To protect India’s farmers, the government has stood firm — at considerable cost — against the US push to open up the country’s agriculture sector. However, much more is needed to remedy the Indian farm sector’s plight, especially that of its women. The word kisan often invokes the image of a doughty male farmer ploughing the field, the epitome of hard work and productivity. But, in reality, around 80% of women in the economy are engaged in agricultural work and a significant 40% of the agricultural workforce is women. They are largely invisibilised, which is why agricultural policies are mostly male-centric. Women are rarely identified as farmers as they do not have access to landholdings. Less than 10% of women actually own the land they cultivate. So, a woman works on her father’s farm, or her husband’s land or even her son’s land, but she is almost never the owner. Since women are not categorised as farmers in most cases, they also do not have access to the extension services that the government provides for agriculture.
As a result, women-run farms are 20% less productive than those run by men. They are often not able to find the right markets for their produce nor do they have the agency to negotiate the right prices.
Women are instrumental in harvesting, weeding, sowing, threshing, moving agricultural produce and dealing with livestock. When it comes to livestock, it is almost entirely managed by women. The Amul story shows that when women handle livestock, the hygiene of animals improves greatly. This, in turn, increases yield, whether it is milk or other livestock products.
There are also several other stories of women working collectively to increase their negotiating power. The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming programme, for example, is progressing rapidly on the back of collective action. Similarly, the Working Group for Women and Land Ownership in Gujarat has seen women establish their identity as farmers. “The aggregation of women producers through cooperatives or farmer producer organisations is a very important mechanism to give women farmers the agency and empowerment to combine their voices and negotiate better,” says Purvi Mehta, senior agriculture policy advisor. Simply put, farming cannot progress without women’s inputs. Policies must factor in the needs and concerns of women farmers.
Thanks to a patriarchal system, women lack the ability to even discuss land ownership and management issues with government officials, hence letting their entitlements fall by the wayside. They are often cheated out of land leadership by male relatives, which is blatant disempowerment. When it comes to hiring labour, purchasing inputs or travelling to mandis, women are at a disadvantage again. Given agriculture’s place in the economy, policy gaps from a gender lens need to be bridged fast. Women need training and capacity building through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Agricultural Management Extension Training Institutes. The Drone Didi schemes could help women farmer self-help groups to use drones to perform some agricultural tasks. Women need to have decision making in agriculture linked to ownership. When land records are updated, it must be made mandatory for farming families to include women’s names. Arming women with the tools to assert ownership and acquire technological skills will definitely improve productivity and increase their agency.
{{/usCountry}}Thanks to a patriarchal system, women lack the ability to even discuss land ownership and management issues with government officials, hence letting their entitlements fall by the wayside. They are often cheated out of land leadership by male relatives, which is blatant disempowerment. When it comes to hiring labour, purchasing inputs or travelling to mandis, women are at a disadvantage again. Given agriculture’s place in the economy, policy gaps from a gender lens need to be bridged fast. Women need training and capacity building through Krishi Vigyan Kendras and State Agricultural Management Extension Training Institutes. The Drone Didi schemes could help women farmer self-help groups to use drones to perform some agricultural tasks. Women need to have decision making in agriculture linked to ownership. When land records are updated, it must be made mandatory for farming families to include women’s names. Arming women with the tools to assert ownership and acquire technological skills will definitely improve productivity and increase their agency.
{{/usCountry}}The views expressed are personal