Abstract

Most of the farming operations in India are being done by small farmers with women contributing upto 60 per cent of labour. The tools used being basically meant for male workers are very heavy for women resulting higher workload and increased discomfort to them. Higher energy demand and increased drudgery created by the tools develop stresses, which affects the safety and health of the women. This paper examines a few of farm tools used by women and, based on ergonomic aspects, quantifies the inadequacies of such tools with respect to energy expenditure and their body (anthropometric) dimensions. This would greatly help the researchers to appropriately design simple and labour effective gadgets considering ergonomic requirements. Such designs of tools would not only minimize drudgery of the women but also increase productivity at reduced expenditure levels.

Keywords: Farm tools, Discomfort, Drudgery, Energy expenditure, Anthropometric dimensions.