Agriculture has the potential to be a key driver of growth and the eradication of poverty. But the sector is underperforming in many nations in part because of barriers that prevent women, who are frequently a vital resource in agriculture and the rural economy, from working as productively as they could.
In India, agriculture establishes ingrained customs, interpersonal relationships, and gender roles. A significant demographic group is made up of women who work in agriculture, whether through conventional or industrial methods, as subsistence farmers or agricultural labourers. This has led to externalities like poverty and marginalisation, and it has exacerbated issues of gender inequality. Agriculture is intimately related to issues like economic independence, decision-making capacities, agency, and access to education and health care.
Facts about agriculture and women
Globally and in developing nations, women make up roughly 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force, according to aggregate estimates.
Crop, production cycle, age, and ethnic group all affect how much time women spend in agriculture. On average, weeding and harvesting were primarily performed by women. In general, rural women have a heavier labour load than urban men, with a higher percentage of unpaid home duties linked to food preparation, fuel collection, and water collection.
As many as 84 per cent of women in rural India depend on agriculture for their daily survival. In terms of farmers and agricultural labourers, women make up roughly 33 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively. These data do not take into consideration work in the nation's cattle, fisheries, and other ancillary food production sectors.
About 47 per cent of women work on tea plantations, 46.84 per cent grow cotton, 45.43 per cent grow oil seeds, and 39.13 per cent produce vegetables in the agricultural sector. Even though these crops demand a lot of labour, the work is seen as being quite unskilled. In addition, women have a significant role in auxiliary agricultural operations. Indian women made up 21 per cent and 24 per cent of all fish farmers and fishermen, respectively, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
Women in India still have significant disadvantages in terms of wages, access to land, and participation in local farmer organisations, even though they make up the majority of the workforce. Additionally, their lack of empowerment frequently has unfavourable externalities, such as poorer familial health and lower educational achievement for their children.
Economic Benefits of Empowering Women in Agriculture
The 'New India' needs rural women to carry the torch for changes in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. Empowering women in agriculture may have positive economic effects on the individuals, homes, and communities of the women.
Since farmers make up 73.2 per cent of rural women workers, they have a significant impact on India's economic development. The majority of large farming tasks are carried out by women.
Giving women access to facilities on par with those provided to males will boost agricultural productivity by about 2.5 per cent while also increasing farm yields by 20 to 30 per cent. Not only will it transform these women into Atma Nirbhar, but also the entire nation.
A paradigm change toward economic growth can be achieved by empowering and integrating rural women into the agricultural workforce. In addition to reducing hunger and poverty, it will improve food and nutrition security. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will benefit everyone involved.
Women's role in agriculture & allied fields
Women have contributed significantly to the growth of the agricultural sector and other associated industries. The nature and level of women's involvement in agriculture vary greatly by region.
The first people to tame the crop and start the art and science of farming, according to historians, were women. In comparison to other agricultural tasks, women are believed to play a higher role in post-harvest activities in the majority of developing nations, including India. Women predominate in post-harvest tasks like grading, packaging, cleaning, cleaning, storing, and drying.
Land preparation, sowing, nursery management, transplanting, weeding, irrigation, fertilizer application, plant protection, harvesting, winnowing, storing, and other agricultural duties are all performed by women.
Milk and livestock sales help rural women supplement their income. As caretakers, feed gatherers, and birth attendants, women have a significant role in the management of livestock, notably goat, poultry, dairy, piggery, fishing, and goat rearing, processing, and marketing. Producing milk is another activity they engage in.
Women are considered as being highly involved in the agricultural and related industries, whether by conventional or modern methods, for survival or as agricultural workers. Recognising women's contributions to agriculture and related fields is crucial.
Stories of famous Indian women farmer leaders
The following list of dynamic female farmers and agricultural activists who are fostering equal growth includes:
1. Spinning a Destiny from Cotton: Atram Padma Bai
Atram Padma Bai went from just breaking even on a 3-acre cotton field that also produced oilseeds and pulses to founding a Hiring Center for Agricultural Tools to offer low-income farmers short-term loans for farming tools including pickaxes, sickles, spades, hoes, and wheelbarrows.
At the moment, she oversees 2,000 farmers in eight villages as the sarpanch. She has built multiple all-weather and concrete roads and received government approval to provide access to clean water and build reservoirs to collect rainwater. In a nation where most female farmers don't have a legal title to their land, The Padma has carved out a livelihood for herself.
2. Leading the Janata of Jaintia towards Atmanirbharta: Trinity Saio:
In the Jaintia Hill region of Meghalaya, a Padma Shri award winner alone changed the lives of more than 800 farmers. Trinity Saio is credited with discovering and publicizing this less well-known form of the crop and is noted for leading a drive to cultivate a traditional kind of turmeric.
She made use of her skills as a teacher to train women farmers about organic farming, marketing, and documentation so they could receive subsidies and treble their revenue. Working with 100 women's self-help groups has helped the Jaintia Hills farmers gain independence while also discovering a pan-Indian market for the Lakadong turmeric.
Organizations supporting women in agriculture:
Existing government schemes for women farmers:
The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) has several beneficiary-oriented programs, and one of the requirements of those programs is that States and other Implementing Agencies spend at least 30 per cent of their budgets on women farmers.
The government has taken major steps to empower women in the agriculture industry after realizing the importance of assisting this important sector of the economy. Some excellent government programs are the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog and "Economic Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs and Start-ups by Women" by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), a particular program, was introduced by the Department of Rural Development.
It is a part of DAY-NRLM, the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana).
By making deliberate investments to increase women's engagement and productivity and to build sustainable livelihoods for rural women, goals include empowering women.
The State Rural Livelihoods Mission (SRLM) serves as the project implementing agency for the initiative.
The well-being of women farmers is specifically addressed by the following programs:
The mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, National Mission on Oilseed & Oil Palm, National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, Sub-Mission for Seed and Planting Material, Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation.
Challenges faced by women farmers
Gender-specific barriers place female farmers at a significant disadvantage.
1. Invisible, unpaid labor force:
Women farmers in India work about 3,300 hours per crop season when fields are sown and harvested, more than double the 1,860 hours their male counterparts put in.
Despite this, the government continues to undervalue and ignore their efforts to feed their families and the country.
In India, one-third of female farmers work unpaid on family farms owned by their parents, husbands, or in-laws. Indian women own only 12.8 per cent of the land in the country.
2. No title, no money:
Women who have a strong property and inheritance rights earn nearly four times as much as men.
The agricultural problems in India are severe. Suicide rates among female farmers are frequently rising. Every month, one of the female farmers commits suicide.
3. Inequality in market access:
The new farm regulations in India could have different effects on women than on men in one specific area.
The Indian government claims that a free market will allow farmers to sell or buy agricultural products anywhere in the nation, but because of long-standing gender discrimination, Indian female farmers are significantly less mobile than men, which may now limit their access to marketplaces.
4. Limited access to justice:
In India, women already have limited access to the legal system. But in the future, female farmers who lack access to transportation and money to go would be at an even larger disadvantage if agricultural businesses filed a claim in a remote jurisdiction.
Final thoughts:
Agricultural services continue to place little emphasis on contacting female farmers or women working on farms. Administrators and policymakers still frequently presume that males are the farmers and that women simply have a "supporting role" as farmers' wives.
FAQS
Q1) How are women involved in agriculture?
The three main ways that women work in agriculture are as paid labourers, landowners who cultivate their land, and managers who oversee the labour of certain agricultural production components and are involved in post-harvest activities
Q2) Can the increased feminisation of agriculture be advantageous for India?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural yields would increase by 20–30 per cent, increasing a developing country's agricultural output by 2.5–4 per cent if women had equal access to productive resources as males.
Q3) How can the gender gap in agriculture be closed?
To close gender gaps in agricultural output, it is essential to equalize women's access to agricultural inputs, notably time-saving machinery, and increase the return on these inputs. It promises to produce significant social and economic benefits.