Towards recognising women farmers
Maharashtra’s passage of the Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, granting women independent recognition as farmers irrespective of land ownership, brings into focus the structural bias against the female agricultural workforce, highlights the need for a database of women farmers and using it to ensure access to welfare schemes
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Context
Maharashtra recently passed the Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, a landmark legislation granting women independent recognition as farmers through a 'Woman Farmer Certificate,' irrespective of land ownership. This addresses the long-standing 'recognition gap' in Indian agriculture, where despite women comprising nearly half the agricultural workforce, they are often excluded from state benefits due to the reliance on land records (titles) which are predominantly in men's names.
UPSC Perspectives
Social
The core issue highlighted is the feminisation of agriculture—the increasing participation of women in the agricultural workforce, often due to male out-migration to urban areas for better employment opportunities. Despite this shift, a stark worker-owner dichotomy persists due to deep-rooted patriarchal norms governing property inheritance. The (PLFS) data indicates that while agriculture employs roughly equal numbers of men and women, only 14% of operational land holdings are registered to women according to the . This structural bias results in widespread unpaid female agricultural labour. The Maharashtra Bill represents a crucial shift from property-based recognition to activity-based recognition, acknowledging the crucial role women play as cultivators, labourers, and pastoralists. UPSC often explores this disconnect between women's economic contribution and their asset ownership, particularly in the context of rural development and gender justice.
Governance
The article exposes a significant flaw in state welfare delivery mechanisms: the reliance on land revenue records as the primary identifier for farmer status. Because most land titles are in men's names, women are systematically excluded from agricultural schemes like (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), which provides direct cash transfers, as well as access to institutional credit (like the ), subsidies, and agricultural extension services. The Maharashtra legislation addresses this by creating a legal framework for a land-delinked 'Woman Farmer Certificate'. However, the policy's success hinges on effective implementation, particularly the role of local governance institutions like the in identifying and registering landless women farmers. The need for a standardized, interoperable database, potentially integrated with the (the digital foundation for agricultural data), is crucial to prevent duplication and ensure seamless access to benefits across various platforms.
Economic
From an economic standpoint, the lack of recognition for women farmers acts as a major constraint on agricultural productivity. Without formal recognition, women cannot access formal credit markets, forcing reliance on exploitative informal lenders. They are also denied access to critical inputs, modern technology, and capacity-building programs, leading to suboptimal yields and perpetuating rural poverty. The article highlights successful alternative models, such as Kerala's , a poverty eradication and women's empowerment program that promotes collective farming, enabling women to pool resources and access credit as a group. Recognizing women as independent economic agents is essential for enhancing agricultural output, achieving food security, and promoting inclusive growth, aligning with broader economic goals of poverty reduction and rural development.