Until recently, rural households in southeastern Mexico have survived on subsistence and chili farming. But over the last decade, male out-migration to the United States has also become a popular livelihood strategy. This case study used data from semi-structured qualitative interviews to assess the effects of male out-migration on women's lives in three areas: households' financial and material situation, issues of infidelity and women's vulnerability to abandonment, and the gendered division of labor. Overall, this study found that male out-migration had both positive and negative effects on the women left behind. First, the financial outcomes of migration were mixed. A few women received large, steady remittances while the majority received minimal, sporadic remittances. These various financial outcomes had different effects on women's lives. Second, some women experienced marital separation or abandonment, and many others feared this could happen to them. Women also experienced increased 'policing' of their actions. These outcomes had a negative effect on most women by placing them in a financially precarious position and limiting their freedom and mobility. Third, women's roles in agricultural production changed in two ways: 1) increased attendance at the monthly community meeting and 2) increased contracting and supervising of day laborers. For most women, however, their agricultural field labor participation did not increase. Women's new roles created a shift in gender relations, but most women said that they were more 'uncomfortable' with, than empowered by, these new roles. Despite the lack of empowerment noted by the women themselves, it is important to consider that, over time, these changes in gender roles and gender relations may influence gender ideologies (e.g., perceptions of what women can and should do) and increase women's empowerment. The contributions of these findings to the literature and policy are discussed in the conclusion.

As part of a USAID-funded integrated pest management (IPM) project, this thesis presents research conducted across four communities in midwestern Nepal We conducted semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation with local farmers and NGOs. Grounded in feminist political ecology (FPE) and drawing on the social relations approach (SRA), we sought to engage with the feminization of agriculture narrative and understand how it interacts with IPM practices and decision-making. This research responds to a growing interest within development in the feminization of agriculture as a potentially empowering or disempowering global process of change, conceptualized through the ways that male out-migration affects the labor and decision-making roles of women and other household members left behind on the farm. We find that contextual factors change the implications of the feminization of agriculture narrative. Co-residence with in-laws and varied migration patterns influence the dynamic nature of household structure and headship. Migration patterns have pushed women to take on new agricultural duties and manage increasing household labor responsibilities. Additionally, IPM vegetable cultivation is changing how farmers use and value their land through increasing crop diversification. Agricultural decision-making processes related to these different forces extend beyond the household, and participation in community spaces through the IPM project may contest traditional gender norms. We contend that the heterogeneity of household power dynamics muddies the potentially empowering or disempowering effects of the feminization of agriculture, and we emphasize the importance of community spaces as a locus of decision-making in the sustainability of new agricultural technologies. / M. S. / This research aims to understand how gender affects and is affected by new agricultural practices in rural Nepal. Several changes are occurring across Nepal; these changes include men migrating for work at increasing rates, as well as farmers growing different crops in new ways. This study is specifically concerned with integrated pest management (IPM) practices, whereby farmers manage pests on their farm while minimizing the use of chemical pesticides. These IPM practices are developed through partnerships between university scientists and in-country organizations under the USAID-funded Feed the Future IPM Innovation Lab. As men look for work outside of their home communities and agricultural production diversifies, gender norms and expectations of migrant-sending communities influence how both men and women farmers participate in learning and practicing IPM across different seasons. Through interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation, we contend that women in migrant-sending communities are taking on new labor roles on the farm, depending on if they reside with their mother-in-law and father-in-law. Furthermore, decisions about agricultural production and IPM are made within farmer cooperative meetings and social spaces between men and women members, contesting traditional gender norms that previously limited interactions between men and women in public gatherings. These findings help support the sustainability of projects within the IPM Innovation Lab, as well as highlight the importance of community, social spaces as places of decision-making and changing gender norms beyond the household. We emphasize the need to carefully assess social and cultural implications of development interventions within the geographic context and incorporate this specificity into project and research design.