Empowering Women Farmers in Agriculture

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

In News

• Maharashtra has become the first state in India to have a dedicated law for the empowerment of women farmers with the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Act, 2026.

Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Act, 2026

• It is aimed at correcting the historical neglect of women’s contribution to agriculture and to improve their access to government schemes, credit, insurance, extension services, technology and markets, irrespective of whether they own land or not.
• It defines “farmer” in a comprehensive manner so as to include women engaged in crop cultivation, animal husbandry, poultry, fisheries, agro-forestry, mushroom cultivation, vermiculture and primary processing either as landowner or labourer.
• One of the key provisions is the Woman Farmer Certificate (WFC), which recognises women as farmers, without having to own the land, and allows them to avail government benefits and institutional support.
• It provides for a digital registry of women farmers, a dedicated empowerment fund and implementation mechanisms at state, district and sub-district levels. 
• It also provides for a State level Monitoring Committee headed by the Chief Secretary and a Governing Council under the Chief Minister for overseeing implementation.

Women in Agriculture

• Agriculture continues to remain the backbone of India’s economy with 80 per cent of rural women engaged in agriculture and allied sectors.
  • Of these 33% are agricultural labourers and 48% self employed farmers.
• Women are involved in the entire agricultural value chain, from crop production, livestock, fisheries, horticulture, agroforestry to post-harvest processing, packaging and marketing.

Importance 

• Backbone of the Rural Workforce: Women farmers are playing an increasingly significant role in driving India’s agricultural progress. 
• Pillars of animal husbandry: Women are the main operators of animal husbandry, dairy farming and management of small ruminants by directly stabilising rural household incomes.
• Guards of Agro-Biodiversity : Women are often the custodians of indigenous agricultural knowledge. 
• Drivers of Postharvest Processing: Women-led cooperatives help prevent food waste and boost the competitiveness of rural markets by managing post-harvest activities and processing raw produce into value-added goods such as grinding spices or growing mushrooms

Main Challenges Faced by Women Farmers

• Lack of ownership of land : Most women farmers do not have land titles in their own names.
  • They are often categorised as “helpers” and not independent farmers as they do not formally own land, limiting their access to institutional credit, crop insurance and state direct benefit transfers (DBT)
• High Physical Drudgery: Most of the modern agricultural machinery & tools are ergonomically designed for men.
  • Thus, women still use heavy and inefficient traditional tools which leads to high physical exhaustion and less productivity.
• Modern knowledge on high yield variety (HYV) seeds, climate-smart technologies and digital instruments often eludes them.
• Climate Shocks & Vulnerability: During droughts and water scarcities, their caregiving burdens increase three times as they have to walk much longer distances to get water and fodder, taking away time needed for active farm management.

Government Initiatives for Women Farmers in Agriculture

• Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM): A scheme called Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure (AMI) that aims to strengthen rural agricultural marketing by providing financial assistance for construction and modernisation of godowns and warehouses.
  • Under the scheme, women farmers, SC/ST promoters, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and beneficiaries in North-Eastern and hilly areas will get 33.33% subsidy while farmers in plain areas will get 25% subsidy.
• Namo Drone Didi Scheme: It is a Central Sector Scheme (2023-26) with an outlay of ₹1,261 crore to provide 15,000 drones to Women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) for providing drone-based agricultural services.
  • The scheme offers 80% financial support (up to Rs 8 lakh) for the purchase of drones and training of pilots and assistants.
    • It is also aligned with the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) which provides 50 per cent assistance (up to ₹5 lakh) for purchase of drones by women, small and marginal, SC/ST and Northeastern farmers, to boost agricultural mechanisation and rural entrepreneurship.
• National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM): The National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) is a Central Sector Scheme for promotion of scientific beekeeping, quality honey production and development of the beekeeping sector.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana–National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM): DAY-NRLM is a flagship rural poverty alleviation programme that empowers women through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by promoting self-employment, skilled livelihoods and agriculture based enterprises.
• Modified Interest Subvention Scheme (MISS): It offers short-term crop loans up to ₹3 lakh through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) at an effective 7% interest rate with interest subvention of 1.5% to lending institutions. 
• Integrated Development of Horticulture Mission (MIDH):  MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for promotion of horticulture development including cultivation and post-harvest management of fruits, vegetables, spices, flowers and plantation crops. 
• Mission for Arhar Aatmanirbharta:  The Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses, launched with an outlay of ₹11,440 crore (2025-26 to 2030-31), aims at enhancing the production of Tur, Urad and Masoor through climate-resilient seeds, expansion of cultivation, post-harvest infrastructure and assured procurement
  • It will benefit the pulse growers including the women farmers.
• PM-KISAN: It is a Central Sector Scheme launched in 2019 to provide financial benefit of ₹6,000 per year in three equal installments to eligible landholding farmer families, payable through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their respective bank accounts linked with Aadhaar. 
• Krishi Sakhi: A nationwide program run by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India, focused on training, awareness, and crop-insurance participation for women farmers with month-wise workshops through 2026.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

• Empowering women in agriculture is crucial for enhancing productivity, bolstering rural livelihoods, and promoting inclusive economic growth. 
• Targeted interventions, such as gender-responsive schemes, skill development programmes, women-friendly technologies, and institutional support, play a crucial role in reducing drudgery, enhancing incomes, and enabling women to become leaders across the value chains.

Source  : IE