A change in the outlook of society towards women and education of girls was vital for empowerment of women, speakers said at a convention for rural women empowerment held at BCT Ecological Rejuvenation Centre, Haripuram of Rambilli mandal in the district, on Friday.
The convention on the theme: ‘Transfer of Technology for Entrepreneurship Development’, was jointly organised by Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, and BCT-KVK.
In all, 175 delegates, including Home Science scientists and women farmers of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) from the coastal districts of Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, and representatives from high altitude areas, participated in the convention.
Deputy Commissioner of Service Tax B. Sumidaa Devi, who participated as chief guest, felt woman empowerment starts in the family. She advised women to keep their savings in their own name and not in the name of their husbands. She underlined the need for men to share the domestic work as more and more women have started going out to earn for the family.
Ms. Sumidaa Devi called upon rural women to strive for doing away with the barriers of caste that were coming in the way of development.
“The differences are fast disappearing in cities and urban areas and you should also work for eliminating discrimination,” she said and added that scientists could train the women on adhering to technical standards of the products made by them so that they compete in the open market.
Dean of Home Science Department of ANGRAU Sharada Devi said rural women were involved in 70 per cent of agricultural work but were paid lower wages compared to men. She felt that processing, value addition and greater awareness of marketing would go a long way in improving the income of the rural women.
She said that ANGRAU was keen on extending the fruits of its research on to the field and hailed the efforts of BCT-KVK in improving the lives of the rural women.
Associate Dean Anurag Chaturvedi said lack of nutrition and poor eating habits were contributing to lifestyle diseases.
BCT secretary B. Sri Ram Murty said that use of fertilizers and pesticides in the quest for increasing the agricultural output was contributing to various problems among the people. He called for making use of the available resources and traditional technologies for better results.
A scientist from Regional Agricultural Research Station at Anakapalle R. Ankaiah, Jogi Naidu of Sarada Valley Development Samithi, BCT member I.S. Rao, BCT vice-president R. Adinarayana Rao, and joint secretary TVS Rao were among those who spoke.
An exhibition of millet products, natural colour preparation methods, its usage on cloth and other usages, various garments made of handloom with block printing and embroidery, coconut fibre products, eco-friendly products like paper cups, plates and many food items was organised by ANGRAU, BCT-KVK and CTRI-KVK.
