Development of an Index for assessing farm women's access to resources

Abstract

The status of farm women's access to resources is considered to be critical as a determinant and necessary precondition for their progress. Access to Resource Index is designed for assessing the status of farm women's access to resources. It constitutes five dimensions and 40 indicators. The specific weightage of each dimension in an index is calculated using Normalised Rank Order Method. Indicators had at least 80% expert's agreement are retained in the final index. Index content is standardised by evaluating the content validity and expert opinions. It assesses the status of access to resources in terms of availability, affordability, suitability and capability to use resources. It emphasises the dimensions of resources which required immediate attention and needs to target in the policy initiatives for sustaining the livelihood of farm women. It can be used to measure and compare the status of farm women's access to resources in different regions of India with suitable modifications and validation