There is a lot of talk about
women empowerment and gender justice. In a few fields of work, women do not get
entry; in some others, they are discriminated. However, agriculture is one such
field where women are present but are invisible. Women farmers are involved in a
wide range of activities (including land preparation, seed selection, applying
manure and fertilizers, threshing, harvesting etc.,) still the image of Indian
farmer is that of a male.
Why is this only a partial image?
Though it is very difficult to establish empirically, one cannot deny that
there is increasing feminisation of agriculture. The proportion of male workers
in primary sector has gone down steadily from 83.3% in 1972-73, to 67.1% in
2004-05, to 43.6% in 2011-12 (NSS data). The decline in female participation
during the same period has been slower from 89.7% to 83.3% to 62.8%. This is a
combined effect of several factors like – fewer opportunities for female
outside agriculture, lack of education and required skill set, migration of men,
lesser mobility because of familial responsibilities and patriarchal system. This
increased presence of women in agriculture, did not result in as much increase
in authority, rights or access to resources, as it increased the burden of
responsibilities on them.
Primary cultivators are usually
men (or assumed so) while women are subsidiary workers. Official
statistics (Census and NSS) stand testimony to this, which define ‘work’ as a
productive activity, which is market oriented and for which remuneration is
paid. This points the difficulties in valuation of women’s work. Neither total
commodification of household work nor unpaid and unrecognised effort is
suggestible. Nevertheless, it is important to recognise women farmers’
contribution to GDP, officially, for it gives them more bargaining power and
more importantly recognition. Otherwise, people see farming less as an economic
activity and more as a domestic help.
Lack of access to and
discrimination against women in land, labour, capital markets is another issue.
Ownership of land can change the power relations between men and women in not
only the family but also in institutions, as it opens up membership in credit
and market cooperatives (Maithreyi and Aruna, 2008). Though social attitudes
obstruct progressive laws, right legal and policy interventions are important
for increasing agricultural efficiency and welfare of women. Government land
transfer in the name of female head of the family is a right step in this direction.
Labour issues faced by women
farmers are twofold. There is a wide gender gap ranging from 50 – 75% in
agricultural labour wages. Though this is not a sole sector to experience
gender gap, the absolute wages are lower comparatively and hence poverty levels
are high. The second issue is that women landowners find it difficult to
recruit male labourers. Both are social issues and recognising women farmers
and empowering them better will bring in attitudinal changes, which are very
much required given the seasonal nature of agriculture, increasing
feminisation, and woman headed families.
When hardly any credit is given
for women’s work as a farmer, getting credit for investment is very difficult.
There are fewer options available in other sectors. Lower literacy, familial
constraints and social stigma make it difficult for women to come out of
agriculture. Therefore, women have to continue in agriculture in spite of many
problems.
Few NGOs succeeded in making
agriculture viable for women. In Andhra Pradesh Medak district, Deccan
Development Society organised around 5000 women into voluntary associations,
consisting mostly of dalits. This initiative is reported to have improved food
security and nutritional status of women. In all the villages they have worked
in, it seemed to have increased women’s control over natural resources, market
and even media. They shot many films on their work, biodiversity and they run a
radio. SEWA in Gujarat has also organised women into cooperatives to cultivate wasteland.
Many such initiatives are
achieving no less. However, the disconnection from broader policy is hampering
any large scale change. This will leave behind many women to struggle every day
to survive. One of the major policy goals mentioned in National Policy for
Farmers, 2007 was – ‘to mainstream the human and gender dimension in all farm policies
and programs’. It also mentions of land rights and support services to women
farmers, their key role in livestock and fisheries management, water resources
and in the application and documentation of traditional knowledge. It also talks about the need for special
attention in credit access to women as they lack land title and many more.
We do not need a comprehensive
policy document that envisages achieving all the good things to make women
farmers’ lives better. There is an urgent need to implement them. Also, what we
need is facilitation by the administration to help women support their own
selves (in the lines of Deccan Development Society). It is good enough if the
government can provide a crech to help women working in the farm, it need not
look after the child. If the specific needs of growing feminisation in agriculture
are not addressed at the right time, it would not only not empower the women
but also disempower them.
