By-Gaurav Kumar,
Praveen Kumar Tiwari,
V.R. Upadhayay,
Nikita Bhalakiya
Ph.D. Scholars, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal
Introduction:
The beginnings of livestock keeping date back from ages. The women played a key role in the process of domesticating the major livestock species. Before the onset of farming, in the hunter-gatherer stage of human evolution, men were hunters, while women gathered plants and fruits. These type of tasks were allotted to women as they have role in reproduction and child care, which restricted them to activities that could be conducted in tandem with nursing and taking care of infants. In view of ethnographic perceptions about women nursing young animals, it is accepted by the scientists that women played a very important role in the taming of young stock and also established a strong bonding between humans and young animals during the early phases of domestication.
The changeover from hunting to herding animals had important connotations and implications for the stratification of human society: while hunted animals for the most part have no specific owner, tamed creatures are private property; their ownership was the first step towards wealth differentials within society. Considering the role that women, as a home and hearth bound segment of society, may have played in taming, nursing and raising the first livestock, it is logical to assume that they were also the world’s first livestock owners.
Most poor livestock keepers are female:
Women compose not only around 70 percent of the poor people, but they also make up most of poor livestock keepers. As indicated by a broad investigation by ILRI of the 600 million poor livestock keepers all over the world, about two-thirds are women and majority of them lives in rural areas. The report of State of Food and Agriculture 2009 suggests that rural women are equally capable as men to keep livestock, in spite of the fact that the quantity of animals they keep will in general be lower and they are more likely to own poultry and small ruminants than large animals.
In Asian intensive livestock systems, more than three-quarters of livestock-related tasks (feeding, taking care of young and sick animals, milking, etc.) are the responsibility of women. In India, the livestock industry is dominated by women, they provides about more than half of employed livestock-farming labour and they performs around three-quarters of the work involved in taking care of livestock. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of people employed in dairying are women.
Women as keepers of locally adapted livestock breeds:
Women compose the majority of poor livestock keepers, prefer easily manageable animals and depend on access to common-property resources, and that agriculture is becoming increasingly feminized, it can be concluded that women are the main users and caretakers of locally adapted livestock breeds. In addition, because of the absence of appropriate extension services, women lack the training needed to manage high-performance breeds. By using locally adapted breeds to pursue their often precarious livelihoods, women also conserve and develop these breeds. This holds true especially for species that are usually in the female domain, such as poultry, pigs and goats.
Gender issues around livestock:
Many aspects of livestock keeping, including knowledge, labour, ownership, and user rights are gendered. Women tend to take over male tasks if there is no suitable male available to perform urgent work such as taking animals for grazing, milking of animals etc. Women that milk animals will know their temper, health status and mothering behaviour. Women are the first to notice when an animal is in heat or becomes sick. They know the feed preferences of individual animals and try to feed them accordingly. They know the likes and dislikes, temperament and milking behaviour of each animal. In many societies, cattle and larger animals are owned by men, while smaller animals, such as goats and backyard poultry, which are kept near the house, are under the control of women.
Women as managers of livestock diversity:
The women are playing a very worthy role in managing the livestock diversity from many centuries because they are saddled with the task of taking care of their families’ livelihoods while men are absent and looking for wage labour in the cities. Apart from this, women always try to make an active and conscious contribution to the management of animal genetic resources. Women select animals that are friendly, easy to handle and worry-free. They prefer such animals over those that may have high production potential, but require more time, attention and inputs.
Impacts of the Livestock Revolution on women:
When livestock keeping changes from a subsistence mode to an exclusively market-oriented mode, then the local breed of livestock are often replaced by improved breeds or cross-bred with exotic breeds. This has the consequences for the type of animals kept as well as for the position of women as their workload is increased. A switch to market orientation means changed work routines and changed rights of disposal over the earned income for women. The workload of women is also significantly increased when outside agencies seek to prevent overgrazing and therefore promote stall-feeding and cut and carry feeding systems.
Women as guardians of livestock diversity:
Women always try to conserve local livestock breeds as a part of their heritage and because of the breed’s socio-cultural significance. Women played a crucial role in a project for reviving the Tharparkar cattle breed, which lives in the Thar Desert straddling the border between India and Pakistan. The breed had been diluted because of a variety of circumstances, including restrictions on migration across the international border and mingling with other breeds. In this situation, women formed a group for the development “of our livestock” and discussed how to better take care of the animals and save money for credit. Their husbands and village elders eventually took the women’s opinions into account in the planning of the breed-development programme. The Adivasi women of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, India, are protecting Aseel poultry and other local strains because they are of major cultural importance to them. Chickens are the only resources completely owned by the women, who control their sales and breeding.
Conclusion
The ample of studies and information is available suggesting the strong bonding between women and livestock. The women compose the majority of livestock keepers, but they prefer to keep locally adapted livestock rather than exotic or improved breeds. Women are the major actors in subsistence livestock keeping; as soon as livestock keeping becomes commercialized, men tend to take over. Women prefer livestock that are easy to take care of, do not increase their workload and are not prone to diseases, which also implies a preference for locally adapted breeds. A supportive attitude by women is essential for the continuation of traditional livestock keeping.
