Shifting Nepali Farms As Men Migrate

Not long ago, 50-year-old Maya Devi Kandel worked from dawn to dusk on her farm in Sharanpur-16 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City in the Chitwan district. Besides the gruelling farm work, she had to support her two young children, aged two and four. 

With her husband working in India, Kandel became the sole caretaker of her children and the farm. Her husband's insufficient income forced her to juggle child-rearing with gruelling farmwork. Each morning at 6 am, she toiled in the fields until the sun was high. Farming was a lifeline for her family’s survival.

“My past days felt like a bad dream because I could not even feed my children properly,” she said. “No one trusted me. Even when I asked to borrow raw rice, they refused, doubting whether I would be able to return it.”

Gradually, she learnt to cultivate a variety of vegetables, including cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, radish, bitter gourd, chilli, coriander, tomato, and brinjal, and sell them in the market. She faced the challenges alone, as there were no male members in her family. “I didn’t know anything at first. I just watched my neighbours and followed what they did. I planted whatever was in season and took it to the market by myself,” she said. Over time, this made her stronger and capable of making decisions for her family, such as where her children should study and what they should learn.

Her perseverance paid off as she achieved enough success to bring her husband back from India to assist in farming. At the time, she had only five katthas (1692 square meters) of land, but by leasing one and a half bigha (10 katthas) of land from others, she expanded her vegetable farming. Now she owns 10 katthas of land, which she proudly mentioned she purchased by selling vegetables.

Today, Kandel’s life has transformed. One recent morning, she relaxed on the terrace, playing with her grandson. She called out to him to drink the milk she had prepared.

Kandel’s journey from struggling farmer to successful entrepreneur reflects a larger shift in Nepal’s agricultural landscape. Women are increasingly stepping into roles traditionally dominated by men, as outmigration reshapes farm labour across the nation.

Once she started growing different types of vegetables and selling them in the market, Kandel never had to look back. “I was able to send my children to the city for higher studies, and now both of them are abroad,” she said, adding that her daughter is in Portugal and son in Japan, pursuing better education and employment. Thanks to training on Integrated Pest Management and leadership from government and NGOs, she has become adept at using chemicals responsibly and timing her vegetable planting for optimal yield. 

A study published in the Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology in December 2022 found the growing feminisation of agriculture in Nepal was driven by male out-migration. Conducted in Gorkha and Chitwan districts, the research revealed women now bear a significantly heavier workload—an average of 86.5 hours per week compared to men's 55.5 hours—without substantial empowerment or improvement in well-being. 

While women increasingly participate in agricultural decision-making, the study found a decline in the productivity of key crops and rising food insecurity. Remittances have become a vital income source for female-headed households but are primarily used for consumption rather than investment, according to the research.

This shift, experts like Yamuna Ghale point out, often goes unrecognised and does not equate to full empowerment in agriculture. The concept of the feminisation of agriculture is often misunderstood in the current context, said Ghale, a food security expert and expert member of the National Nutrition and Food Security Committee under the National Planning Commission. While women are increasingly involved in agriculture, most do not own the land they work on. “Therefore, we should say there is a feminisation of agricultural tasks, not of agriculture as a whole,” she said.

Unsafe farming

Even though a large number of women who engage in agriculture are women, they face heightened vulnerability to unsafe chemical use, especially as they take on more farming responsibilities due to male migration, according to Menila Kharel, Thematic Lead-sustainable Agriculture and Markets at Practical Action Nepal, an international development organisation.

“This has severe health implications, yet agricultural safety and farmer health often receive inadequate attention. It is critical to prioritise women farmers' safety and health by promoting mass awareness, implementing supportive policies, and adopting safe food production as a national agriculture standard,” she said. Ensuring the well-being of women who produce our food is essential for sustainable, safe, and responsible agriculture, she added.

Women have played a pivotal role in agriculture, but they also bear a heavier burden than men, as they must manage both family and children alongside farming. With many Nepali men migrating to urban areas or abroad for employment, women are left to shoulder the dual responsibilities of family care and agricultural work, increasing their overall workload and challenges, she said. 

Around 60 per cent of the total population is engaged in agriculture, and among them, 80 per cent are women, according to Kharel. These women are the primary users of chemicals on farms, which increases their exposure and makes them more vulnerable to the effects of the chemicals. 

“On one hand, they have to bear the entire burden of their family, and on the other, exposure to harmful chemicals is deteriorating their health. Yet, their labour is not acknowledged,” she said. “Now we need to focus on standard farming practices for their safety.” 

Even Kandel, the farmer, said the use of pesticides has reduced by almost half compared to previous years. “I used to be unaware of how much or which pesticides to use. After attending several training sessions, I have learnt how and when to use chemicals. Now I minimise their use on my farm and adopt safer farming practices.”

Identify crisis

Women in agriculture often lack identity, where either they are recognised as a farmer’s wife or a farm labourer, according to “Women Farmers: Unheard Being Heard,” a book edited by Sugandha Munshi and Madhulika Singh. “We often miss the obvious women farmers in South Asia who contribute 60 per cent to farm practices like sowing, transplanting, fertiliser application, weeding, harvesting, and winnowing but are merely recognised and provided an equal level playing field.” 

Despite the majority of women involved in agriculture in Nepal, they often lack access to land ownership—only 19 per cent of women hold land in their name, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. This imbalance limits their ability to gain economic independence despite their essential role in food production.

Pradyumna Raj Pandey, a senior agri-economist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said the number of women owning residential land in Nepal is higher than that of men, primarily due to tax incentives for women. However, women's ownership of agricultural land is significantly lower.

“The involvement of women in agriculture is increasing, largely due to male out-migration. While this shift has positively impacted women's development and leadership, the income generated from agriculture—both in the market and across the farm-to-fork chain—remains uncertain due to weak value chain systems,” Pandey added.

Kharel, said while fewer women have land ownership certificates, they can be empowered through gender-responsive policies, awareness programmes and skill-oriented training to improve production and protect them from the harmful effects of pesticides.

She questioned the safety of the global population, stating that with the rising demand for food production, around 14.4 million women who engaged in agriculture are exposed to pesticides, leading to their weakened health and the consumption of unsafe vegetables.

Devendra Gauchan, an agriculture economist, attributed women's higher engagement in agriculture to the substantial agricultural activities in the country, with women primarily producing food for their families. In rural areas, male migration leaves women responsible for household tasks, farming, and livestock management.

“The outmigration of men is leaving women to manage farmland, worsening the situation as all the tasks previously handled by men now fall on women," Gauchan said.

“There is a growing trend of feminisation and ageing in agriculture. Women have three roles within the family: reproduction, production, and social responsibilities. However, only their production role, which can be monetised, is recognised by the government. The reproductive and social burdens that women carry, which cannot be monetised, remain unacknowledged," he said, echoing another expert, Ghale.

By the year 2050, the world will need to produce 60 per cent more food to feed a population of 9.3 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Nearly 400 million women worldwide are engaged in farm-related activities, comprising 40 per cent of the agricultural labour force, according to the book, “Women Farmers: Unheard Being Heard.” “Ignoring women's roles in agriculture could have serious consequences for addressing hunger. Women's labour contributions account for nearly half of agricultural work, and neglecting their needs and failing to support their progression will pose a significant obstacle to feeding the world,” it said.

Balancing work and family

As women's participation in farming increases, they find themselves struggling to balance work and family life. Despite their growing role in agricultural production, experts point out that men continue to dominate family decision-making.

Ghale, the food security expert, said women have taken on significantly more responsibilities due to the migration of male family members.

“Previously, men operated large machines used in farming, and women took on responsibilities such as harvesting, seed management, and household tasks. Now, with the migration of male members, women face an added burden—they have to use heavy machines in the field, take care of their families and children, and even find markets for their produce,” she said, adding that true ownership of agricultural assets still rests with men, regardless of their physical presence.

To achieve true feminisation of agriculture and empower more women, the government must provide incentives tailored to their specific needs, according to Ghale. She said many of the machines currently offered as incentives are designed with men in mind, making them impractical for women, especially in households without male members to operate them. As a result, these poorly planned incentives remain underutilised and fail to address the unique challenges faced by women in agriculture.

“Without access to such support, women remain unaware of market values and pricing, as they are often excluded from market spaces where these decisions are made. Similarly, decision-making processes are predominantly controlled by male members, leaving women with minimal influence over matters that directly impact their livelihoods,” Ghale said.

The growing use of Chinese machinery for paddy cultivation, harvesting, and ploughing, which has reduced the need for extensive human labour, according to Pandey, the senior agro-economist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development. However, he noted a critical gap in accessibility for women farmers. “These machines are currently not women-friendly,” Pandey said. “When certain parts malfunction, the machines are often left unused due to a lack of repair facilities.”

To address this, the government is working on introducing women-friendly machinery and accessories, enabling women to repair and maintain them independently for use on their farms, according to him.

The government plans to introduce a custom handling system to enable group sharing and maintenance of agricultural machines at designated facilities. Women are also receiving training on quarantine, pesticide control, pest identification, and organic pest management, according to Pandey.

Despite government plans to introduce women-friendly machinery and training programmes, farmers like Bhagwati Giri continue to face a double burden. Giri, a farmer and school teacher from Patarasi Rural Municipality in Jumla, juggles her role at the Women Section under the Rural Municipality with the demanding responsibilities of managing her farm alone. “We are the ones working in the fields. We have to gather firewood, care for our families, and collect water,” she said, describing the weight of traditional duties that women like her have borne for generations. 

(The author is a journalist at The Rising Nepal.)