@article{Raghunathan:277537,
      recid = {277537},
      author = {Raghunathan, K.},
      title = {Women's self-help groups, decision-making, and improved  agricultural practices in India},
      address = {2018-07},
      year = {2018},
      abstract = {Effective agricultural extension is key to improving  productivity, increasing farmers  access to information,  and promoting more diverse sets of crops and improved  methods of cultivation. In India, however, the coverage of  agricultural extension workers and the relevance of advice  they provide is poor. We investigate whether another  platform   that of women s self-help groups   could be an  effective way of improving access to information, women s  empowerment in agriculture, improved agricultural  practices, and production diversity. We used  cross-sectional data on close to 3000 women from 5 states  in India, and employ nearest-neighbor matching models to  match SHG and non-SHG women along a range of pre-determined  characteristics. We find that participation in an SHG  increases women s access to information and their  participation in some agricultural decisions, but has  limited impact on agricultural practices or outcomes. Other  constraints like income and social norms could be limiting  the translation of knowledge into practice. Since SHGs are  uniquely placed to change even these constraints, it is  important to identify and account for them when advocating  the use of these groups in improving agriculture and  livelihoods. 

Acknowledgement :  This work was undertaken  as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for  Nutrition and Health (A4NH). The opinions expressed here  belong to the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those  of A4NH or CGIAR. We acknowledge the generous support of  the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the research  project  Women Improving Nutrition through Group-based  Strategies, OPP1132181. The authors would also like to  thank Purnima Menon for useful feedback on this paper.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/277537},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.277537},
}