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  Home » Major Areas of Work » Women in Agriculture
 
Agriculture in India employs 70% of the working population and about 84% of all economically active women. However, some argue that 84% is an underestimate. In reality there are few women in rural areas who are not ‘farmers’ in some way, be it working on the family farm, working as wage labour, or working as share croppers.

A disproportionate number of those still dependent on land are women in India. 58 percent of all male workers but 78 percent of all female workers, and 86 percent of all rural female workers, are in agriculture. The irony however is that they do not have control over agriculture.

The problems of women in agriculture resemble the same ‘progressive set of problems’ that other marginalised communities face in the general population but in a more acute and distressing manner. However, when addressed in a women-centric manner, the potential for increased productivity, restoration of ecological balance, for high positive social impacts like increased status, self-confidence and food security for communities are all increased much more tangibly than working in a gender-neutral manner. The problems relate to land ownership, security of tenure, land quality issues in cases where land ownership is assured, and finally, land management issues in terms of agriculture and the support systems it requires.

As both theory and empirical evidence inform us, there is a particular continuum related to women and social justice – land ownership by women - viable and sustainable land use patterns – increased productivity – environmental sustainability – sustained food security etc. Such a continuum should be recognised and given a central importance in policy formulations.

CSA is aware of and sensitive to the need to give a central space to women in agriculture and restore some positive roles for them, even as certain gendered roles that are accompanied by drudgery are to be changed. In our programmes, women play a central role, whether as extension agents reaching out to farming women and men or as farmers on the ground, taking part in our trainings and programmes actively.

At a policy level, CSA took a couple of opportunities provided by the National Farmers’ Commission and by MANAGE, to articulate our views on what should be done to improve the situation of women farmers and agricultural workers.