Women-dependency of Indian agriculture: Gender discrimination in farms

Source: The post is based on the article “Gender discrimination in farms” published in the Business Standard on 15th May 2023.

Syllabus: GS – 3: Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Relevance: About women-dependency of Indian agriculture.

News: Indian agriculture is becoming increasingly women-dependent.

About the women-dependency of Indian agriculture

Various research studies and data compiled through agriculture censuses and various surveys found that,

-About 80% of the country’s economically active female population is employed in the farm sector. Women comprise about one-third of the agricultural labour force, and nearly 48% of self-employed farmers.

-Nearly 95% of animal husbandry-related work is performed by women. Their involvement in the production of field crops is 75%, and that of horticultural crops 79%. More than 50% of post-harvest activities are carried out by women.

On the whole, the work participation rate for women is 41.8% in rural areas against 35.31% in urban areas.

What are the various reasons for increasing women-dependency in Indian agriculture?

Migration of men: More men are migrating from villages in search of paid employment because of the fragmentation and shrinking of land holdings. So, the management of small and marginal farms is becoming the responsibility of women. For example, the Economic Survey 2017-18 maintained that growing rural-to-urban migration by men was leading to “feminisation” of the agriculture sector.

Low payment: Typically, female labour is employed in farms for low-skilled but labour-intensive jobs. Besides being hard-working, women are generally preferred over men because they are willing to accept low-paid irregular employment.

Nature of jobs: Women are deemed ideally suited for work like grass cutting, weeding, collecting cotton sticks, detaching fibre from cotton seeds, and de-husking grains. They also look after domestic animals and make value-added products like curd, butter, and ghee, and dealing with gobar (cowdung).

Significantly, there are a few intricate farm operations which require some training, for which women are deemed more suitable than men. For instance, producing hybrid cotton seeds, transplanting paddy, etc.

What are the challenges associated with women-dependency in Indian agriculture?

a) The ownership of farms in official land records is mostly in the names of males, b) The bulk of the benefits of government welfare schemes tend to accrue to men — as land pattas (titles) are in their names, c) Women are often denied access to credit because of lack of ownership of land, property, or other assets to serve as collateral, d) Women face difficulties in getting membership of cooperative societies or farmers producer organisations (FPOs), e) Women labourers are paid lower wages than men for doing the same kind of work, f) Women are not considered for decision-making in agri activities.

What should be done to utilise women-dependency in Indian agriculture?

Women’s empowerment through enhanced access to resources like land, property, credit, technology, and training is essential to ameliorate the plight of rural women and improve their calibre to serve as engines of agricultural growth lies.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), farm output in developing countries can be raised by 2.5 to 4% by ensuring men and women equal access to resources, skill development, and opportunities in agriculture. So, the role played by women in the agricultural value chain farm development policies needs to be gender-sensitive.

Specialised farm implements and equipment, designed with female ergometry in view, are needed to reduce the physical strain of strenuous work on farm women.

Incentivising ownership of land and property in the name of women by offering concessions in registration fees and other charges can help in empowering women. The government should facilitate access to benefits in government welfare programmes.