Patriarchial Culture in Agriculture

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.

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