Context:

Indian agriculture is becoming increasingly women-dependent.

Women and their place in Indian agriculture:

• The conclusion from various research studies and data compiled, we get to know 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 them.
• 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.

Reasons for increasing women-dependency in Indian agriculture:

• Migration of men in search of paid employment. 
  • The Economic Survey 2017-18 maintained that growing rural-to-urban migration by men was leading to “feminisation” of the agriculture sector.
• Women are generally preferred over men because they are willing to accept low-paid irregular employment. 
  • Female labour is employed in farms for low-skilled but labour-intensive jobs. 
• Women also look after domestic animals and make value-added products like curd, butter, and ghee, and deal with gobar (cowdung).

Associated Challenges:

• Ownership Rights: The ownership of farms in official land records is mostly in the names of males.
• Devoid of Benefits: The bulk of the benefits of government welfare schemes tend to accrue to men — as land pattas (titles) are in their names.
• No Access to Credit: Women are often denied access to credit because of lack of ownership of land, property, or other assets to serve as collateral.
• Membership Issue: Women face difficulties in getting membership of cooperative societies or farmers producer organizations (FPOs).
• Lower Wages: Women laborers are paid lower wages than men for doing the same kind of work.

What should be done?

• 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. 
• The role played by women in the agricultural value chain farm development policies needs to be gender-sensitive.                                                                                                                                                   

News Source: Business Standard