UPSC Syllabus: Gs Paper 1- Role of women and women’s organisation And Gs Paper 3- Agriculture
Introduction
International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026 calls for equal rights and equal justice for women and girls. The theme gains importance as 2026 is observed as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. Although legal reforms such as equal inheritance rights for daughters exist, women farmers still face exclusion from land ownership, agricultural recognition, and access to institutional resources in India’s agri-food systems.
Structural Exclusion of Women in Agriculture
- Land ownership concentrated in men’s names: Land and property in most rural households remain registered in men’s names, despite legal reforms supporting daughters’ inheritance rights.
- Social and legal barriers to women’s land records: Patrilineal inheritance, social norms, limited legal awareness, and administrative hurdles prevent women’s names from appearing in land records.
- Lack of legal status as farmers: Many women manage cultivation and deal with labourers and input dealers, yet they lack legal recognition as farmers because land titles are absent.
- Exclusion from institutional agricultural support: Without land titles, women face barriers in accessing institutional credit, crop insurance, irrigation schemes, agricultural extension services, and climate-resilient technologies.
- Invisible contribution to agri-food systems: Women contribute significantly to farming, yet their access to and control over cultivable land remains abysmally low, making their labour undervalued.
Consequences of the Exclusion of Women Farmers in Agriculture
- Feminisation of agriculture due to male migration: As men migrate for work, agriculture is increasingly “feminised,” with women taking responsibility for cultivation, risk management, and household food provisioning.
- Heavy workload without support systems: Women face high agricultural workloads, limited drudgery-reduction technologies, and absence of supportive care systems, forcing them to balance farm work and household duties.
- Health problems from excessive work burden: Resource-poor women with heavy workloads experience serious health issues and micronutrient deficiencies, especially during peak agricultural seasons.
- High malnutrition and anaemia among women: India continues to face persistently high anaemia rates among women of reproductive age, along with widespread micronutrient deficiencies.
- Intergenerational effects on children: Maternal undernutrition and anaemia contribute to low birth weight, stunting, and impaired child development, affecting the health of future generations.
- Low dietary diversity in rural households: Rural diets remain cereal-heavy and low in pulses, fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods, despite women’s role in producing food.
Limitations of Existing Food Security and Agricultural Policies
- National Food Security Act framework: India’s right-to-food framework is anchored in the National Food Security Act, which guarantees subsidised cereals, supplementary nutrition, and maternity entitlements.
- Uneven improvement in women’s nutrition: Several States introduced millets, local foods, and fortified staples, yet women’s nutrition outcomes remain uneven and anaemia trends remain worrying.
- Cereal-centric food distribution systems: Food transfers through the Public Distribution System remain largely cereal-focused, with uneven inclusion of pulses, millets, and nutrient-dense foods.
- Overburdened frontline workers affecting programme quality: Heavy responsibilities on frontline workers reduce programme effectiveness and community awareness about nutrition and entitlements.
- Digitalisation creating exclusion risks: Digital systems improve efficiency but exclude women who lack connectivity, documentation, or digital skills, limiting their ability to claim benefits.
Way Forward
The M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) highlight some urgent priorities to ensure meaningful action for women farmers.
- Visibility of women farmers in law, data, and policy: Gender-disaggregated agricultural data and the National Policy for Farmers’ definition of farmers based on activities rather than land ownership can recognise women landowners, tenants, labourers, and forest gatherers.
- Strengthening land and productive resource rights: Equal inheritance implementation, joint spousal land titles, and incentives for registering land or housing in women’s names can improve women’s control over assets.
- Women’s participation in resource governance: Women should have stronger roles in managing common lands and water resources, while collective platforms can increase bargaining power.
- Aligning food systems with nutrition objectives: Public procurement and support policies should encourage nutri-cereals, pulses, fruits, and vegetables, and distribute them through Public Distribution Systems, Anganwadis, and school meals.
- Community-based nutrition and food initiatives: Kitchen gardens, women’s seed banks, and localised food planning can strengthen women’s role in improving diets and farming practices.
- Access to technology and extension services: Labour-saving tools, agricultural training, and market information can reduce drudgery, improve productivity, and support sustainable farming decisions.
Conclusion
Ensuring rights, justice, and action for women farmers requires recognising them as farmers and strengthening access to land, productive resources, technologies, and nutrition systems. Empowered women farmers can influence agricultural practices, improve food security, and strengthen community well-being. Supporting their agency can promote climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture across India.
Question for practice:
Discuss the structural challenges faced by women farmers in India and explain the measures needed to ensure rights, justice, and action for them in agri-food systems.
Source: The Hindu
