International Journal of Rural Management

Research on financial inclusion (FI) in Vietnam’s rural context is quite scarce, and some questions are still unanswered. In this study, we tried to look at how FI increased welfare, with particular attention to household expenditures. We used a sample of 1,180 Vietnamese rural households and applied propensity score matching and weighted-least-squares regression to test the FI–expenditure relationship. We noticed that FI seemed to positively affect total expenditures. FI also determined types of expenditures, like transport and communication, social events, food and non-food products. However, we did not find any clear link between FI and spending on healthcare, education or items such as alcohol and tobacco. The positive relationship between FI and expenditures suggests that authorities may view promoting families’ access to financial tools as a potentially effective way to improve household welfare. The fact that FI raised food spending but did not impact spending on harmful goods like alcohol and tobacco may suggest a positive long-term impact on people’s health.

The study examines how women farmer-producer companies support the social and economic circumstances of women farmers in rural Maharashtra. Women in the rural areas work together and make collective decisions with the help of farmer-producer companies. For several decades, women’s contributions to the workforce have often gone unrecognised, leaving them with fewer resources and limited decision-making power in society. Through collective action in farmer-producer companies, rural women are empowered to access markets, obtain resources and participate in decision-making in their daily lives. The study employs a descriptive research design that combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The data were gathered from 210 women farmers across six farmer-producer companies. The results demonstrate that farmer-producer companies support women in gaining better market access, financial support, leadership skills, confidence and respect in society. However, there remain challenges related to low agricultural incomes and difficulty in managing household work and farm activities. The findings show that farmer-producer companies have benefited women to some extent and play a major role in empowering rural women.

The nexus of water and food is complex and interdependent. Water is essential for agriculture, yet many states are failing to meet its increasing demand despite the creation of irrigation projects. There is a need to shift the paradigm from construction to management. Water, especially irrigation, being a state subject, operation and maintenance come under the purview of the state. Thus, the state needs to ensure effective water governance for managing better services and the creation of policies, institutions and regulations. The National Water Policy introduced reforms for farmers’ participation in irrigation management. In the northeastern region, Assam was the first to implement the Irrigation Water Users Act. So far, 847 Water User Associations (WUAs) have been formed in Assam to facilitate equal water distribution, operation–maintenance, levy collection and conflict resolution. The study on WUA in a minor irrigation system revealed that there is a decreasing trend in the area irrigated and levy collection and that it is failing to produce the desired results in irrigation management, while the traditional Dong Bandh system practice in Assam demonstrates the capability of the local community to self-organise management of water resources. The irrigation system is decentralised, yet the increase in its performance is uncertain in Assam. This article aims to identify irrigation water governance ways to rectify its shortcomings by learning from the Dong Bandh governance system.

This study examines how Village Defence Party, a community-based institution around Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, shapes conservation outcomes through institutional coherence and leadership practice. Drawing on Institutional Collective Action (ICA) theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we combine participatory rural appraisal techniques with inferential tests to assess coordination, motivations and risk attitudes. We document a rule-bound organisational structure and routine patrol practices that evidence effective inter-institutional coordination. TPB constructs, such as subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, significantly predict flood patrol participation, while qualitative narratives highlight cultural reverence and moral obligation as motivational content. Leaders function as boundary spanners under ICA dilemmas, leveraging NGO/state support, social capital and cultural norms to set expectations, and sustain vigilance beyond mandates regarded as hallmarks of collaborative governance.

The COVID-19 lockdown has disrupted the lives of millions of people worldwide. The present article studies handloom weavers’ challenges during the COVID-19-led lockdown period in Western Odisha. The study is based on primary data using 390 sample weaver households from a field survey conducted in the Bargarh and Subarnapur districts in Western Odisha. The article attempts to understand the challenges of the weavers through the lens of market closure, income loss based on the nature of employment, caste and gender. Their distress is reflected in terms of food insecurity and loss of children’s education. The study recommends that the government provide them with a special financial package through direct cash transfer to lessen the burden of distress.