Keeping seeds, feeding families: The quiet labour of women farmers
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Context
The article highlights the critical yet largely unrecognized role of women farmers in Indian agriculture. Despite making up a significant portion of the agricultural workforce—approximately 64.4% in 2023-24 according to a report—they are often treated as labourers rather than farmers. Using case studies from Chizami, Nagaland, and the Koraput region of Odisha, the article illustrates how women are central to preserving indigenous seeds, maintaining biodiversity, and ensuring community resilience against climate change through institutions like community seed banks.
UPSC Perspectives
Social & Economic
The article brings to light the concept of feminization of agriculture, where women increasingly manage farming as men migrate for non-farm work. However, this increased responsibility does not translate into increased power or recognition. The core issue is the systemic lack of formal recognition for women as 'farmers', primarily due to the absence of land titles in their names. This exclusion creates significant economic barriers, preventing access to crucial government support systems like institutional credit through the [Kisan Credit Card (KCC)], crop insurance under the [Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)], and direct income support from schemes like [PM-KISAN]. As the suggests, the policy goal should be to upgrade their position from wage labourers to enterprise leaders, which requires structural reforms in land rights and targeted financial inclusion.
Environmental & Governance
Women farmers are presented as custodians of ecological stability and climate resilience. Through community seed banks, as seen in Chizami where the provides support, they conserve hundreds of indigenous crop varieties. This practice is a vital form of in-situ conservation (conserving species in their natural habitats), which safeguards agricultural biodiversity against threats from climate change and monoculture. The Koraput region in Odisha, recognized by the as a [Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS)], exemplifies how traditional farming systems managed by tribal communities, with women at the forefront, contribute to global food security. These informal knowledge systems, which include practices like mixed cropping and soil care, are living examples of sustainable agriculture that reduce dependence on chemical inputs and enhance the resilience of food systems.
Policy & Institutional Framework
The article exposes a major policy gap: while women perform the majority of agricultural labor, the institutional framework is not designed to support them. Key schemes often require land ownership as a prerequisite for benefits, a criterion most women do not meet due to patriarchal inheritance norms. While the government has launched initiatives like the [Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP)] and promotes women-led Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), their impact is limited without addressing the foundational issue of land rights. The article's case studies show that grassroots organizations and community-led initiatives are currently filling the gap. For UPSC, this highlights the need for policy coherence—amending eligibility criteria for farm schemes to recognize operational cultivators (not just owners), promoting joint land titling, and formally integrating community-managed seed conservation efforts into national biodiversity and climate action plans.