ABSTRACT
Most agricultural researchers realize that an understanding of the influence that women have on a farming system is essential for increased effectiveness of efforts by international agriculture research centers, development organizations, and national agriculture programs. Women in rural Taiwan are often farmers and work with their male counterparts in almost every aspect of agricultural production. There are tendencies for women to perform certain farm tasks that men are less likely to do, and vice versa. Data were obtained at the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Tainan County, Taiwan. Rice production in this part of Taiwan is almost fully mechanized which means that much of the women's work formerly associated with rice production has been eliminated. Farm families theoretically choose crops so that the production inputs available to them — land, labor, and capital — maximize revenue. Farmers in Ma-dou and Shan-hua exhibit different cropping patterns than those in Shan-shang in part because of differing geophysical characteristics.
