Determinants of Farmer Empowerment and Employment in Major Agriculture Sectors in Bangladesh

The agriculture sector employs about 40% of the total population in Bangladesh, and empowerment in this agriculture sector improves farm productivity, dietary diversity, household nutrition status and agricultural development. However, in the existing literature, farmer empowerment and its relevant indicators have not been explored much. Thus, this study aims to find out the determinants of empowerment in the agriculture index for both men and women, considering the trends of employment in major agriculture sectors, and examines how adequacy in different empowerment indicators differs due to relevant factors in both agriculture sectors in rural Bangladesh. Using the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018–19, it found that the overall farmer empowerment remained low, with only 17.36% of surveyed farmers being empowered. Younger farmers (15–29) were most likely to be in the crop sub-sector, whereas middle-aged farmers (30–49) dominated the livestock sub-sector. Empowered farmers mostly had access to agricultural extension services and vocational training. Regression findings from Logit models indicate that women are more empowered in the livestock sub-sector, while men are more empowered in the crop sub-sector. Education, income, access to agricultural extension services and vocational training influence the overall empowerment and its domains notably. This study suggests strengthening agricultural extension services, increasing opportunities to acquire education and vocational training/education, and creating more opportunities to access credit and sell agricultural products easily that may make farmers, regardless of their gender, more empowered in these major agriculture sectors.