International Journal of Research and Review Vol.7; Issue: 11; November 2020 Website: www.ijrrjournal.com Research Paper E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237 Tribal Women and Economic Significance: A Comprehensive Study Appala Naidu Pappala Post-Doctoral Fellow (ICSSR), Department of Anthropology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530003 ABSTRACT Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), New York in 2015, all the members have made more rd This study conducted from 9th February to 3 than 700 commitments to action with a March 2020, interviewed a total of 46 tribal focus on women and girls, domestically. women farmers aged 15-49 included the Through these commitments, women and pregnant women and lactating mothers were girls have greater access to education and selected randomly in a comprehensive view. It aims to determine about the patterns and health care; opportunities to make their dynamics of tribal women's participation in voices heard without a threat of violence; economic activities, and also recognized hard and increased access to the formal economy. work in performance of the agriculture and podu A progress in development and operations from the Lotheru village in ITDA empowerment has not translated into Paderu revenue division of Visakhapatnam proportional gains. Findings of the study district. Empirical data about aspects of socio- have been suggested that the women must economic and demographic profile, work enter into a labour force of the country on participation, occupational distribution and an equal foothold with men and get occupational classification collected with the integrated into the system.[18] Women are help of anthropological tools and techniques the 'silent majority' of particularly such as observations, case studies and discussions. All data were coded and analyzed vulnerable, poor and the most disadvantaged group, they constitute almost half of the with the SPSS-18 version. On the basis of [17] findings, the highest percentage of tribal women developing countries like India. The belonged to marginal, poor income and low status of women is often described in term literacy farmer groups. The participation of levels of income, employment, education, tribal women was reported that the higher health and fertility as well as their role in a significantly in the agro-economic activities can family, a community and a society. be categorized like seed selection included Although, issues of the women have not hulling and inter-cultivation, whereas in case of solved and taken by many governments land preparation, showing, harvest and post- seriously. harvest activities. Key words: Economic Significance, Lotheru, 1.1. Women in Agricultural Society Tribal Women, Work Participation An agricultural society has its own distinctive symbiotic relationship with INTRODUCTION nature and people. The some historians and Universal access to economic agriculturists believed that it was women opportunities and education as well as who first domesticated the crop plants, health care of women globally, has more thereby initiating the farming of art and [19] significant positive outcomes for reducing science. Since the time of Neolithic poverty. In short, empowering women is agriculture, this distinctiveness has lain in central to sustainable development.[22] Since the central role of women in society and the inception of the 5th annual meeting of culture. Primarily, it was she involved in International Journal of Research and Review (ijrrjournal.com) 68 Vol.7; Issue: 11; November 2020 Appala Naidu Pappala. Tribal women and economic significance: a comprehensive study gentling, nurturing and breeding; it was her [1,2,5,7] leading to wide economic disparities, capacity for tenderness and love which gave [11,13,15] poverty feminization, [4,6,8] increased the earliest agricultural settlements, their gender inequality through deteriorating touch of food security, receptivity, working conditions and an unsafe working enclosure, nurture and it was she who made environment, especially in the rural fully possible the growth of civilization. [10] communities. [14,16,20,21] There is paucity of In India, an agrarian society representing a data on the tribal women and their economic complex social system with its significance. Hence, the researcher carried heterogeneous nature, women and economic out the present work on "Tribal Women and significance are relatively fixed and Economic Significance: A Comprehensive expected. Study." It reveals that an economic activity Indian agriculture comprises mainly by time and energy spent is enormous marginal and small farmers. In 2013-14, considering the women's participation in the budget share of agriculture in total GDP income of tribal households. This study is a (18%) and is expected to reduce to 7-8% by part of PDF (ICSSR, New Delhi) which 2019. [11] A large part of the farms are rain- mainly focused on the impact of fed, spread over 200 million hectares and Government schemes on maternal constitute 62 per cent of the country's total morbidity. geographical area. The rain-fed agriculture supports 40 percent of the country's 1.2. Tribal Economy: Agro-Forest Mixed population, and has a large share of cropped This study with a comprehensive area under paddy (42%), pulses (77%), view to generate useful information on oilseeds (66%) and coarse cereals (85%). various aspects of the tribal women's According to the Ministry of Agriculture & participation in different economic activities Farmers Welfare, [9] nearly 72% of rural and significance undertaken, particularly, population are depending directly or anthropology domain which involves indirectly on agriculture for job analysis of data from the multiple sources. opportunities, more than that of any other The economy of tribals is a close sectors. relationship between economic life and The socio-economic and caste natural environment or habitat which is in census 2011 reports that almost 40% of general, a forest. Tribals of India belong to rural households fall under the "excluded" different economic stages, with overlapping category, as they do not fulfill the basic stages in the broader framework of the state parameters of inclusion. Just about 8.3% of economy. Nowadays, tribal societies are rural households reported a monthly income exposed to harsh realities of modern life, of over ₹. 10,000/- for the highest earning where they have to negotiate with the member. Average half of the rural changing environment that is fast posing a households derive the income mainly from threat to their existence. Transitional daily wage labour, whereas 30% from the process from food gathering to industrial farm cultivation. Despite Indian women labour brings external influences and have played an integral part in the farming induces internal challenges that are and agricultural production, the gender sometimes detrimental to the socio-cultural division of labour remains unchanged. fabric of tribal societies. The emphasis on Women contributed in agricultural infrastructural projects such as the mining, operations right from transplanting to strong construction and industries has led to the about three fourth of the labour required for forced eviction of people from their roots, production. Eventually relegated women to thereby depriving them of their livelihood the exclusive role of the housewife. and homeland. Many studies have focused on the financial benefits are unevenly distributed, International Journal of Research and Review (ijrrjournal.com) 69 Vol.7; Issue: 11; November 2020 Appala Naidu Pappala. Tribal women and economic significance: a comprehensive study 1.3. Tribal Women: Roles and Status 2.1. Study Area Tribal women contribute and This study focused on vulnerable participate to the family economy positively communities particularly the tribal women along with men in subsistence agricultural of Lotheru village in the Eastern Ghats of activities except ploughing. They share Andhra Pradesh. Administratively, the study major responsibilities in the production village belonging to Araku Valley mandal in process. In reality, women do more work the ITDA Paderu revenue division, than their men. In addition, they have to Visakhapatnam district, it is a high density manage household chores, which is a of the tribal populated village. During 9th stupendous task. Child rearing is also the February to 3rd March 2020, the field work responsibility of the women. The work of for data collection was conducted in the tribal women is always more than their study area (Figure 1). counterparts as they have round annually, unlike men who enjoy seasonal and 2.2. Data Source periodical leisure. According to Prasada Rao Primary data collected on socio- 1976, [12] if she is playing an important role economic situations included demographics in economic activity particularly and adding of the tribal households with a help of substantial income to her family, she will anthropological methods and techniques achieve a status that is equal to man and such as observations, case studies, further she will have a voice in the decision interviews and discussions both formal and making process for her family. non-formal. A total sample of 46 tribal women in reproductive aged 15-49 included 1.4. Relevance of the Study the pregnant women and lactating mothers This study has much contemporary interviewed on their observations and social relevance, occupies an important experiences by randomly administering a position in a field of development studies. structured schedule. For the secondary