The document highlights the significant yet often unrecognized contributions of women in agriculture, noting that they perform 60% of agricultural operations and play a vital role in economic and ecological sustainability. It discusses the gender disparities in resources, decision-making, and access to services, while providing progress reports on policies aimed at empowering women farmers in India. Recommendations for further enhancing women's roles in agriculture include recognizing their contributions, ensuring land rights, and improving access to resources and training.

1. The “Invisible Half”
Recognizing the Contribution of Women in Agriculture
Purvi Mehta and Sapna Jarial
International Livestock Research Institute
Regional Conference of the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists
New Delhi, India, 12-13 October 2012

2. Outline
• The Invisible Farmers and Need of Acknowledgement
• Progress
• Recommendations

3. The Invisible Farmers and Need of Acknowledgement
The InvisibleFarm
Farmers and Need of Acknowledgement
Farm
• Rapid Expansion of Indian economy has
lead to feminization of agriculture.
Women play an important role in
agriculture and work spanning, from field
crop, to livestock rearing, gardening,
gathering and fishing.
• In Uttarakhand women contribute 3485
hr/ha/year in a farm, while men (1212 h)
and bullock (1064 h)contribution is far
less.
• Time contributed by women in
agricultural operation is 32 % in India

4. Women as a labour force in developing countries
•43 % of the agricultural labour force in developing countries
•33% labour force in India
FAO

5. • Women are important drivers of economic
and ecological sustainability, their strategies
diverse and their minds a rich source of
indigenous knowledge, yet excluded in
decision making.
• 60 % of agricultural operation are performed
by women . Male professional fail to see the
contributions.
• Men are less familiar with the scientific
needs and priorities of women, and might
encounter difficulties in targeting them
because of specific socio-cultural norms
(FAO,2012).
• Farmer /Kisan means male farmer! Mind set
reflected in policy and national programmes.

6. • Women as agri-entrepreneurs faces
constraints:
i. capital,
ii. market access,
iii. credit,
iv. land ownership confidence/risk
bearing capacity,
v. technological knowledge /inputs,
multiple workload and mobility.
vi. access to extension services and
production assets like seed, water,
etc. / services.
vii. wage differentials between men and
women

7. • Only 15% of the world’s
extension agent are women,
and 5% of women farmers
benefit from the extension
services.(GFRAS 2012).
• The agriculture sector is
underperforming in many
developing countries, partly
because women do not have
the equal access to the
resources and the
opportunities they need to be
more productive (FAO,2012).

8. Progress
Progress
• Given the diversity of the agro-ecological
and socio economic scenario in India,
several effective laws, policies, and
initiatives guarantee the protection and
the empowerment of women farmers
across the country. Meghalaya and
Ladakh women control family policy and
enjoy full inheritance laws.
• Government of India’s Directorate of
Research on Women in Agriculture and
Planning Commission Gender and
Agriculture Sub-group ensure better
representation of women and
consideration of gender issues during
decision-making activities, including
drafting and assessment of the
Government’s Five Year plans.

9. • The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act aims at enhancing
the livelihood security of people in rural areas
by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-
employment to a rural household whose adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual
labour, 54.26% women benefitted in financial
year 2012-13.
• Women Empowerment through “Mahila Kisan
Sashaktikaran Pariyojana” (MKSP), as a sub
component of the National Rural Livelihood
Mission (NRLM) and decided to provide
support to the tune of Rs. 100 crore during
2010-11 budget.
• Empowerment through working in group- Self
Employed Women Association (SEWA) have
access to resources, information market,
credit, and they manage their income.

10. Recommendation
Recommendation
• Need of paradigm shift at the policy level,
operational level and social level.
• Women’s role in agriculture and food
security requires acknowledgement and has
to come at center stage in policy.
• The women farmer must receive rights to
land, receive inputs of technology, skill,
information, market access and credit.
• Review of the land right policies and
implementation of land distribution for
gender equality and women’s land rights is a
prerequisite for making the role of women in
agriculture visible.
• Only by recognizing the ‘invisible’ half we
will be able to meet the challenges of the
gender equality.
• Awareness and legal literacy to women at
Panchayat levels.

11. • Gender perspective must be introduced in
the agricultural curriculum.
• National Policy initiatives like the Farmer’s
right initiative should clearly address
concerns and priorities of women farmers.
• Efficient , effective, drudgery free
technologies and trainings for operation
in food production.
• National and State Plans should be gender
sensitive and should empower farm
women.
• More capacity building and training
programs should be developed to
empower women and equip them with
the right skills.

12. Conclusion
Conclusion
•The women farmer must receive rights to
land, receive inputs of technology, skill,
information market access and credit.
•
•Her enormous workload must be
lightened and she has to be given due
recognition as an equal partners in
development.

13. Better lives through livestock
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