THE Northern Areas (NAs) comprises Gilgit, Ghizer, Skurdu, Diamer and Ghanche. The NAs is known as the axis of Asia, the place where three major parts of Asia, the Southern, Central, and the South East converge. It is the point of convergence of four mountain ranges, the Karakoram, the Himalayas, the Hindukush and the Pamirs and is also known as the roof of the world.

The area experiences extreme climates with temperatures in the summer exceeding 45C and in winter well below freezing points. The local economy depends on the subsistence agriculture (farmers main aim is to produce enough to satisfy the household consumption demand).

Major crops include wheat, potato, vegetables, maize, barley, millet etc., while grapes, apricot, apple, walnut, cherry and almond are the major fruits. Crop production relies on irrigation, a system of channels that diverts water from springs and streams that curtail the proportion of land that can be cultivated.

The Northern Areas are spread over 72,496 sq km and populated by about one million. The per capita land holding is 0.124 hectares, which is decreasing day by day with fragmentation in the families and urbanization.

Of the total area, only 69,480 hectares (0.96pc) are under cultivation whereas, about 60,000 hectares of cultivable land lies barren. The rest of the area comprises rangeland, mountains, forests, lakes/rivers etc. This means that the average land holdings are generally insufficient to meet the subsistence needs of households. Men have traditionally sought employment in the non-farm sector as a result women have to take over a substantial burden of the work in agricultural production.

Of the total population of NAs, 48 per cent are females and 52 per cent male. Women play a major role in agricultural production and livestock raising (the intensity of their labour depends on both the crop in question and the specific activities related to that crop). Women often devote more time to these tasks than men do. They participate in all operations related to crop production such as sowing, transplanting, weeding and harvesting, as well as in post-harvest operations such as threshing, drying, grinding, husking and storage (including making mud bins for storage) in addition to their normal domestic chores (cooking, taking care of children, fetching water and fuel, cleaning and maintaining the house as well as some of its construction).

Obviously, these women work (12 to 15 hours a day on various economic activities and household chores), longer than men do.

Despite the vital role played by the women, their contribution has been grossly under reported in various censuses and surveys. Consequently, official labour force statistics show a very minimal participation of women. For example, the Labour Force Survey of 1990-91 revealed that about 16 per cent of women aged 10 years and over were in the labour force, with 84 per cent men.

On the contrary, the 1980 agricultural census showed that women’s participation rate in agriculture was 73 per cent and women accounted for 25 per cent full-time and 75 per cent as part-time workers in agricultural households.

Also, the 1990-1991 Pakistan Integrated Household Survey indicated that the female labour force participation rate was 45 per cent in rural areas and 17 per cent in urban. Thus it is clear that if women’s contribution to economic production were assessed accurately, a conservative estimate of women’s labour force participation would be between 30 and 40 per cent.

A study was conducted in Hunza valley of the Northern Areas to highlight major activities performed by females.

Of the total population of the NAs, 48 per cent are female (ESCAP, 1997), who play a major role in farming (the intensity of their labour depends on both the crop in question and the specific activities related to that crop). In the study area, it was found that women were actively involved in sowing (except maize), weeding/hoeing, thinning, input transportation to the fields (except for wheat) and its application, irrigation, harvesting and grading (in case of potato).

Beside these activities, women of the area were also involved in fruit plants management i.e., in weeds removal/hoeing, input transportation and its application, irrigation, picking, grading, drying (apricot, almond, walnut and mulberry), and cracking (walnut and almond).

Women often devote more time to these tasks than do men and participate in all operations related to crop production in addition to their normal domestic activities.

However, women play no role in marketing, as the selling of all the fruits and potato was performed by the male member of the household.

In addition, women also managed the livestock and were actively involved in various activities regarding livestock raising i.e., 88 per cent of the female cut fodder for livestock, 64 per cent graze livestock in summer and cut grasses from Tok (orchard type) land, 68 per cent cut and collect thorny bushes while 100 per cent of the female fed and milked the livestock.

The involvement of female in the farming was due to the reason that either male members were getting education in cities or were employed outside the village. As all households owned land and somebody had to look after therefore, female folks had to take the responsibility of farms and other related activities.

Recommendations

* Short-duration varieties be introduced in the cropping systems in order to get maximum output within the shortest possible time and of small land holdings.

* The area is free of diseases that suit potato seed production therefore steps should be taken to utilize this potential.

* Winter wheat be introduced, which can tolerate severe cold.

* Women of the area should be trained in food processing that would help in poverty alleviation and post-harvest losses.