Women’s Greater Participation in Agriculture: Implications for Energy Expenditure, Time Use, and Nutrition from a Case Study in Telangana, India

Several aspects of rural transformation in LMICs call for greater participation by women in agriculture. However, empirical evidence does not show a clear link between greater participation by women in agriculture and improved nutritional status. This paper examines two key nutrition impact pathways – changes in energy demands and time-use patterns due to increased participation in agriculture. The study is based on data collected from rural agricultural households across agricultural seasons in Adilabad District, Telangana State, India. A novel aspect of the study is the use of accelerometers for energy expenditure assessments. Our findings show that increased participation by women in agriculture leads only to modest rises in energy demand and physical activity levels, as agricultural tasks are not much more energy-intensive than the domestic/care activities they replace. Increased energy expenditure due to more time spent on agricultural activities is generally offset by higher calorie intake, with no significant impacts on calorie adequacy. However, increased participation in agriculture significantly changes women’s time-use patterns, reducing time for domestic work, leisure, and care, which may affect nutrition and wellbeing. Impacts on nutrition and wellbeing are more likely to arise from changes in time-use patterns than from increased energy demands of agricultural work.