Women farmers’ behavior and drudgery in adopting indigenous traditional millet production practices for sustainable food system in the Eastern Ghats of Southern India

Millets have been grown for ages and are an important staple crop in arid and semi-arid regions under adverse weather conditions. The traditional practices of millet cultivation, resulting in lower yields, need to be replaced with improved practices. Millets are known for their ecological resilience and nutritional richness and remain central to food security for tribal communities, especially in regions like the Kolli Hills in the Eastern Ghats of Southern India. Millets are highly labor-intensive and often lack ergonomic support, resulting in significant physical drudgery for women who perform the majority of cultivation and post-harvest operations. While improved millet production technologies have been introduced through research organizations, the behavioral response of tribal farmwomen to these practices, particularly in terms of adoption and drudgery, remains underexplored. This study addresses that gap by examining women’s adoption behavior and comparing indigenous traditional millet production practices with improved interventions, focusing on ergonomic efficiency and sustainability. The study was conducted in five purposively selected tribal villages, with 200 women farmers representing different socio-economic and farm categories. Data collected through interviews, to analyze socio-economic, technological, and ergonomic assessments, included the Human Physical Drudgery Index, postural discomfort ratings, and Garrett Ranking to evaluate drudgeries, perception of task difficulty, and motives for adoption. The results revealed that improved practices significantly reduced drudgery and time by 56% in winnowing and 88% in flour making, while enhancing productivity and physical comfort. Correlation analysis showed that age and physical fitness strongly influenced drudgery perception and task performance. The study recommends that policy interventions should integrate indigenous knowledge systems into agricultural extension, promote women-friendly mechanization, support participatory breeding of traditional varieties development, and link millet-based diets to women’s groups in processing. Value addition is essential to promote sustainable and inclusive millet farming systems. A hybrid model that blends tradition with innovation offers a promising pathway for achieving food security, livelihood resilience, and gender equity in tribal regions.