Date of Graduation

8-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Agricultural & Extension Education (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology

Advisor/Mentor

Cox, Casandra K.

Committee Member

Rucker, K. Jill

Second Committee Member

Estes, Hanna E.

Keywords

Diversification; Farm; Livelihood diversification; Non-farm activities; Off-farm activities; On-farm activities

Abstract

Agriculture as a livelihood activity entails significant risks and uncertainties, which expose agricultural households to a low standard of living, poverty, and a lowering of their food security status. Women's responsibilities in agriculture are expanding and becoming more critical, and farm women are now broadening their duties to include roles off-farm. More research is needed in Arkansas about agricultural women's roles, challenges, and essential job characteristics. Using a quantitative survey, this research aimed to provide a resource on how women involved in agricultural production diversify their livelihoods. Participants were asked to describe their livelihood diversification by identifying their activities on the farm and jobs related to and not related to agriculture. Participants were also asked about their socio-demographic characteristics, factors, and reasons for diversifying their livelihoods. The result shows that 89.7% of the participants were married women, representing 62.1% household size with 3-4 individuals. The result also revealed that 96.6% of the participants were white, 41.4% held graduate or professional degrees and 67% ran a small family farm. The study revealed that participants diversified their livelihood into on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm activities. Participants offered educational tours and leased out land in addition to raising cattle and hay or haylage. The main factor influencing on-farm diversification was to provide opportunities for their children to take over the business. Income was the key factor influencing their decisions to engage in both off-farm and non-farm diversification. The key reason was to improve the quality of life.

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