26

3.6

Place of Work

28

Status of Women

ii CHAPTER

IV

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS

4)

{ntroduction

30

42

Purpose

30

43

Uses of Cash

44

Size of Flock

4§

Management

4.6

Family

4?

Decision-Making Process

35

48

Sales and Purchase of Animals

36

49

Income

37

410

Opinions on Women's and Goat Enterprise

“4a CHAPTER

of Rearing

Labour

from

3

Income

32 33

System Utilization

Small Ruminants Participation in Sheep

Constraints and Problems IV

51

5.2

SUMMARY

AND

38 39

CONCLUSIONS

Significance of the Results (i)

Role of Women

4l

(i)

Women's decision-making process and perceptions

42

(iii)

Constraints

43

Implications

REFERENCES

46

QUESTIONNAIRE

49

iii

Illustrations Figure Labour

Force Participation Rates of Women,

Labour

Force Participation Rates of Women,

Labour

Force Participation

Peninsular Malaysia 1957, 1970, 1980 Sabah, 1960 and 1970 Sarawak,

1960 and 1970

Rates of Women,

Tables Table Distribution of Experienced Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over by Industry and Sex, Peninsular Malaysia,

1957-1980 (%).

Distribution of Experienced Women Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over by Industry and Ethnic Group,

Peninsular Malaysia, 1980 (%).

Experienced Labour Force Aged

10 Years and Over, by

Occupation, Sex and Residential Status, Malaysia, 1980 (%) Distribution of Experienced Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over by Occupation and Sex, Peninsular Malaysia,

11 12

1957, 1970, 1980 (%).

14

Distribution of Respondents and Size of Flock.

19

Age Structure of Respondents (%).

20

Educational Level of Respondents

(%).

20

iv

10

Household Size by Schemes (%).

21

Memberships

22

Main

in Formal Organization (%).

Source of Water Supply for Drinking/Cooking/Bathing

Purposes

(%).

23

ll

Main

12

Childcare Assistance (For Children Below 5 Years Old (%).

13

Percentage of Respondents Involved in Various Economic

14

Average Working Hours/Day by Different Categories of

27

15

Distance from Home

29

16

Main Purposes of Rearing Goat and Sheep (%).

31

17

Main Uses of Cash Income from Goat and Sheep Rearing (%).

31

18

Average Size of Flock (%).

32

19

Management

33

20

Utilization of Family Labour in Goat and Sheep Rearing (%).

21

Distribution of Decision-Making in Animal Husbandry (%).

35

22

Extent of Sales and Purchases of Animals (%). ©

36

23

Net Income from Goat Sheep Enterprise (M$).

37

Women's

38

Source of Energy

24

Activities (%).

Activities (During

25

Supply for Cooking (%).

Past One

Week).

to Place of Work

(%).

Methods Practised by Respondents (%).

Views on Goat and Sheep Husbandry (%).

Women's Response to Constraints to Goat and Sheep Enterprise

39

ABBREVIATIONS

DVS

Department of Veterinary Services

GPW

Gabungan

Persatuan Wanita (Women’s

Association)

Jawatankuasa Kerja dan Keselamatan Kampung (Village Working and Security Committee)

FELDA

Federal Land Development Authority Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang (Farmers’ Organization Authority)

KEMAS

Kemajuan

PAS

Parti Islam Se-Malaysia

RISDA

Rubber Smallholders’

Masyarakat (Community

Development)

Development Authority

Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia

UMNO

United Malay National Organization

vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author wishes to acknowledge the support and assistance of various organizations and individuals that helped in the completion of this study.

First and foremost, I would like to extend my profound thanks and appreciation to the International Development and Research Center (IRDC), Canada, for partially funding this study. To the University of Malaya which provided partial funding, institutional support and facilities, I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks. My sincere appreciation also goes to the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS),

Ministry of Agriculture, and the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA)

for their insights and expert guidance in the development of this study. In particular, I am especially indebted to the Managers of the three FELDA schemes, namely FELDA Sungai Kelamah, Bukit Jalor and Pasoh, for their staff support and ground facilities extended to our research team during the implementation of the field

surveys.

A very special “thank you” is exended to Puan Azillah Adam for her efficient research assistance during the initial phase of the study. Our field surveys could ~ not have been smoothly implemented without the untiring efforts and enthusiasm

of our interviewers, namely Malik Hj.Ahmad, Rolah Zakaria, Samihah Khalil and

P.Guganeswaran. To all of Iam _ grateful to Professor of Malaya, for his valuable to say, any oversights and

Kuala Lumpur

November 1991

them, I would like to say thank you. Last but not least, T.K. Mukherjee of the Faculty of Science, University comments in the preparation of this volume. Needless errors remain my sole responsibility.

CHAPTER

INTRODUCTION

1.1

Background

AND

I

BACKGROUND

TO STUDY

of the Study

In a country like Malaysia where women constitute almost half of the population, the prevailing concern for the enhancement of women's economic participation and contribution is hardly surprising. Such concern seems to augur well with the genuine interest to improve the socio-economic status and welfare of women. Furthermore, there has been growing recognition of the significant role of women in development. The United Nations Declaration of the International Decade of

Women in 1975 has only served to enhance this concem and awareness.

In the farming sector, it is widely recognized that women contribute significantly

to agricultural and livestock production both as labourers and as decision-makers (Acharya and Benett, 1982). On the average, women constitute 66.3% of the

agricultural labour force in developing countries. Unfortunately, the conventional method of defining “economically active population” and “wage earner” in most censuses precludes women’s work in the agricultural activities. Women’s labour in the agricultural sector is customarily classified as “unpaid family workers” and is excluded from the labour force in most official statistics (Anker, 1980) . There is hardly any census or survey in Malaysia that has adequately documented the

full extent of women’s labour force participation, particularly in the subsistence

sector. The failure to recognize women's work in the subsistence sector and also within the household responsibilities, as being economically productive, has resulted

in a gross underestimation of their economic contribution. (Boserup 1970, Leon, 1984).

1.2 Objectives of the Study In the context of the concerns and issues raised above, this study aims at

reviewing the role of women in agricultural production, particularly from the perspective of their participation in small ruminant (sheep and goat) production. The study focuses on the extent of women’s participation in small ruminant

2

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

Production; utilization of women labour in animal management practices; division of labour with other household or family members; women’s role in decisionmaking, and women’s perceptions and attitudes towards small ruminant production. In addition, the study will also identify and examine some of the constraints and obstacles to the participation of women and suggest strategies and measures to overcome them. The principal concern underlying this study is that an increased awareness of women’s participation in agriculture in general, and in small ruminant

production, in specific, will increase the probability of increased agricultural research and development project focussing more directly on women 13

farmers.

Methodology of the Study

The core of this study is ruminant production in three ciplinary research approach information required for the

concerned with the participation of women in small FELDA schemes in Negeri Sembilan. An interdiswas adopted to obtain the relevant set of data and study.

The first step involved a literature review on the subject under study. During the course of the literature search, it was realized that very little has been written on women’s participation in small ruminant production in this or. other countries. However, a fair documentation is available on the economic role of women in the agricultural sector which proved invaluable in providing the groundwork and

facilitating the conceptualization of this study.

Details on the more macro aspects of small ruminant production and activities were obtained from unpublished reports and documents of various related agencies such as RRIM, DVS, FELDA, RISDA and LPP. Informal interviews and discussions were also conducted with key officials from some of these agencies

in order to obtain a broad perspective of the government’s role in livestock production, particularly small ruminant. Technical advice and guidance were also

sought from these agencies, especially

FELDA

and

the Veterinary Department,

which had proved to be extremely useful to the study.

To obtain more indepth insights on the macro environment of the target group under study, intensive participation observation and unstructured interviews were

employed. The unstructured interviews with, for example, the FELDA

managers,

block leaders, women’s group leaders etc, were useful in the sense that it allowed an overall assessment of women’s participation in agricultural and livestock activities in the three FELDA schemes under study.

Introduction

3

Finally, the bulk of the data and information required for this study was obtained from a structured questionnaire survey of the target population (See Appendix 1).

The choice of FELDA scheme and women respondents to be included in the sample was not dictated by strict sampling combination of factors such as :

techniques

but rather on

the basis

of a

(1) the cooperation of the FELDA management; (2) only FELDA schemes where the settlers are involved in small ruminant production were included; (3) a representation of different crop practices (rubber and oil-palm) in the

schemes; and

(4) the limited financial and manpower resources available for the survey. The structured questionnaires which had been pre-tested were administered on adult female respondents between the age of 20 to 50 years. Most of these female respondents invariably turned out to be the wives of the settlers. For practicality, a sample size of 100-150 women was purposively selected for interviewing. A group of 5 research assistants from the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Malaya, served as interviewers during the survey.

L4 Significance of the Study The main justification for the study rests on the ground that there has been very little empirical research and documentation on women’s participation and contribution in agricultural production. Yet, women constitute nearly two-third of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. Increased awareness of

women’s participation in the agricultural sector will hopefully ensure that women as part of the farming communities are adequately addressed by government's Projects and programmes and other international and . national organizations concerned with agricultural development.

:

The results of the study would be very useful to policymakers and planners for both analytical and policy-related reasons. It would be particularly useful to

planners involved in agricultural and livestock projects aimed at increasing productivity of agricultural labour force and optimizing the use of family labour in income-generating activities. It is also envisaged that this study can throw light on the design and implementation of ‘economically productive programmes and Project directed specifically at women in the agricultural sector. For example, one

of the most promising strategies for enhancing agricultural productivity concerns

4

Women's

Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

improvement in institutional support system like extension and training which are available to women farmers. Moreover, an understanding of women’s participation in the agricultural sector would help to enhance performance by research and extension agencies in directly addressing the constraints and obstacles faced by women farmers.

Finally, an indirect but useful spin-off from the study is the information gathered on the socio-economic status and the living and working environment of women

in FELDA schemes in the country. Such information would certainly help to enrich the scanty literature on women in the agricultural sector in this country.

CHAPTER I ECONOMIC

2.1

PARTICIPATION

Participation of Women

Labour

OF WOMEN

IN MALAYSIA

Force

Although still lagging behind that of men, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) of women has been increasing steadily from 38.9% in 1970 to 42.2% in 1980 (1970 and 1980 Population Censuses). The corresponding figures for men

were noted as 81.0% and 84.8% for 1970 and 1980 respectively. In absolute term, the LFPR of women in 1980 means that there were more than 1.56 million women in the Malaysian labour force (1980 Population Census). It has been estimated that women made up 36% of the labour force in

1981

(Jomo et al.

1985) as

compared to 33% in 1970 (1970 Population Census). The Malaysian female labour force is comparatively young as indicated by the fact that nearly 40.0% of the

total female labour force were under 25 years of age. The female LFPRs and age

curves for Peningular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are shown in Figures 1 to 3 respectively. Several reasons can be advanced to explain for the increase in labour force

participation rate of women over the last fifteen years.

First, the government’s

policy of rapid export-oriented industrialization in the late 1960's has created tremendous new job opportunities for women in the manufacturing sector,

particularly in the industrial estates and free trade zones (Jomo et al. 1985). The type of industries where female employment are most evident include textiles,

garments and electronics. It has been reported that the number of women employed in the manufacturing sector increased considerably from 73,058 in 1970 to 289,700

in 1979.

In the electronics sector

alone, the number increased from

3,200 in 1970 to 47,000 in 1976 and by 1983 the number has been estimated

at well over 100,000 (Jamilah, 1983). Second, the rapid development of educational

facilities giving ready and equal access to females as well as males at every level of education has invariably led to improved educational attainment and skill of ‘women, increased their employability and income-earning capacity and changed their attitude towards paid employment (Chia, 1987). Third, as contended-by Chia

(1987) the New Economic Policy which came into effect in the late 1970 has

Women's Participation in SmaH Ruminant Enterprise 6

0

Sources:

20

Figure 1

of Women, Rates Labour Force Particip atio n Peninsular Malaysia 1957, 1970, 1980

40 in Years Age

Population census reports 1957, 1970, 1980

Oo

1970

1957

Key

@

7 in Malaysia Economic Participation of Women

ot

OSI

O

@

sro, wy a8y

o%

oe

0861 Pw QL61 sods snsu22 woIwpdoy

OL6T PEE ON6T “Hoqes

WmoM, pO s218Y BoNedpps 9270, eY JnoGeT] z eundiy

:s201005

‘or

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise 8

ud

I®@ ostO by

sree, wy oy

ov

€ andy

oe

O86I P¥P OL6I stsode4 sua? uolomdog

OL6T PUE OD6T Teaeses BouIAA JO SITY woNedppseY 99201 snoqeT

:s20INOS

.0 0

+ OZ

Ob

roo

08

aBeyuvong

Economic Participation of Women

in Malaysia

9

enabled Malay women “to make the transition from rural economic inactivity and

status as unpaid family workers into modem sector paid employment.” Other reasons which might have contributed to the increased rate of participation include the erosion of social barriers to female employment, change in attitude amongst women

themselves

with regards to financial independence, personal

satisfaction

as well as having some control over their lives, later age of marriage and lower fertility rates. All these have reduced the number of female labour force in the agricultural sector. 2.2

Women

Employment

Structure

In line with the structural transformation of the Malaysian economy from the

traditional/agricultural to modern/industrial sector activities, there have been some

dramatic changes in the structure of women employment.

As indicated in Table

1, the percentage of females employed in the agricultural sector declined steadily Table 1 Distribution of Experienced Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over Peninsular Malaysia, 1957-1980 (%). Industry

.

Primary sector:

Agriculture & fishing

Males

1957 55.8

1970 48.0

Females

1980 348

1957

1970

78.4

59.7

18

08

527

45.4

33.2

766

Secondary sector:

109

125

19.1

Tertiary sector:

324

357

10 «(120

(0.2 = 13.8

46 16.1 100.0

Mining & quarrying Manufectoring Construction

Utilities Commerce Transport & Communication Services

Activities Undefined

Total

Dissimilarity

3.1

710 39

0.7 1.0

09

by Industry and Sex,

Differences (Male-Female)

1980 43.7

1957 -

-

43.3

53°

9.0

19.7

43.8

25.7

228

342

0 117

06 14°

OF 62

02 «-21

50 17.7

52 24.6

03° LT

OS 164

07 © 21.8

43 44

45 13

47

45 28

«O1

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

23.9

182

162

95 30

38

16

126 65

43, 10°

01 36

23

06

.

85 «—(O5 01 58

#85

04

186 Ml

24

Sources: Population Census Reports, 1957, 1970 and 1980, Kuala Lumpur.

13

0

27 29°

0

03°

13.5

1980

589

2.6

23.9

1970

18

0

10 «25

0

10.1

-

12

0

«60 5.4

0

10

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

from 76.6% in 1957 to 58.9% in 1970 and to 43.3% in 1980. On the contrary, female employment in the manufacturing sector increased from 4.3% in 1957 to 8.5% in 1970 and 18.6% in 1980. As a result of the rapid decline in the proportion

of women in agriculture the index of dissimilarity for sectoral distribution by sex fell from 23.9% in 1957 to 16.2% in 1980. Although the percentage of women in agriculture fell drastically between 1957 and 1980, the absolute number of female

workers in the sector rose from 401,000 in 1957 to 532,000 in 1980. The drastic decline in proportion and the insignificant growth in female employment in agriculture may be attributed to a host of interrelated factors including reduction in the scope of activities traditionally performed by women due to rapid agricultural mechanization and modernization; the exodus

of youths from the rural to urban

areas in search of employment and entertainment; and increased female employment Opportunities in other sectors of the economy (Chia,1987). + ~ An examination of the industrial distribution of the female labour force by ethnicity reveals one pertinent observation. Whereas the female Malays and Indians were concentrated in agriculture and fishing, the female Chinese on the other hand, were more evenly distributed among agriculture and fishing, manufacturing, commerce and community, social and personal services (Table 2). It is understood that the majority of the female Malays and Indians in agriculture were engaged

in padi and rubber cultivation. A comparison of the

occupation

distribution of the female and male labour

force in Malaysia in 1980 is shown in Table 3.

The highest concentration of

female employment was found in the agricultural and fishery occupation group

which

absorbed about 42.1%

production

and

occupation group

of the total female

related occupation

group

labour force, followed by the

at-16.1%

and

clerical and

related

at 10.1%. Only an insignificant 0.3% of the female labour force

were in the administrative and managerial occupation group as compared with 1.3% for men. What this means is that the majority of women are occupying only

subordinate positions vis-a-vis their male counterpart. This is indeed a manifestation of sexual discrimination against female labour. Likewise, the fact that there

is a high concentration of women in clerical and related occupation group reaffirms the contention that women are typically employed in supportive and manual types

of occupation (Jomo et al. 1985).

From Table 3, women seemed to be over-represented in the professional, technical and related occupational group. This apparent over-representation is

Economic Participation of Women

in Malaysia

11

Table 2

Distribution of Experienced Women Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over by Industry and Ethnic Group, Peninsular Malaysia, 1980 (%) By Industry

Industry

Malay

Chinese

Indians

2A 26.3

__

By Ethnic Group

Malay

Chinese

Indian

54.9 54.6

64.6 65.0

20.8 20.3

13.7 13.7

Primary sector: Agricukure & fishing

53.1 53.0

Secondary sector:

167

25.5

20.1

45.2

433

112

Manofactaring

16.4

23.2

18.6

471.0

41.8

10.9

03

23

1s

16.4

68.3

15.0

Tertiary sector:

29.8

46.4

24.4

46.3

45.2

78

Utilities Commerce

0.03 80 05 10

0.04 20.0 10 3.2

0.04 +49 05 12

50.4 36.1 41.6 29.6

36.4 59.4 49.1 61.5

3 39 8.2 19

20.30

21.3

18.5

53.8

35.4

10.1

03

09

0.4

28.8

61.5

9.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

54.1

34.0

652,680 410,535

33,895

Mining & quarrying

Constraction

Total Nember Source:

o1

08

03

16

73.0

86

MW

Population Census Report 1980, Kuala Lumpur.

largely attributed to the high concentration of women in the teaching and nursing

professions. These two professions alone accounted for over 80% of women in the and technical occupation group. It should be noted that both these professions are considered to be at the lower end of the hierarchy of professional employment.

Other occupations where women were over-represented were veterinary and related occupation, statisticians, system analysis and related technicians, composers and

formi

:

12)

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise Table 3 Experienced Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over,

by Occupation, Sex and Residential Status, Mataysia, 1980 (%). Occupation Total number

Total

Males

Females

4,593,173

3,092,733

1,500,440

66 10 16 87

60 13 6.4 97

qd 03 10.1 66

17 1.0 37 31

36.4 243 22

33.7 28.3 24

421 16.1 17

84 122 07 15.5

1,615,445

1,110,211

505,234

91

13.4

14.1

10.7

214

10.7

13.2 53 33.9

122 53 37.8

15.5 53 25.4

33

Percentage distribution: Professional, technical and related Administrative & managerial Clerical & related workers Sales workers

Service workers

84

Agricultural & fishery workers Production & related workers Unclassified Dissimilarity Index

‘Urban total number

Percentage distribution: Professional, technical and related

10.5

Administrative & managerial

Clerical & related workers

Sales workers

Service workers Agriculwral & fishery workers Production & related workers

Unclassified

Dissimilarity index

Rural total number Percentage distribution: Professional, tecnical and related Administrative & managerial

Glerical & related workers Sales workers

Service workers

Agricultural & fishery workers

Production & related workers Unclassified Dissimilarity index

Source: Population Census Report 1980,

84

24 -

28

14.0

.

15.6

29

3.1

82

06

10.4

25

Differences

02

43

22

52

124

0.6

19.4

2,977,728

1,982,522

995,206

45 04

43 0s

48 O1

05 0.4

58

64

46

18

41

57

53.3

19.1 18 Kuala Lampur.

40

63

49.6

23.0 2.0

430 45

60.9

11.3 12

:

03

18

na

17 08 143

-

Economic Participation of Women

in Malaysia

13

The division of labour along sexual line is not only evident between occupational

groups but also within the same occupation group. Thus, whereas men dominate

the high level managerial and supervisory position, women are mainly found in positions that are at the lower end of the occupation hierarchy (Chia, 1987). In

the clerical and related occupations, for example, men are predominant in high positions such as clerical supervisors, government executive officials, and transport and

communication

supervisors,

while

women

dominate

subordinate

satisfying occupations like typists, stenographers, card punch ers, cashiers, computing machine operators and telegraph and In the sales and service occupational groups, the managerial likely to be occupied by men, while women are contented

operators, telephone positions to work

and

less

bookeepoperators. are more as maids,

cleaners, kitchen hands and waitresses, The sexual division of labour is also evident

in the agricultural employment. For instance, in the plantation sector, men dominate as managers, supervisors and technicians while women dominate as estate labourers and workers. In the fishery sector, female workers in large fish processing plants are confined to low paying labour-intensive jobs such as sorting, dressing and packaging, while men dominate in actvities like management of the plants, supervision and operation (Jahara Yahaya, 1988). Lately, however,

in conformity with the structural change of the economy,

female occupational structure in the country also underwent some changes. A

summary of the changes in the occupational structure of female in Peninsular Malaysia from 1957 to 1980 is given in Table 4. The most noticeable change

occurred in the agricultural sector (including fishing and forestry) where the percentage of female engaged in agricultural work almost halved, declining from

76.5% in 1957 to 38.0% in 1980. On the other hand, all other occupational groups

exhibited overall increases in their shares of total female labour force. These

changes in the female occupational structure between 1957.and 1980 reflect, first, the rapid expansion of non-agricultural employment and, second, the increase in white collar jobs as a result of the rising educational achievement of the female labour force. Hence, with increased opportunities in education and training, women

are able to penetrate into occupations which were once traditionally reserved for men. 2.3.

Women

Labour Force Participation in the Agricultural Sector

The percentage of female employed in the agricultural sector was 43.3% or 532,000 in 1980. It was estimated that over half of the women working in

the agricultural sector were engaged in rubber cultivation and less than One-third

14

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

Table 4 Distribution of Experienced Labour Force Aged 10 Years and Over by Occupation and Sex,

Peninsular Malaysia, 1957, 1970, 1980 (%) Males

Occupation

Female

1957

1970

1980

29

45

62

150

10

36

Sales workers Service workers

Professional, technical & related workers Administrative &

managerial workers

Clerical & related workers

1957

Differences

(Male-Female)

1970

1980

1957

1970

1980

35°

52

83

06

O07

«14

O1

03

14

09

11

53

67

09

39

109

27

140

42

10.3

10.3

10.5

34°49

71

69

54

34

91

81

88

73°

86

86

18

OS

02

50.2

43.9

30.8

76,5

50.0

380

63

61

7.2

221

239

29.8

78

11.0

186

143°

129

112

03

30

58

04

82

82

OL

52

24

100.0 100.0

100.0 271

166

15.9

21

Agriculmral & forestry

workers, fishermen &

hooters

Production & related

workers, transport

equipment operators & labourers Occupations undefined Total

100.0

100.0 100.0

Dissimilarity index Sources: Population Census Report, 1957, 1970 and 1980, Kuala Lumpur.

in padi cultivation (Chia, 1987). The predominance of women in agricultural jobs could be attributed to the easier entry requirement in terms of educational and the flexible working hours which has eriabled women to combine their gender role

as homemakers

more easily with income-eaming

activities in the agricultural

Economic Participation of Women

in Malaysia

15

sector. Studies have shown that women take their children along to work as in the case of the female plantation workers (Jomo ef al. 1984). The availability

of creches for children in most estates has also enabled an increasing number of women in the plantation sector to work sector, padi cultivation also absorbs a in the agricultural sector (Jomo et al. traditional distinction between the role

outside their homes. Besides the plantation considerable percentage of female workers 1984). In padi cultivation, there is a clear of men and women. While the more tedious

tasks of land preparation, threshing, sowing and transporting have been traditionally

carried out by men, the women usually perform less tedious but equally tiring tasks like pulling out rice seedlings, transplanting, weeding, cleaning and drying of padi. In terms of time utilization, studies have indicated that the average total time contributed by each women per season is 228 hours compared to 300 hours by men (Jomo et.al. 1985). It should be pointed out that even though women spend less working hours in the farms compared to men, they have to perform daily household chores like cooking, washing, cleaning, bringing up children and Tearing livestocks. In the fisheries sector, the notion that women are completely banned from fishing is not absolutely true since there are instances when women do go out fishing. Interestingly, women’s participation in actual fishing is evident only in

the traditional or small-scale sub-sector, especially in Kelantan and Terengganu,

and to a lesser extent, in Kedah. These “fisherwomen” fish mainly from the shore or shallow protected waters using simple hand-operated gear like hooks-and-lines, Scoop nets or traps. The catch is used primarily for home consumption while the surplus may invariably find its way to local fish dealers, village retailers, friends

and neighbours.

It is reported that an increasing number of women in traditional

or smail-scale fishing communities in Kelantan are accompanying their husband to sea owing to lack of income-earning opportunities in‘ their villages.

In addition, women in the fisheries sector perform essential but generally underestimated role in fisheries-related shore-based activities such as unloading, sorting, gutting, net mending, processing, distribution and marketing. Such supplementary and supportive roles of the women folk were succinctly described by Rosemary Firth who noted that “when the fisherman comes in wet and tired after a day’s fishing he expects his wife to be down on the beach, to throw skid for the boats,

help in the sale of the fish, distribute the free catch allowance to crew members

and carry back the husband’s fishing gear to the house” (Firth, 1943). Hence, as far as the men are concerned, their share of work is completed once the boats

16

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

return with their catch, and the women are expected to take over from then onwards. Such tasks, although not necessarily paid, are critical in creating form, place and time utilities which in turn will have tremendous impact on total fish production and distribution. However, with the commercialization of the fisheries these post-

fishing and distribution activities traditionally performed by women have been gradually taken over by fish dealers and other marketing intermediaries (Jahara Yahaya, 1988). Lately, women in the agricultural sector are becoming increasingly involved in fish farming in consonance with the rapid development of aquaculture in the country. The participation of the women in aquaculture extends to every aspect of fish farming like preparing fish feed, feeding the fish, cleaning of nets/cages and general maintenance and upkeep of the ponds or cages. It is recognized that fish farming is the most suitable option for the women to be involved since it does not require them to be away from their homes for long periods which might force them to neglect their household or domestic responsibilities. Furthermore,

activities related to fish farming like preparing the fish feed, feeding the fish and

minding the ponds/cages are often perceived as extensions of the women’s household chores. In this way, the women are able to combine supplementary income-eaming activities with household activities without having to neglect the latter. A study of the floating cage culture in Sungai Merbok, Kedah, confirms that the women are extensively involved in activities related to fish rearing (Hotta and Jahara Yahaya, 1985). The project was successful in drawing extensive involvement of women since it was based along the family unit concept whereby labour requirements were drawn mainly from family members. From

the above discussion, it is clear that women

contribute significantly to

agricultural production in Malaysia. Studies have indicated that women’s participation is highest in rubber and padi cultivation. Women’s participation is also evident in shore-based fisheries related activities such as handling, preservation,

processing and marketing. With the rapid development of aquaculture in the country, women in the agricultural sector are also becomming increasingly involved in fish farming. Within the family, women also play a significant role in the production, distribution, supervision and decision-making process. Women not only contribute to family food supplies directly by tending home gardens, rearing fish and rearing small livestock, but they may earn money to purchase food through marketing the produce or engaging in other income-earning activities.

Economic Participation of Women

in Malaysia

17

To put it simply, women play a significant role in the agricultural sector either

as producers in their own right or they may directly support men’s economic activities. Granted that the economic role played by women are sometimes supportive and supplementary in nature, the fact remains that they do contribute significantly to agricultural production, be it in market or non-market activities. Moreover, women also perform a multiplicity of subsistence - oriented homebased tasks such as food processing, cooking, fetching water, collecting firewood and rearing domestic animals, all of which contribute significantly to the welfare and well-being of their families and communities.

CHAPTER

THE

3.1

SURVEY

Il

RESULTS

Introduction

The concept of integrating small ruminants, especially sheep, with traditional plantation crops like rubber and palm-oil is now widely practised by smallholders through support provided by government agencies such as RISDA, FELDA, FELCRA and LPP. Initiated by RRIM and DVS, this concept of rearing of sheep on rubber and oil-palm smallholdings and land schemes is highly feasible because it utilizes labour more efficiently, maximizes use of land, promotes agricultural diversification

and

utilizes

undesirable

undergrowth

in the interrows

(Tan

and

Abraham, 1981). Moreover, sheep rearing not only contributes to family food supplies but is also a source of supplementary income to the smallholders. Finally, increased sheep production will meet substantially the country’s requirement for mutton, thus helping the country saved millions of dollars in foreign exchang. Among

the smallholders’

households in

the country, livestock rearing forms

an integral part of their farming system (Lai et al. 1975). Livestock rearing is generally viewed as part of the overall farm management in smallholding system in which the use of family labour is very common. Activities related to livestock rearing like feeding, herding, cleaning the animal sheds and collecting grass for the animals are often perceived as extension of the farm management. It is generally contended that most of these activities are performed by the womenfolk. To verify and or substantiate this general contention, a survey was carried out

on about 112 adult females in three FELDA schemes in Negeri Sembilan. The

schemes selected for the study were Sungai Kelamah, Bukit Jalor and Pasoh, all

of which are known for the settlers’ active involvement in small ruminant (goat and sheep) rearing. In cases where there was more than one adult females in

a household, only the wife of the head of household was selected. The questionnaire used in the survey of these females covered their socio-economic characteristics,

living and household conditions, economic activities, time utilization, activities in

livestock rearing, division of the time and labour, decisionmaking attitudes and perceptions towards small ruminant rearing.

process and

Survey Results

19

Of the one hundred and twelve female respondents interviewed, 56 were found

in the FELDA Pasoh, 29 in FELDA Sungai Kelamah and 27 in FELDA

Bukit

Jalor as shown in Table 5. All 112 respondents were Malay since Malay is the

predominant group in practically all the FELDA schemes in the country. Table 5 also shows the size of flock reared by the respondents, with sheep (971 animals) out numbering goats (540) by almost half.

Sheep rearing therefore appears to

be more popular than goat rearing in all 3 schemes surveyed. Table 5

Distribution of Respondents and Size of Flock FELDA Scheme

Crop Cultivated

No. of Respondent

Size of Flock 9 ——_____

Goats

Sheep

Nqof anhnalsresp ———

Goats

Sheep

Sg. Kelamah

Rubber

29

154

203

14

7

Bukit Jalor

Rubber

2

215

235

17

9

Oil-palm

56

111

533

uN

13

112

540

14

12

Pasoh Total .

3.4

on

Socio-Economic Characteristics of Respondents. The survey respondents as mentioned earlier were the wives

of

the FELDA

settlers, nearly 45.5% of whom were between the ages of 31 - 40 years as shown in Table 6. By scheme, the highest percentage of respondents found in this age range was FELDA Pasoh (64.3%) while the lowest was FELDA Bukit Jalor (14.8%). Only 14.4% of the total respondents were found in the above 51 years age category. This indicates that medium age group. The mean scheme, respondents in Pasoh had with 40.2 years and 49.5 years for

(Table 6).

majority of the respondents were in the age of the respondents was 41.5 years. By the lowest mean age at 38.3 years compared Sungai Kelamah and Bukit Jalor respectively

The relatively young age structure of the respondents in Pasoh could

be explained by the fact that the scheme is the newest compared to the other two

schemes. It is understood that FELDA established about 25 years ago.

Bukit Jalor is the oldest, having been

20

Women's

Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

Since our target respondents were wives of the male settlers, the question of the marital status of the respondents therefore did not arise. However, 3 out of 112 respondents interviewed were found to be widows by virtue of the deaths of their husbands.

Table 6 Age Structure of Respondents (%) Age

Sg. Kelamah

14.8

643

45.5

51.7

37.0

26.8

35.7

35

48.1

3.6

14.4

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29

27

56

112

40.2

49.5

38.3

41.5

41.7

49.7

37.9

40

31-40 years

37.9

41-50 years > SI years

Mean Median

-

From Table 7, the low educational status of the FELDA

About 17.0% of the total respondents had no formal Educational Education

Level

No formal Education Primary Secondary Religious Total

No. of Cases

Overall 45

69

No, of cases

Pasoh 5.4

21-30 years

Total

Bkt. Jalor

Sg. Kelamah

women is very evident.

education while another 72.3%

Table 7 Level of Respondents (%) Bkt. Jalor

Pasoh

Overall

10.3

33.3

125

17.0

86.2

63.0

69.6

723

35

37

143

89

oO

0

3.6

18

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29

27

56

112

Survey Results

21

had only a primary education and even then, of only 3-4 years in the Malay schools in the villages they came from. On scheme basis, it was shown that Bukit Jalor

had the highest percentage of respondents (33.3%) with no formal education compared to 10.3% and 12.5% for Sungai Kelamah and Pasoh respectively. This is in consonance with the earlier finding that Bukit Jalor respondents were older

than their counterparts in either Sungai Kelamah or Pasoh.

The fact that majority

of the respondents were illiterate or had minimal education imply that they have had little or no exposure to newspapers or other written media. As Table 8 indicates, the average size of FELDA

households under study of

7.8 persons was larger than the national rural average of 5.3 persons per household

(1980 Population Census).

The median household size was 7.6 persons with about

34.5% of the households having 7-8 members each.

Among all the three schemes

respondents in Pasoh appeared to have smaller household size than respondents

in Sungai Kelamah and Bukit Jalor.

The average household size for Pasoh was

7.3 persons while that for Sungai Kelamah was 8.9 persons and Bukit Jalor 7.9 persons. From the relatively large household size of the settlers in the three schemes Table &

Household Size by Schemes (%) Household Size

Sg. Kelamah

Bkt. Jalor

Pasoh

Overall

34

0

74

5.4

46

54

13.8

25.9

321

25.9

78

31.0

33.3

37.5

34.5

9-10

31.0

18.5

19.6

224

11-12

17.3

37

5.4

8.0

69

2

0

46

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29

27

56

112

89

19

13

78

More than 12 Toral

No. of Cases Men

22

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

surveyed, it can be implied that family planning practices had not been very popular in this schemes. Moreover, it is generally recognized that rural households prefer to have more children for security motive. They wanted their children to look after them in their old age and also larger household means additional family labour potential. Participation of the respondents in formal social and political organization was relatively low in all 3 schemes surveyed. Nearly one-third of the respondents interviewed were not affiliated to any organization. This group appears to be indifferent towards the activities of the few organizations found in the schemes. However for those with institutional affiliation, the FELDA - sponsored women -oriented institution, Gabungan Persatuan Wanita or GPW, appeared to be the most popular as indicated by the high level of incidence (88.0%) of respondents belonging to this association (Table 9). From Table 9, it is also evident that the respondents were not very politically-minded as suggested by their low level of membership in political parties. Such results were to be expected since membership and leadership in political parties, rural institutions or community organization are commonly associated with men in line with the religious and cultural norms and values. Hence, political parties like UMNO,

JKKK

PAS, etc. and institutions like LPP,

(Village Working and Security Committee) are always dominated by men. Memberships

Table 9 in Formal Organization

Sg. Kelamah Yes

Bkt. Jalor

No

Yes

(%) Pasoh

No

Overall

Yes

No

Yes

No

GPW

713

22.7

100.0

0

90.7

93

88.6

14

UMNO

27.3

727

21.4

78.6

25.6

74.4

25.3

74.7

227

713

0

100.0

93

90.7

1L4

88.6

OTHERS

3.3.

Household Help and Conveniences. For the purpose of this study, information on basic household amenities such

as water supply, electricity supply and childcare assistance were gathered to gauge

the household conveniences available to the women which have an important effect on the efficiency of women’s work. Information on consumer durables which

Survey Results are purely

23

for consumption purpose such as cars, motorcycle, electric appliances,

etc. are not collected.

One of the most basic amenities which have an important effect on time availability of women is water supply. As can be seen in Table 10, nearly 90.0%

of the respondents got their water supplies from pipe in the house for both drinking/ cooking and washing/bathing purpose. Only a small percentage (10.7%) had piped water supply outside their houses. This implies that the women respondents in the three FELDA schemes are not saddled with the tedious time-consuming task of fetching water from wells or rivers for their households, thus leaving them with

more time to participate in economically productive activities.

Table 10 Main Source of Water Supply for Drinking/Cooking and Washing/Bathing Source

Sg. Keiamah

Bkt. Jalor

Purposes (%)

Pasoh

Overall

Pipe in the house

15.9

92.6

94.6

89.3

Pipe outside the house

Wd

1A

54

10.7

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29

2

56

112

Total No. of cases

Another labour saving amenities which have an important effect on the women’s time is energy source for cooking and lighting. From Table 11, it is clear that gas is the commonest source of energy for cooking, with 80.4% of the respondents Teporting that they use gas for this purpose. Firewood was ranked second, while charcoal and kerosene were the two least common fuels for cooking. For lighting

purpose, all 112 respondents reported that they had electricity supply.

From the above findings, it can be deduced that the basic amenities available

to the respondents in all 3 FELDA schemes such as pipe water and electricity were generally satisfactory. This reflects the relatively high standard of living

enjoyed by FELDA settlers’ households. The availability of these facilities also mean that the women’s housework burden will be substantially reduced, thus allowing them more time to participate in economic activities.

24

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

Main Source

Table 11 Source of Energy Supply for Cooking (%) Sg. Kelamah

Bkt. Jalor

Pasoh

Overall

Gas

65.5

TAL

91.0

80.4

Firewood

27.6

18.5

3.6

31.4

Kerosene

35

14

5.4

53

Charcoal

35

0

0

09

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

29

27

56

112

Total No. of cases

The respondents were also asked about the type of assistance they got for childcare, especially for children below 5 years of age. Such information is useful for providing background information on the family support system that the women got which would enable them to be economically active. It was found that this question was not applicable to more than half of the respondents (64.3%) since their children were well above 5 years old and were thus capable of taking care of themselves. About 15.0% of the respondents with children below 5 years old claimed that they did not get any childcare assistance at all, while another 82.5% said that other family members (usually the respondents’ parents and older children)

helped to look after the children when they were out working (Table 12). None

of the respondents sent their young children to creches or nurseries since such

facilities were not available in all 3 schemes.

Table 12 Childcare Assistance (For Children Below 5 Years Old) (%)

Childcare

Assistance

Sg. Kelamah

Bkt. Jalor

Pasoh

Overall

Assisted by older children and parents

70.0

100.0

84.6

82.5

Assisted by relatives

10.0

0

0

25

No assistance

20.0

0

15.4

15.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

10

4

26

40

Total No. of cases

Survey Results

3.4

25

Activity or Work Status of Women In this section, the economic contribution of the women respondents is measured

using the activity or time use schedules rather than the typical labour force survey method because the latter does not recognize the many economically useful tasks women performed in the informal non-wage sector. Thus, for example, activities like working in the family’s farm or smallholding, tending the vegetable garden,

rearing livestock and fish, making handicrafts, doing their own individual business

enterprises,

providing

laundering

and

sewing

services

for

others

which

add

significantly to the family’s economic well-being, are usually not included in traditional labour force surveys. An important feature related to women’s economic participation in the rural sector is the multiplicity of activities performed by them. Another common feature

is that in certain activities, especially farming, the women’s role and contribution

are considered supportive or supplementary to their husbands. These same features were distinctly noticeable of the women’s economic participation in all three FELDA schemes under study. As evident in Table 13, ninety five respondents or nearly 85% out of the 112 respondents in the three FELDA schemes reported that they help their husbands in the family’s crop cultivation activities, viz rubber and oil-palm cultivation. On schemes basis, the percentage of respondents reporting being active in their husbands’ crop cultivation activities was highest for Pasoh (89.5%). Since Pasoh is an oil-palm scheme, majority of the women were involved in helping their husbands in their oil-palm smallholding, especially during the harvesting period. On the other hand, the women’s participation in the Sungai Kelamah and Bukit Jalor schemes were mainly in rubber cultivation since rubber is the predominant crop of these two schemes. Working in paid employment was uncommon amongst the respondents since only 10 or 8.9% of the total reported that they work as hired workers in nearby rubber plantations to do manual labour works like weeding, applying pesticides and weedicides and collecting rubber latex and scraps. The reason why none of the women at the Sungai Kelamah and Bukit Jalor scheme were involved in similar paid employment was the absence of plantations around these two schemes, thus denying them the job opportunities. Interestingly, all 10 respondents were found in the Pasoh schemes. As in most rural households, livestock rearing or animal husbandry is an integral

part of the entire farming system, wherein the entire gamut of work is divided

and shared among all the members of the household. As shown in Table 9, all 112 respondents reported that they contributed to activities related to rearing

26

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

livestock like buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep, chicken and ducks. A notable feature

here is that livestock rearing is not highly commenrcialised, rather they are regarded as activities contributing to various socio-economic needs of the households such as supplementing income source and nutritional requirements.

Percentage of Respondents Involved tn Various Economic Activities (%) Activities

Husband’s and family's crop cultivation activities Agricultural waged labourer Livestock rearing Own family business Services (sewing, washing

Sg. Kelamah

Bkt. Jalor

19.3 0

81.5

17.2

84.8

179

89

100.0

100.0

100.0

1a

23.2

18.8

5.4

3.6

0 .

Overall

89.5

.

100.0

Pasoh

laundering etc.)

35

0

Handicrafts making

13.8

Ma

12.5

125

Fish farming

3.5

37

7

54

Among the FELDA households, it is common for the women to earn money by engaging in small businesses like retailing of food provision, household items

and cooked food items. As indicated in Table 13, 19 respondents or 17.0% of the total reported that they were involved in such small family business activities. Another activity, albeit less common, undertaken by the women to earn extra money was doing services for others such as laundering, cleaning, sewing, etc., and making

handicrafts for sale or on a pre-ordered basis such as artificial flowers, knitting,

local ornamentals, etc. It was noted that these activities were undertaken by the

women after the other household especially in the evenings. 3.5

chores

and

activities

had

been

completed,

Intensity of Effort.

The amount of time the women spent on various activities was also measured in order to give an indication of the intensity of an activity. With information

Survey Results

27

on the amount of time spent one would be in a position to roughly assess the

economic contribution of the women.

Since most of the respondents did not have

set hours of working and since it is well known that the activities vary by season and even by day of the week, respondents were asked to recall the hours devoted to different categories of work over the past week. It should be noted that certain

seasonal activities like harvesting oil-palm fruits, weeding, handicraft making, etc.

are not necessarily undertaken everyday, whereas other activities like rubber tapping, running own business enterprise, livestock rearing, fish farming, etc. would have to be performed daily throughout the year. The average amount in Table 14, It should be not precise, estimates of economic participation.

of time spent on different categories of work is shown pointed out that the intention here is to obtain approximate, time use - thus giving some rough measure of the women’s From Table 14, it is apparent that for those involved

in own crop cultivation, the amount of time they spent working averaged at about

5 hours daily. This span of time was spent on various types of work like tapping, collecting and weeding, in the case of oil-palm cultivation. Oil-palm harvesting is usually carried out at regular intervals of twice a month, and it is during this period that the women’s labour was most needed. For those working as agricultural waged labourers, the amount of time spent vary between 4 to 5 hours daily, usually

with the work beginning in the early hours of the morning and finishing at about

mid-day.

Table 14

Average Working Hours/Day by Different Categories of Activities

.

(During Past One Week)

Activities

Hours/Day

Own farming/crop cultivation

506

Agricultural waged labourer

405

Livestock rearing

2103

Individual of family business enterprise

6107

Services for others

3w4

Handicrafts

203

28

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise As for livestock and fish farming activities, it was rather difficult to measure

the amount of time spent on these activities. On the average, however, majority of the respondents reported that they spent between 1 to 2 hours daily feeding the animal, cleaning the sheds/pens, collecting the animal wastes, tethering the

animals, etc. The amount of time spent on individual or family business enterprises

was more difficult

to gauge since there were no fixed hours for such

activities.

Moreover, these activities were done simultaneously. Hence, the women might cook, watch children, sew, knit and keep an eye on the family stalls selling food

and provisions all at the same time. Handicraft activities, as mentioned earlier,

were carried out mainly in the evenings and accurate information on the amount of time spent was again difficult to obtain. But based on the women’s recollection of activities done in the past week, many said that they spent an average of 2

to 3 hours on handicrafts making.

It is clear from the above that the women’s lives in the three FELDA schemes

are characterized by long hours of work, not all of which are necessarily paid;

that women tend to work longer hours than men if work related to housekeeping, childcare, cooking and washing are taken into consideration, and that a significant proportion of their time is devoted to directly income-generating activities; that even while their households are considered as “agricultural” since their husbands are “farmers”, it is common

that more than half of their time in income-earning

activities is spent on a variety of supplementary, while the women describe their activities in husbands on the farm,” in certain activities making, providing services to others, etc, the

right. 3.6

non-agricultural work; and finally, crop cultivation as “helping the like livestock rearing, handicrafts women are engaged in their own

:

Place of Work. Information on place or location of an activity (at home or away from home)

is important to determine the compatibility of such activity with the women’s child-

raising and housekeeping responsibilities. From our survey results, it is established that while activities like livestock rearing, handicrafts making, services to others, shop-keeping, etc. are more home-based, farming and crop cultivation activities require the women to be away from home. Fortunately, the farm where they work were located not too far away. As indicated in Table 15, about 73.0% out of the total of 95 respondents involved in farming activities had to travel less than 5 kilometers to reach their work place. The common mode of transportation to the

Survey Results

29

Table 15

Distance from Home to Place of work (%) Distance (km) Less than 5 km 5-10 km

-

More than 10 km Total No. of cases

Sg. Kelamah

Bkt. Jalor

Pasoh

Overall

913

713

62

72.6

43

18.2

32

221

43

45

6

53

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

23

22

50

95

farms was the motorcycles. Another 22.1% said their farms were located between

5 to 10 km from their houses, while only 5.3% had to travel a distance of more

than 10 km to reach their farms. What can be inferred from this finding is that the women in the three FELDA schemes were prepared to work away from home, even though as unpaid family labour in the family’s farm.

CHAPTER

SOCIO - ECONOMIC 4.1

IV

ASPECTS

Introduction

Rearing of sheep and goat on rubber and oil-palm lands is becoming increasingly popular among smallholders, including FELDA settlers. The various production and management aspects of integrating these animals with crop cultivation have already been well-documented in previous literature and will therefore not be

elaborated in this study (Tan and Abraham, 1981; Wan Mansor and Tan, 1982; Ismail, 1985; and Ani Arope et.al. 1985). This section, however, focuses spe-

cifically on several socio-economic aspects of sheep and goat rearing in three FELDA schemes in relation to women’s participation in this enterprise. The major problems and constraints related to women’s participation in the sheep and goat

enterprise will also be discussed in this section.

42

Purpose of Rearing

Sheep and goat rearing constitutes one of the ways in which settlers in FELDA schemes can exploit the limited resources of land, capital and labour that are generally available to them. These animals are useful in providing not only nutrition for the family but also as a farm asset which can be readily exchanged for cash. Moreover, the same animals provide a means of utilizing the unproductive weeds

or undergrowths in the rubber and oil-palm growing areas.

Introducing sheep to

graze on the available weeds (undergrowths) will not only save on costs of weed control but also on cost of feeding the animals. This inter-relationship is one

of the most fundamental

factors of crop-livestock integration system amongst

smallholders in the country.

In analysing the socio-economic aspects of sheep and goat rearing amongst the Felda households, it is necessary to first examine what the perceptions of the women on the purpose of rearing the animals were. From Table 16, it is seen that more

than half of the female respondents interviewed considered the rearing of sheep

and goat primarily as a source of cash for the households, while the percentage reporting that it was merely for own family consumption was 27.7% Interestingly,

Socio-economic Aspects of Small Ruminant Management

31

Not a single respondent viewed the animal enterprise as one that contributes in-

directly to farm income through the use of sheep as a “biological weed control”.

This is not surprising considering the low level of awareness among women in matters related to the integration of animals with crop cultivation. Besides, their

involvement so far had been with only a small number of sheep and goats. Main Purpose

*

Source for cash

ST

Family consumption

27.7

Other reasons

15.2

Total

100.0

No. of cases

4.3

Table 16

Purpose of Rearing Goat and Sheep (%)

112

Uses of Cash Income When asked what the cash would be used for (multiple uses were given), about

49.1%

of the respondents indicated it would be used for school expenses; 23.2%

indicated it would be used for general family expenses including food, fuel and detergents (Table 17). It is interesting to note that only 6.3% cited reinvestment in the animal stock as a major use of the cash obtained from the sales of sheep Main

Table 17 Uses of Cash Income from Goat and Sheep Rearing (%)

Uses of Cash Income

% of Respondents

Children's schogl expenses

49.1

General household expenses Festival expenses

23.2 27

Health care expenses

Reinvestment in livestock Other reasons

Total No. of cases

18

63 169

100.0 4

32

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

and goat. Such responses were only to be expected since women in most rural households play a significant role as home managers and exercise an important influence over the control and management of household budget. On the other hand, decisions pertaining to occupation and production such as purchase and acquisition of capital inputs, sales of produce, reinvestment, etc. are left mainly

to the men. 4.4

Size of Flock

Sheep and goat rearing among the FELDA settlers is individually managed and

labour input is provided by size of flock was estimated sheep and goat respectively an average flock size of less

the settler or members of his family. The average to be 13 animals and 12 animals per household for (Table 18). More than half of the respondents had than 10 animals. The percentage having a flock size

of more than 30 animals was noticeably low at 1.4 % and 5.2% for sheep and

Trespectively. To a certain extent, this can be interpreted to mean that livestock enterprise is not very commercialized in the FELDA schemes surveyed and that it is only secondary to crop (rubber or oil palm) enterprise. Table

18

Average Size of Flock (%) Slze of Flock

Goat

Sheep

40 Toul

No, of Cases Mean (no. of animals/resp)

Socio-economic Aspects of Small Ruminant Management 45

Management

33

System

Sheep and goat rearing can be broadly classified into three types of management system, namely: Extensive or free grazing only; semi-intensive or combined stallfeeding and grazing; and intensive or stallfeeding only. As can be seen from Table 19, the most predominant system adopted by the

FELDA households in the three schemes surveyed is the extensive or free grazing

only system whereby the animals are let out to graze freely to feed on the natural vegetation found in abundance in the rubber or oil palm growing areas. On the other hand, as Table 19 indicates, only two respondents or 2.5% of the total Teported that they practiced the intensive system of sheep rearing whereby the animals are being entirely stallfed. For goats, 57.5% of respondents reported that

their animals are kept under the semi-intensive system while 42.5% said that they practised the extensive system of management. Table 19

Management Methods Practised by Respondents (%) No. of Resp

Extensive

Management Methods Seml-Intensive

Sheep

719

62.0

35.4

Goat

40

425

57.5

Type of Livestock

Intensive 25

An 100.0

-

100.0

Under the combined stallfeeding - grazing or semi-intensive system the animals are let out to graze freely in nearby rubber or oil palm smallholdings. The animals are usually let out in the afternoon from about 2.00 until 6.00 in the evening.

The grazing grounds for the animals are usually within the one mile radius from

their houses. It is a common practice among the FELDA households to feed the animals with supplementary feeds like maize and concentrate pellets once a day. In addition, the animals are also given drinking water which has been mixed with salt and molasses. These activities are usually performed by the women or their

adult children.

The grazing only system is less demanding on the households time since the animals are let out to graze most of the time and only taken back to the sheds in the evenings. In most instances, the animals are able to find their way back to the sheds and minimum herding is required. No supplementary feeding is given

34

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant

Enterprise

to the animals, thus reflecting their low feeding requirements.

Given this and the

telative low labour requirements of such extensive system, it is not surprising that majority of the FELDA households prefer to practice this system compared to either the semi-intensive or intensive system. 46

Family Labour

Utilization

Sheep and goat rearing is essentially a family based enterprise in which all the labour requirements are provided by household members. With very few exceptions, the livestock enterprise is usually perceived as belonging to the male head of household,

but with considerable assistance from his wife and children.

In fact, the daily chores of looking after the animals like tethering, feeding and collecting the animal waste are traditionally performed by women while the men

or their adult sons are primarily responsible for more strenuous tasks such as cutting

fodder for the animals, cleaning, washing and general repairs and maintenance of the animals sheds and pens.

The sexual division of labour in sheep and goat rearing is fairly evident in Table 20. For example, 58.2% of the respondents indicated that feeding animals was predominantly a woman’s task, while 31.3% said that it was mainly done by men. Similarly, nearly half said that it was the women who usually collect the animals waste and droppings, while 39.3% said it was the men’s responsibility. In another activity, cutting fodder/grass for the animal, 61.0% said that such task

Utilization of Family Activities

Herding,

tethering

Washing,

cleaning pens

Cuuing and collecting fodder Feeding

Collecting

animal waste

Table 20 Labour in Goat and Sheep

No. of

Husband

110

Rearing (%)

Wife

Adult

Total

39.1

42.7

18.2

100.0

112

45.5

375

17.0

100.0

41

61.0

29.3

97

100.0

67

313

58.2

10.5

100.0

112

39.3

50.0

10.7

100.0

Resp,

dominant

dominant

sons

Socio-economic Aspects of Small Ruminant Management

35

was the man’s job as compared to 29.3% who said that it was predominantly undertaken by women. The adult sons also assist in the daily tasks of taking care of the animals, and their participation is most evident in herding, tethering and cleaning and washing the animals sheds and pens. 4.7

Decision-Making

Process

In this section, the relative participation of men and women in decision-making relating to the sheep/goat enterprise is examined. Our intention here is to examine the validity of the common view that in rural society men’s decision predominate in matters related to production while women only make decisions about household matters. It should be noted that the responses we got merely reflect socially acceptable norms about who ought to control decisions on the animal enterprise, rather than the actual sphere of influence of individual husbands and wives.

Table 21 shows how the respondents viewed decision-making in matters related to the animal production and management. An interesting point to note is that

wives do not appear to be totally excluded from decisions in matters related to the production and management of the animals. In fact, in the case of decisions

involving animal management practices and husbandry, 31.1% responded Table 21 Distribution of Decision-Making In Animal

Nature of decision

Husband

Wife

(%)

Joint

Only

Decision

45.5

13.4

411

44.6

116

38.4

Choice of stock of animal to breed

8.3

18

3.2

Animal management and husbandry

128

311

56.1

Employing paid labourers

18

Sale of animals

Only

Husbandry

that it

No

Opinion

Slaughter of animals for

religious festival, family

consumption etc

:

14

86.7

96.8

36

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

was the wife’s decision as compared to only

12.8% who said that it was the

husband’s decision, while 56.1% said it was a joint decision. Responses to questions dealing with economic decision-making regarding animals, however revealed a slightly different view. For example, 45.5% of the respondents answered that it was a husband’s decision when to sell an animal and 41.1% answered that

the decision was a joint one. Similarly, 44.6% answered that their husbands decided when to slaughter animals, while 38.4% said that it was a joint decision. From

these responses, one might speculate that while many women viewed themselves as responsible for daily tasks for the upkeep of the animals, economic decisions involving the purchase, sale or slaughter of animals were made either jointly with men or by men only. 48

Sales and Purchase of Animals The degree of commercialization of the livestock enterprise as reflected by the

level of buying and selling activities is shown in Table 22. About 36.7% of

Tespondents owning sheep reported that they did sell during the last one year (referring to 1989 / 90 period), while only 25.0% of those owning goats reported sales of the animal during the same period. The percentage of respondents reporting purchases of the animals were much lower than sales. As Table 22 indicates, only 5.1% of those owning sheep reported purchasing the animals during the survey period while only 7.5% of those owning goats reported purchases. It should be noted that the number of animals bought and sold during the survey period were small, ranging between only 2 to 3 and hardly exceeded 5 animals. Based on these findings, one tends to conclude that sheep and goat rearing enterprise among

the FELDA

households under study is still semi-commercialized. Table 22 Extent of Sales and Purchases of Animals (%)

Type of Livestock

No. of Respondents Reporting Ownership

Percentage Reporting (%) Purchases Sales

Sheep

19

$1

367

Goat

40

15

25.0

Socio-economic Aspects of Small Ruminant Management 49

Income

from

37

Small Ruminants

The estimated average net income from the sheep and goat enterprise for the survey year (1989/90) is shown in Table 23. It should be noted that this income analysis is based on gross receipts and costs data obtained from respondents who

Teported sales of animals during the survey period. Since the scope of this study

did not cater for a detailed costs and returns analysis, the analysis here is only useful in providing a general idea on the magnitude of income derived from the sheep and goat rearing enterprise. As can be seen from Table 23, the average net income varies slightly depending on the number of animals sold and management systems. On the average the extensive system of rearing sheep and goat appears to be better off than the semi-

intensive system. This is not surprising considering the fact that the extensive system did not involve cost of feeding animals and is thus able to enjoy higher net income. compared to the semi-intensive system. On the whole, goat enterprise under

extensive system secured the highest net income per animal at $91.05, while the lowest was for goat enterprise under the semi-intensive system at $62.70. As for sheep, net income per animal was again generally higher for the extensive system

Net

Income

Item

from

Gross Sales

Less,

Operating expenses:

Supplementary feeds

Enterprise (M$)

Goat Semlintensive Extensive

Gross Income:

No. of animals sold

Table 23

Goat Sheep

3

25

350.00 162.00

Veterinary expenses

Misc. (medicine, sak molasses etc)

SemlIntensive

5

234.00

662.00 -

s Extensive

3

277.00

278.00

-

5.40

3.75

:

1.00

33.75

-

°

-

6.55

‘Sub-total

162.00

6.40

315.50

6.55

Net Income

69.20

188.00

227.60

346.50

270.45

Net Income/enimal

90.15

6270

91.05

38

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

compared to the semi-intensive system. Our preliminary results on income seem to suggest that the extensive system of rearing sheep and goats is generally more profitable than the semi-intensive system. 4.10

Opinions on Women’s

Participation in Sheep and Goat Enterprise

The women’s responses on several propositions pertaining to sheep and goat

enterprise were solicited in order to determine receptiveness to the enterprise,

compatibility of animal management with household responsibilities, suitability of Management system and manageable size of flock. In this connection, responses to question aimed at bringing out the interrelationships between women and sheep and goat, on the whole, did not indicate any negative attitudes of large proportion of the women. Table 24 summarizes the women’s responses to several propositions pertaining to sheep and goat rearing. The majority viewed that sheep and goat rearing did not interfere with their household responsibilities. As for methods of Tearing these animals, 86.5% were of the opinion that the extensive system whereby the animals are allowed free grazing was the most suitable since it does not require much time and labour. For a viable size of flock which could be easily handled

Women's

Table 24

Views on Goat

Propositions

and Sheep

Husbandry

(%)

No. of Resp.

Percentage Response Yes

No

Total

Can oversee management of sheep/

goat rearing since it does not

interfere household responsibilities

12

86.6

13.4

100.0

12

86.5

13.5

100.0

animals for easier management

112

75.4

24.6

100.0

Sheep is easier to rear than goats

112

TIS

225

100.0

Feeding, cleaning pens and collecting animal waste are the most convenient activities to be undertaken by women

2

82.0

18.0

100.0

Extensive management system is most

suitable since it does not require much

time and labour

Size of flock should not exceed 30

Socio-economic Aspects of Small Ruminant Management

39

by women, nearly three quarter said that it should not exceed 30 animals. It was generally agreed that sheep are easier to rear than goats. Finally, it appears that among the several activities related to animals, cleaning animals shed and collecting and cleaning animal waste are most convenient for women in the sense that these activities can be easily combined with the other normal household chores since they do not require them to leave the precincts of their houses at all. 4.11

Constraints and Problems

In view of cultural norms that sheep and goat husbandry is under the male head of household’s management, the female respondents were asked what the Major constraints to their participation in this enterprise were. All of 112 women interviewed claimed that even though goat and sheep enterprise is traditionally considered a male’s domain, their husbands did not object to their wives Participation in the animal enterprise. Another interesting finding was that majority

of the respondents claimed that they would get their husband’s full support should the FELDA authority decide to launch a “ Women’s Goat and Sheep Project”. Having established that there were no socio-cultural constraints to women’s

participation in the goat and sheep enterprise, the respondents were asked on the major constraints they faced in rearing the animals. Women's

Table 25 summarizes the

Table 25 Response to Constraints to Goat and Sheep Enterprise

Constraints

No. of Resp.

Yes

Percentage

No

Total

‘Shortage of fodder/grass for animals to feed

112

17.0

83.0

100.0

Lack of extension services

112

20.5

79.5

100.0

rates of animals

M2

33.0

67.0

100.0

Lack of technical knowledge and experience

112

22.3

717

100.0

Shortage of family lsbour

12

8.0

92.0

100.0

Marketing problem, lack of demand etc.

2

63

93.7

100.0

Disease problems, high mortality

40

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

women’s responses to several constraints related to the animal husbandry.

Some

of the pressing problems faced by the women are inadequate services and the lack

of the necessary technical knowledge and expertise of the extension agents; their own limited knowledge and competence in animal husbandry resulting in high mortality rates (15 - 30 %) and low lambing rate (50 - 55%); shortage of fodder

and grass especially during the hot dry season; and the lack of a regular supply of ewes for expanding the size of flock. Presently, majority of the respondents

said that marketing of the animals did not pose any serious problem to them and at times they were unable to fulfill the demand. This usually happens during festive seasons such as the Hari Raya Haji when the animals are slaughtered for certain Teligious rituals. As for the availability of family labour, the majority of the respondents did not perceive this as a major constraint to the animal enterprise. They generally concurred that the animal management, especially under the extensive/free grazing system, was neither labour-demanding nor time-consuming. Thus, as Table 25 indicates, only a small percentage (about 8%) claimed that they faced labour problem. On the whole, it can be safely concluded that the

sheep and goat rearing enterprise among the FELDA settlers under study in general

and the womenfolk in specific did not appear to face any major critical constraints that might warrant its discontinuity in the future.

CHAPTER SUMMARY 5.1

AND

V

CONCLUSIONS

Significance of the Results

(i) Role of Women The foregoing chapters have elicit an account of the nature and dimensions

of the economic participation of women

in three FELDA

schemes in Negeri

Sembilan, with specific reference to the small ruminant production and management. In essence, our findings suggest that in all the three FELDA schemes surveyed, women’s participation in economic activities, whether for market or nonmarket production of goods and services, was evidently overwhelming. The evidence also points to the fact that a large proportion of the women were engaged as “unpaid family workers” in their husbands’ rubber and oil-palm smallholdings. In addition, the women were also gainfully employed in supplementary income - earning activities such as providing services to others (sewing, laundering etc.), working as waged labourers in surrounding estates, doing small retailing businesses

and manufacturing local handicrafts for sales. Whilst working in the rubber and

oil-palm smallholdings was regarded as merely “supportive or supplementary to their husbands work, it is clear that the other economic activities performed by the women were undertaken in their own rights and capacities. The latter activities are usually performed by the women in the precincts of their homes, and therefore do not conflict with the women’s domestic responsibilities like cooking, washing, cleaning and tending to their. young children. In as far as the small ruminant enterprise is concerned, our study revealed that the women’s participation in all three schemes was found to be significant.

Granted that rearing livestock is not the principal preoccupation of these women,

the majority spent, on average, about 2 to 3 hours each day tending to the animals. In the daily chores of looking after the animals, there is a distinct division of

labour between the women and other members of the household who helped out

in the enterprise. Whilst chores like herding, tethering, feeding and collecting the

42

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

animal waste are normally performed by women, the more strenuous tasks of cutting and collecting grass and fodder for the animals, cleaning, washing and general maintenance of the sheds and pens are undertaken by the men, usually the husbands or adult sons. The role of the small ruminant enterprise in the FELDA schemes as perceived by the women was also examined in order to determine its potentials. It was

revealed that majority of the women interviewed perceived that the animals were

Teared mostly as a source of cash, rather than for home consumption or as a medium of exchange for other animals or goods. Interestingly, none of the women gave the reason that the animal enterprise could contribute indirectly to increased farm income through the crop-livestock integration system. Such finding only serves to show the low level of awareness amongst women that introducing goats and

sheep to graze in the smallholdings will not only save on cost of weed control but also on cost of feeding the animals, thereby increasing the farm incomes. (ii) Women’s decision-making process and perceptions

On the relative participation of men and women in decisions related to the animals enterprise, our study showed that the women were not totally excluded from the decision-making process. Such finding invalidates the common belief that in rural society only the men decide on matters related to economic activities while the women only make decisions pertaining to household or domestic matters. However, it was interesting to note that even in decision-making on the small Tuminant enterprise there appeared to be some gender division. Hence, while the women were primarily responsible for decisions on the daily management of the animals, economic decisions regarding sale, purchase or slaughter of the goats and sheep were made predominantly by the men. The women’s responses on several propositions pertaining to the small ruminant enterprise highlighted some pertinent findings. Firstly, the women were generally receptive to the proposition that they could oversee the management of the enterprise on their own since it did not interfere with their daily household responsibilities. As for the management system of the animals, the vast majority opined that extensive or free grazing system would be most suitable since it would not demand much of their time and labour. On viable flock size, majority agreed

that it should not exceed 30 animals per family for easier control and management.

On the whole, it was found that sheep were easier to rear under extensive system

Summary

and Conclusions 43

of management than goat because of the former's easy natural herding habits. Finally, our study also established that there were no serious socio-cultural barriers to women’s participation in the small ruminant enterprise even though sheep and goat husbandry is traditionally considered a male-dominated activity. (iii) Constraints Notwithstanding the positive attitudes exhibited by the women towards rearing these animals on the farm, a number of problems and constrains were nonetheless brought to light by the study. It should be noted, however that some of the constraints discussed are not specific to the women only but are also equally relevant to the men. First, it was abundantly clear that the small ruminant enterprise in

all three schemes was not highly commercialized. As stated by the women, the

primary purpose of keeping the animals was as a supplementary source of cash for the households. Many of them perceived sheep and goat rearing as only a

part-time semi-commercialized activity and secondary to their husbands’ rubber and oil palm enterprises. Hence, a reorientation of the women’s attitudes and values is necessary before any efforts to commercialize the small ruminant enterprise among smallholders can be successful.

The low degree of commercialization of the small ruminant enterprise could also be attributed to the low level of financial and management resources among the settlers’ families. It was thus not surprising to find that a significant proportion of the households could only afford a flock of less than 10 animals or sometimes even as low as between 4 to 5 animals at any one time. Another indicator of the low degree of commercialization of goat and sheep rearing is the low level

of selling and buying activities, thus making it difficult for us to confidently assess the economic

attractiveness of the enterprise.

Another major constraint to future intensification of women’s participation in goat and sheep rearing is inadequate and poor extension services. Some reasons to explain this poor performance include lack of technical expertise on animal husbandry among extension agents themselves; insensitiveness of the male extension agents on gender-related issues in sheep and goat rearing; the relatively few women extension workers providing direct advisory and supportive services; and low level of literacy among the women which account for low transfer of technology and knowledge. Considering the women’s substantial role in the sheep and goat rearing enterprise, it would seem that animal management husbandry could be

44

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

significantly improved if extension effort were more directly focused towards ‘women.

Intensification of sheep and goat rearing in the three FELDA schemes surveyed is also constrained by the current system of management practised. The heavy reliance on the extensive or free grazing system limits the number of animals that could be supported per household due to shortage of grazing land. Although the tubber and oil - palm smallholdings provide abundant grazing areas for the animals,

the availability of fodder grass is however severely reduced during the dry period. This means additional labour is required to cut and collect grass to stallfeed the

animals. The inavailability of family labour to carry out this work may pose a serious constraint to future expansion of the small ruminant enterprise among smallholders. 52

Implications

Finally, although this study was intended to probe into the nature and dimensions of women’s participation in small ruminant rearing enterprise, more importantly it is also aimed at highlighting the possible policies and programmes which could be initiated or strengthened in order to bring about a positive impact on women in the rural sector. For example, the study pointedly draw our attention to the potentially significant role of public policies in facilitating an improved economic Participation of women. In particular, public investments in the field of primary health care, family planning,

education,

training, skill development and utilities

are necessary prerequisites in setting the stage for a more active female labour force participation. These prerequisites are crucial to improve women’s economic

leverages, thus enhancing their employment potential, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Another important policy implication concems the government's agricultural extension policy which needs to be revised to have a sharper focus on women's

farmers. There should be

a deliberate effort to include more women in the

extension network both as extension agents and as recipient of extension services

(Ludgate et al. 1989).

It is generally felt that female extension staff can relate

and interact more easily with women farmers, especially in countries where men -women contact is somewhat restricted. Female extension agents are also more

sensitive to the dual responsibilities of women farmers and the resultant double burden work of taking care of the family and tending to agricultural and livestock production. The sexual imbalance among extension administrators and workers

Summary

and Conclusions 45

should be immediately rectified since an increased proportion of women in the

extension network would certainly improve the communication flow and rapport between agents and recipients of the services. Hence what is needed here is a reorientation of the government extension policy which could specifically addressed these gender-related issues and concems. Beside general policy matters, there is a need for direct intervention by the relevant government agencies to design and implement special women-focused

programmes in small ruminant enterprise.

It is understood

that several agencies,

namely RISDA and LPP, have embarked upon such programmes but the number is too small to have any significant impact. What is therefore needed is a more serious commitment by all agricultural agencies concerned to incorporate womenfocused programme as an integral part of their overall development strategies. Specific training programmes should be initiated to promote knowledge and expertise in animal husbandry among women. Other programmes needed include provision of credit and subsidy, extension services, marketing and information.

Although training-cum-credit schemes are quite common, a full package offer has not been well established, especially in a relatively new economic pursuit such

as the small ruminant enterprise. For better coordination and implementation, women’s associations or organizations such as GPW, KEMAS, etc., should be invited to participate in the women’s group projects. They can provide the much needed vehicle at the village level and also serve as a lobbying group for improved policies and programmes on female labour force participation.

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Malaya. Department of Statistics. 1970 Population Census. Malaysia. Department of Statistics. 1980 Population Census. Devendra C., ed. (1990). Small Ruminant Production System Network for Asia. Proceedings of the Inaugural Meeting and Launching of the Asian Small Ruminant Information Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21-23 Aug. 1989. Ottawa : IDRC, 1990. Dixon, Ruth B., (1978).

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Firth, Rosemary (1943). Housekeeping among Malay Peasants. London : Percy Lund, Humphries.

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Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

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Production

with

THE SURVEY WOMEN'S

QUESTIONNAIRE

PARTICIPATION IN SMALL RUMINANT MANAGEMENT AND HUSBANDRY

GENERAL

INFORMATION

ENTERPRISE

ON WOMEN

1, Respondent's Name:

2. Age of Respondent: 3. Marital Status: 4. Highest Education Achieved: 5. Institutional Affiliation/Membership: 6. Address: Name of Interviewer: Date of Interview: Remarks: A. ACTIVITY

DATA

SECTION

A2

Could you tell me whether you did .............. (activity) in the past 12 months period? (Record if "Yes" in column 2).

A3

What was it that you did?

(Record response in Column

3).

50 AA AS

Wemen's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise How many hours/minutes did you do yesterday? (Record response in Column 4). For how many days in the past month did you do .. (Record response in Column 5).

.. (activity)?

A6

How much time (hours / minutes) did you do ......... (activity) in a typical day. (Record response in Column 6).

AZ

How much did you receive in cash before any deductions? (Record response in column 7. If unpaid, put "no pay").

A8

Did you do ...... (activity) at or around your dwelling or how far (in kms.) did you travel (one way) from your dwelling to do this activity / work? (Record response

Ad

in Column

8.

If at home

record

"HOME").

Were any children 10 years old or younger normally with you when you did ..... (activity)?. By "normally" I mean half the time or more. (Record response in Coloum 9.

B. HOUSEHOLD HELP AND CONVENIENCES (APPLICABLE IF CHILDREN LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD IN HOUSEHOLD) Bl

Can you tell me who usually help you to take care of your children who

are under 2 years of age and are 2-5 years of age? (GIVE RELATIONSHIP TO RESPONDENT) la)

Who would you say usually spends the most time in this regard?

(CIRCLE THIS PERSON).

Childcare

activity

Babysitting/ childminding Changing/

washing children's clothes

Children < 2 yrs

Children 2-5 yrs

(pec)

Other income

laundering)

Sefempl

ie

Activity

@)

@)

(4)

activity | Yesterday

yes

Mark | Nawure if of

)

No. of hrs.

mjonth ins ppical day

No. of days |

Amount of Time

A. ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

Appendix 51

52

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

QF YOU USE CRECHE/CHILD CARE FACILITIES) Ib) 1c) 1d) le)

How

much do you pay for this?...........00

Are you or are you not satisfied with these facilities?

(C]__

Why

Satisfied

(CL Not satisfied

do you feel this way?

How could this be improved?

B.2 What happens when one of your children gets sick? Is there anyone who helps you to care for them?

2 Yes, others help

C1 No @o to B.3)

2a) Who?

(INDICATE TH§ RELATIONSHIP TO RESPONDENT)

B.3 What type of cooking fuel do you use most of the time?

[C1

Charcoal

C1

sGas

(CL)

(Sticks & wood CI Electricity

(1) Kerosene

Others (specify)

B.4 Where do you get your water for drinking and cooking?

(C1 _sPipe in the house (1

sPipe in street from another neighbourhood

(1 __

Other sources (specify)

() Pipe in nearby street/ house/ department

[[)

Well water/ pump water

Appendix

C.

LIVESTOCK

C.1 Do you or any member of the household own livestock?

CI

syYes

(1s

No Gnd Interview)

C.2 Which animals do you own or did you own within last year?

(RECORD ON FOLLOWING

CHART.

(REPBAT C.2a to C2e FOR EACH TYPE OF ANIMAL OWNED AND RECORD

CHART)

2a) 2b) 2c) 2d)

How many———{animals) How many———{animals) How many———(animals) How many———{animals)

do did did did

you you you you

ON FOLLOWING

own now? sell in the past 12 months? buy in the past 12 months? consume in the past 12 months?

2. Information om Livestock Type of

Livestock Dairy cattle-

native

Dairy catle-

Beef catilenative

Beef cattlecrossbred Buffalo

Others (specify)

If own:

No. at present

No. sold

in last 12 months

No, bought

in last 12 months

No. consumed

in last 12 months

No. of young

bom in last 12 months

53

54°

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

(F OWNS EGG OR MILK PRODUCING ANIMAL.) Ask C.2f to C.2g and RECORD ON APPROPRIATE CHART)

2e) How much milk (eggs) on average did you get in a week?--------------

2f) How much of this did you 2g) How

sell?-----------------

(unit)

much did you received for each? Quantity

Animal

Amount

per week

eggs

Price

per week

milk

eggs

(tit.)

milk

dit)

eggs

milk

(per lit.)

Chickens Ducks

Goats Buffaloes Others

(specify) C.3 Did you hire anyone to help you with these animals, such as caring, milking or feeding / grazing them?

C1

¥es (Go to 3a)

1

No (Go to ca)

3a) How many people (men/women/boys/girls) did you hire; and for how many hours in a day? Task

Males No. of

Caring,

| Cleaning, etc

No. of

Female No. of

No. of

No. of

No. of

Appendix

C4

How

much did you spend on the following items for your goat/sheep in

the past 12 months?

Cost in $

Expenses Feed

Grazing fees Medici Innoculations/veterinary fees Amificial insemination fees plus cost of semen

Others (specify)

C.5 Family Labour Utilization in Goat/Sheep Husbandry Owner

Wife

Son

Daughter

Duration of Tasks

(hrs.Mday) the animals

shed or pens

Cunting fodder Feeding the stallfed animals Collecting manure

under the shed

55

56

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

D. PARTICIPATION HUSBANDRY.

IN

GOAT

AND

SHEEP

MANAGEMENT

AND

D.1 What are the main reasons for rearing sheep/goat at home? (LIST IN ORDER

OF IMPORTANCE)

(a) Animals are kept mostly as a source cash (b) For own family consumption (C) Other reasons: .......ssscscsssserseseee If D.1(a),

What is the cash used for?

H

Yes

No

(a)

Children's school expenses

(b)

(including food, fuel and provisions)

CO

(c)

For expenses during festivals (e.g. Hari Raya, khenduris)

C

C]

(©)

For investment in livestock

oO

oO

(f)

Others (specify):

oo

For general household expenses

D.2 Whom

CI C]

do you think should be responsible for making decisions regarding

(a)

Sale of Animals

(b)

Slaughter of animals for family consumption

(c) Choice of stock of animal to breed (d)

Animals management & husbandry

(e)

Employing paid labourers

UO000 OU00 OOOO

the various aspects of the animal husbandry:

Appendix

57

D.3 Among the various husbandry activities, which do you think is the most convenient for women to undertake?

(a) Herding, tethering animals

(b) Washing and cleaning pens & sheds (©) Cutting and collecting grass

oO

Oo |

(@) Feeding the animals

CJ

(©) Collecting and cleaning animals waste

LC]

D.4 What are the major problems and constraints you faced in sheep and goat rearing?

(b) Lack of extension services

(©) Disease problems leading to high mortality rates (d) Lack of technical knowledge & expertise

of family labour (©) Shortage

(f) Marketing problems

OOO000

(a) Shortage of grass/fodder

D.5 Can you please give your opinions on the following proposition. (a) Can oversee management of sheep/goat rearing on our own since it does not interfere household

‘biliti

(b) Extensive management

system is most suitable

since it does not require much time and labour

Yes

CL)

No

CO oO

58

Women's Participation in Small Ruminant Enterprise

(c) Size of flock should not exceed 30 animals for easier management

(d) Sheep is easier to rear than goats (©) Feeding, cleaning pens and collecting animals waste are the most convenient activities to be undertaken by women

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