CHENNAI: Women shoulder much of the work in agriculture but remain largely invisible in law and policy as they do not have land ownership, said Dr C Chandramouli, retd IAS officer and Member, Board of Trustee, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), at the inaugural session of a two-day international conference organised by MSSRF as part of its foundation day celebrations.
The conference, titled ‘Building Gender Just Food, Land and Water Systems’, was held in the backdrop of the United Nations (2026) declaring this year as the International Year of Woman Farmer.
Describing the daily routine of women in farming households, from milking the cows, watering the vegetable garden, cooking for the family, taking care of children to planting, harvesting and post-harvest work, Dr Chandramouli said their contribution remains unrecognised because land ownership documents are usually in the names of male family members.
Citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey (2023-24), he said 76.9% of the rural female workforce is engaged in agriculture, compared to only 49.4% of men. However, only 14.1% of land holdings are in women’s names. “Women farmers must be counted, recognised and institutionally supported,” he said, adding that their work is often dismissed as unpaid household labour.
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Fellow of the Royal Society and Chairperson of MSSRF, welcomed the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill, 2026, and expressed hope that other states would introduce similar measures.