Kathmandu, May 10:

Women do 70 per cent of work related to dairy production, though only 10 per cent of milk products are sold officially, states a research conducted in 10 districts of the western development region in 2004-05 by the Gender and Equity Environment Division (GEED) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Women’s engagement in dairy farming has improved living standard of their families, led to increased investment in children’s education and improvement in health of family members.

Another research conducted by the GEED in 42 districts and 158 farmers’ groups — men’s groups, women’s groups and mixed groups — in 2004-05 says though women and men have equal access to resources and revenues generated from agricultural products, women have less access in handling these resources.

Compared to men, women have almost no access to new technologies related to their occupation, the report says.

Only eight per cent of women from women’s groups and eight per cent of women from the mixed groups have access to new technologies.

The women’s groups have also developed the trend of collecting welfare funds.

Ninety-five per cent of the funds collected have been mobilised, which is very high as compared to the men’s mixed group, it said.

The women farmers group have taken loan amounting to Rs 5,000 from the Group’s Saving Mobilisation, which is over three times compared to men’s group.

They have been borrowing more money from the body because they have less access to financial institutions compared to men.

Due to women’s involvement in income-generating activities, men have been helping them do the household chores.