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 Trustees, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), at the inaugural session of a two-day international conference organised by MSSRF as part of its Annual 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 and the Union government would introduce similar measures.
Prof S Mahendra Dev, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said women farmers face challenges such as lack of land ownership, limited access to government schemes, institutional credit and insurance, marketing constraints, unpaid care work, low representation in farmer producer organisations, cooperatives and panchayats, and the digital divide.
Since agriculture is a State subject, he called for forums for coordination between the Union and state governments.
While there are several goals for empowerment of women farmers, he indicated that none will succeed without land ownership, which he said is a medium term goal. Maharashtra Minister for Women and Child Development Aditi Varda Sunil Tatkare attended the event as a Guest of Honour.
