Engendering Finger Millet-Based Value Chains for Livelihood and Nutritional Security of Women in Agriculture

Gender analysis along the agricultural value chain enhances our understanding about the roles performed by men and women in the value chain and in forward and backward linkages, their access to productive resources, opportunities available for valueaddition and benefit sharing, both as individuals and group enterprises. The gender roles in finger milletbased value chains and the constraints faced by women in existing finger millet value chains in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha have been documented in this study. Along the value chains, women were found only as farmers, petty traders or labourers in processing units. However, the entry points for women in finger millet value chain have been identified. The role of women in the value chain could be strengthened by mobilizing them into clusters, establishing milletprocessing units, and forming forward and backward linkages.