article 7 august 2020 A STUDY ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENTTHROUGHSUSTAINABLE.pdf

A STUDY ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENTTHROUGHSUSTAINABLE
ORGANIC FARMING
UMA.K
Assistant professor & Research scholar
chanduma25@gmail.com
Mobile: 9916262474
PoojaBhagavat Memorial Mahajana Education Centre, Mysuru.
Dr. RECHANNA
Associate professor & Research guide
Email: drrechanna@ gmail.com
Mobile: 9480057463
JSS College for Women, Saraswathipuram, Mysuru.
ABSTRACT:
In direction to awaken the people, it is the woman who has to be awakened. Once she is on
change, the family change, the village change, the nation change – said by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The women are the strength of the agricultural workforce and are an important part of the Indian
economy. They play a significant role because farming is largely a household enterprise. The key role
of women farmers includes their contribution in the field of organic agriculture, food security,
horticulture, dairy, nutrition, sericulture, fisheries, and other allied sectors.
The main objectives of the articles are to focus on the Issues, Challenges, and opportunities for
women farmers in sustainable organic farming. This study mainly highlights the agricultural activities
carried out by women farmers in different areas of organic farming, and how to empower women
through organic farming by creating awareness. The study suggests that there is a need for government
support and agricultural research program to overcome the existing gaps and to face the emerging
issues, challenges for sustainable development and livelihood of poor smallholders, especially women
farmers in organic farming. Finally, the study concludes that how the involvement in sustainable
organic farming can empower women. This article is an important step in what we see as an urgent
need for further work on understanding the interactions between the knowledge of indigenous women
and organic agriculture.
Keywords: Organic farming, Women empowerment, Government support, Sustainable environment,
Work Participation rate, Compound Growth Rate.
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Volume 8, Issue 8, 2020

INTRODUCTION
India is a developing country. Indians' main profession is agriculture and agriculture is the
backbone of the Indian economy since 70 % of the population is engaged with this agricultural
profession. A lot of women in developing countries are occupied in agriculture. The long-standing
difficulties faced by rural women in terms of inadequate access to productive resources (Inputs, Credit,
Transport, Land Extension, Services, Technical Assistance, and Storage) stop them from adopting new
technologies or encoring them for economies of scale. This paper finds that agriculture generates many
jobs for women in the agriculture sector. Jobs that bring many household resources under women's
control leads to greater earnings in the family. Although women are more than ever finally employed,
differences in wages earned by women and men continue in all countries. The women farmers also
have less access to productive resources, especially in developing countries. Due to these reasons and
women’s lower education levels compel the women to have a greater tendency to remain in subsistence
agriculture. The effect of liberalization and globalization on women is important not only because they
represent almost half of the total population, but also because they face restrictions, which make them
less advantageous from the liberalization. These effects are resolute well-designed policy comebacks
with many help to women in taking advantage of greater openness to organic agriculture.
The women play a major and important role in organic farming development and allied fields
including in the main agricultural production like horticulture, livestock, agro/ social forestry, post-
harvest operations, fisheries, etc. The environment and extent of women’s involvement in organic
agriculture, no doubt, differ obviously from region to region. Even within a region, their involvement
varies widely among different farming systems, ecological sub-zones, castes, classes and stages in the
family cycle. But regardless of these variations, there is hardly any activity in agricultural production,
except plowing in which women are not actively involved. Several studies on women in organic
farming conducted in India and other developing and underdeveloped countries all point to the
conclusion that women contribute far more too agricultural production than has generally been
approved.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Swami Nathan, the well-known agrarian scientist defines that it was a woman who first
cultivated plants and thereby started the art and science of farming. Continuing the additional
subdivisions in this sector, like fisheries animal husbandry, and vegetable cultivation depends almost
only on women. The study states that an average woman devotes nearly 3300 hours in the field in a
harvest season as against 1860 hours by a man. Women have engaged and continue to perform a key
role in the protection of basic life support systems such as water, land, and environment.
The Agriculture Survey in India is conducted at five-yearly intervals to collect data on structural
aspects of operative holdings in the country. The Agriculture Survey program is carried out in three
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stages at five-yearly intervals with the cooperation of States/UTs. According to the agriculture survey
of 2010-11, only 12.79 percent of rural women have operational land ownership. But in the percentage
share of female operational holders has increased from 12.79% in 2010-11 to 13.96% in 2015-16 with
the corresponding figures of 10.36% and 11.72% in the operated area. This indicates that a number of
females are joining the management and operation of agricultural lands.
According to Sasha (2019) highlights that Farmizen is currently present in Bengaluru,
Hyderabad, and Surat, with about 1,500 subscribers and 24 farms across the three cities, and around 40
acres of land under cultivation. They want to expand to 100,000 families and generate over Rs 300
crore in recurring revenue in two years. The farmers in Indian villages were migrating to towns and
cities as farming was not viable. Women in the village organized themselves into a group with the
support of an NGO and are now reaping rich harvests adopting sustainable agriculture practices. Hill
farming has its own challenges – undulating topography, fragmented and scattered land holdings, poor
and shallow soils prone to erosion, leading to soil degradation and more. With the male members of the
family migrating, women are getting engaged in agriculture.
In Adbhora village in Bhikhyasen block, in Uttarakhand, a non-profit organization is serving in
the name of Sanjeevani, chose to promote sustainable organic agricultural practices, in the field of rural
development. They engaged 51 women farmers, with marginal and fragmented land holdings, and
organized them into two groups. The study says women were trained on how to grow crops,
organically. They were taught on preparing biodynamic compost, vermin composting, and liquid
compost (Jeevamrut) using farm wastes and cow dung. The women were also trained in organic pest
and disease management. The women groups cultivated a variety of vegetables like Brinjal,
cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, and chili. The seeds were preserved with PSB,Trichoderma to reduce the
impact of fungal and bacterial diseases. The nurseries were raised and monitored and land preparation
supervised. The seedlings were treated with panchagavya before transferring them into the main field.
They got improved yields of vegetables when compared to the previous year. Their minimum earnings
increase from Rs 47,000 per season to Rs. 86000. Similarly, dairy farming was promoted to enable
them to get regular income.
The study highlights that a lady Tara Devi aged 51 years of Adbhora village; she became a
member of “Jaivik Utpadak Upsamuh Adbhora”, an organic farmer group containing 20 members.
Rather than her hectic household work and criticism from people around, she boldly participated in the
training. In the 3.54 hectares of land, besides chili farming, she developed a poly house of 20×5 meters
under which she produced vegetables like peas, cabbage, okra, capsicum, and brinjal. She grew 200
fruit trees of peach, apricot guava, and plum. She set up a pond of size 6x5x1.5 mts and started
fisheries in the same pond. From the profits of selling fish, she invested in a structure to take up
poultry. Now she makes a profit of Rs. 6000 – 7000 per month from dairy and Rs 20,000–25,000 from
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chili farming for the entire season, a gain of Rs 10,000-15,000, from earlier levels. This woman has
inspired several other women including 14 more members in her group. Now, the daily production of
milk from the village is 50 liters. And, 8-10 lakhs worth of chili is sold every year from the village.
Sanjeevani, along with the Uttarakhand Organic Commodity Board, is providing market linkages to the
growers so that the farm produce could be sold to the consumers without the connection of
intermediaries.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
Land rights fundamentally escape women. This is a major issue in understanding why women’s
work as farmers is largely unseen. Though, the maximum migration of men towards hunting other non-
agricultural employment opportunities due to the worsening agricultural crisis has pushed more women
into this segment.In Punjab, state which was pushed as a success of the green revolutionleads cancer
rates have increased rapidly. In a 2008 study by Punjab University a high rate of genetic damage among
farmers, which was recognized for pesticide use. Unawareness of the proper use of pesticides, resulting
in heavy use, improper disposal, the use of pesticides as kitchen containers, and the impurity of
drinking water with heavy metals are contributing factors. In response to the health and monetary costs
of inorganic farming, many women are changing to organic farming practices.
NEED OF THE STUDY:
Despite being rich in natural resources, agriculture is the dominant economic sector, involves
directly or indirectly a large percentage of the population and is facing several ongoing challenges that
were worsened by the Indian crisis. Women are usually not listed as primary earners and owners of
land assets within their families. So getting loans, participating in Mandi panchayats, assessing and
deciding the crop patterns, and bargaining for MSPs (minimum support prices), loans and subsidies,
remain as male activities. Over the last decade, as farming became less and less profitable and small
and marginal farmers began migrating to cities, rural jobs for full-time women daily-wage laborers in
the agricultural sector have minimized alarmingly. The gender wage gap is highest in agricultural
sector. In the wake of the severe water crisis, several women agricultural laborers have to shift
professions and they find it difficult to adapt themselves to any other work apart from farming.so, in
micro-level women are try to adopt themselves for organic farming. And organizing into collectives to
exchange knowledge, organize organic seed sharing, to pursue organic and sustainable agricultural
practices.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
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Altenbuchner& et al., (2017)1
: This study focuses on the effects of organic farming initiatives on the
empowerment of farmers as perceived by female farmers; a qualitative field study with interviews in
Odisha was conducted, to explore the effects of organic farming initiatives on the empowerment of
women as perceived by female farmers. The results show that, even though organic farming has
positive impacts on women, such as improvements in health and food security, there are significant
drawbacks due to factors such as the additional workload.
Dhruv&Munmun (2016)2
: The aim of this paper is to explore the perception of women’s
participation, empowerment and food sovereignty among the marginalized women farmers in the state
of Tamil Nadu in India. This paper also analyzes the issue of land ownership, litigation cases involving
women, and the role of community organizations which impel the hitherto marginalized women
towards a self-sustainable, self-sufficient and self-governed environment in a rural agricultural
economy. The author suggests that the practice of collective and organic farming has introduced and
made remarkable changes: enhanced awareness about farming and its significance for women, the
utility and long-term effectiveness of farming as a dynamic practice rather than a stagnant one,
Galiea& et al., (2013)3
: They highlight in this article on a study on women’s roles and identity as
farmers, as perceived by in-depth research in context of a participatory plant breeding program. The
findings disclose that a woman farmer, at household and community levels, is biased by gender norms.
The findings say that Women farmers in the village play very essential roles in organic farming and are
gradually involved in agricultural management, but they are generally overlooked or under-valued as
farmers by both men and women, at the household and community levels.
Jitendra and Ashima (2012)4
: They conducted a study on the organic farming follows the principle of
circular causation and has occurred in reply to issues on health, environment and sustainability issues.
The author focuses on the status, opportunities, and potentials of India. The study identifies constraints
that hamper the adoption of organic farming especially for small farm holders who constitute over 70%
of the farming community in India.
Cathy and Jessica (2009)5
: They performed research on “Organic Agriculture and Women’s’
Empowerment”, the study aims how participation in organic and sustainable farming can empower
women, and how does the participation of women stretch and extend the multiple goals of organic and
sustainable farming. The article reveals that the terms organic and sustainable can be used
interchangeably. They recognize that ecological farming, and agro ecological farming
1
Christine Altenbuchner, Stefan Vogel, Manuela Larcher (2017): “Effects of organic farming on the empowerment of women: A case study on the perception of
female farmers in Odisha, India”, www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif, volume 64, Pag.No.28–33.
2
Dhruv&Munmun (2016): “Collective and Organic Farming in Tamil Nadu: Women’s Participation, Empowerment and Food Sovereignty”, Canadian Center of
Science and Education, Journal of Asian Social Science, www.ccsenet.org/ass, ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN 1911-2025, Issue No. 8, Vol. 12,page no- 184-91.
3
A. Galièa, J. Jiggins, P.C. Struik (2013): “Women’s identity as farmers: A case study from ten households in Syria”, NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life
Sciences Volume-64, Issue– 65 (2013) Page no.25– 33
4
JitendraPandey and Ashima Singh (2012): “Opportunities and constraints in organic farming: an Indian perspective”, Journal of Scientific Research, Vol.
56, ISSN: 0447-9483, Page No: 47-72.
5
Cathy Farnworth and Jessica Hutchings (2009)5
: “Organic Agriculture and Women’s’ Empowerment”, www.ifoam.org, ISBN 13: 978-3-940946-15-7,
Page No; 1-85.
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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
1. To understand the concept of women empowerment through organic farming.
2. To study the Issues and challenges that affect women to access these opportunities.
3. To study government support for women farmers to opt for organic farming.
4. To provide recommendations for improving women’s participation in organic farming
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The current study has been made on the basis of secondary data sources. The secondary data
was collected from related research publications in books, journals, periodicals, dairies, and reports
available on the chosen topic. And also the internet was used to collect information on the theoretical
background of women empowerment through organic farming.
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:
1. This study is restricted to understand the basic knowledge of women empowerment through organic
farming in Indian scenario.
2. This study is based on secondary data.
1. To understand the concept and ideas of women empowerment through organic farming
In India, organic farming has been promoted for many years. The main objective is to enhance
farmers' livelihoods and to achieve environmental improvements. The article mainly focuses on local
natural resources, on sustainable cultivation and on decreasing the use of external synthetic inputs such
as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, defoliants, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and
chemically treated seeds). Still, the international principles of organic farming specifically include the
aim of increasing gender equality in the agricultural sector (IFOAM, 2007), rather than environmental,
economic and social dimensions (IFOAM, 2014). According to IFOAM (2007), organic farming can
help women to gain access to education, increase their power in decision-making as well as improve
their lifestyle and health condition. The sustainable organic farming additionally empowers women by
allowing them to apply their traditional knowledge and embrace their role as ‘keeper of seeds’ which in
turn encourages biodiversity. Further, through higher and more diverse income as well as lower input
costs women faceless financial risks and is less at risk of exploitation due to a higher level of social
awareness. The damage of biodiversity in India and especially food crops is a serious concern of food
security and the sustainability of the agricultural sector in India. The link between women farmers and
environmental health is not simply for survival.
The women farmers in India are the main producers of food in terms of value, volume and
number of hours worked. In rural India, the percentage of women who hang on agriculture is as high as
70%. The women farmers from 60-80 % produce food in most developing countries and are
responsible for half of the world’s food production; therefore, women’s role in food production ensures
the survival of millions of people in all regions.
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Table 1–shows the share of farm women in agricultural operations in various activities
Activity Involvement (Percentage)
Land preparation 32
Seed cleaning and sowing 80
Inter cultivation activities 86
Harvesting reaping, winnowing, drying, cleaning, and storage 84
Source: Registrar General of India, New Delhi, 2001
Table 2: shows the gender difference in participation of agricultural workin India
Parameters 2001(%) 2011(%)
Overall work participation rate in India 39.2 39.8
Work participation rate amongst women 25.6 25.5
Work participation rate amongst men 51.9 53.2
Cultivators to total workers 31.7 24.6
Agri. Laborers (AL) to total workers 26.7 30.0
Women cultivators amongst total cultivators 32.3 30.3
Women AL amongst total AL 46.6 42.7
(Men)Cultivators amongst men workers 31.3 24.9
(Women) cultivators amongst women workers 32.5 24.0
(Men)AL amongst total men workers 20.8 24.9
(Women)AL amongst total men workers 39.4 41.1
Source: Men and Women in India (Census Report). (ICAR-CIWA)
Table 3 shows the average farm size of land in different countries in the world
SL.No Country Average farm sizes
1 India about 1.5 acres,
2 France 50 hectares
3 United States 178 hectares
4 Canada. 273 hectares
Source: Own data
Table 4: shows the rural households holding agricultural land in India
SL.No Pattern of land holding In %
1 not possess any land 7.2 %
2 Less than 0.4 hectares 51%
3 0.41 to 1 hectare 19.1 %
4 1.01 to 2 hectares 11.5 %
5 above 2 hectares 11.2 %
Source: NSSO Data
The above table shows that Indian farming is dominated by small and marginal farmers. The
proportion of rural households not possessing any land or which possessed less than 0.4-hectare land
was quite high in the states of Bihar, Goa, Maharashtra, Sikkim, and Tamilnadu. Also, the proportion of
agriculture labor households was quite high in some of these states. It was 38 percent in Bihar, 41.7
percent in Maharashtra and Karnataka and 45.2 percent in Tamilnadu. An integrated effort is needed
from government and nongovernment agencies to encourage farmers to adopt OF as a solution to
climate change, health, and sustainability issue.
Fig 1: State-wise Women Participation in Agricultural & Non – Agricultural Activities
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Farming is the single largest production sector in India, contributing 25 percent of GDP, which
is increasingly becoming a female activity. The agriculture sector employs 4/5th of all economically
active women in the country. 48 percent of India’s self-employed farmers are women. The 75 million
women involved in dairying as against 15 million men and 20 million in animal husbandry as compared
to 1.5 million men. The women farmer possesses detailed knowledge of agriculture and the use of plant
and plant products for food, medicine and animal feed.
Table.5 Compound Growth Rate (CGR) of Cultivators and Agricultural labours of India
STATES
CULTIVATORS AG.LABOUR
MALE CGR FEMALE CGR MALE CGR FEMALE CGR
Andhra Pradesh 1.002 0.996 1.015 1.010
Kerala 0.989 0.973 1.007 1.039
Tamil Nadu 0.994 0.994 1.016 1.014
Karnataka 1.004 0.994 1.016 1.015
Gujrat 1.006 0.989 1.022 1.012
Maharashtra 1.005 1.000 1.013 1.056
Madhya Pradesh 1.001 0.987 1.015 1.011
Punjab 0.989 0.953 1.012 1.020
Uttar Pradesh 1.003 0.987 1.017 0.999
Rajasthan 1.008 1.003 1.021 1.016
Himachal Pradesh 1.011 1.008 1.025 1.019
Bihar 0.997 0.972 1.020 1.003
Orissa 0.999 0.980 1.013 1.015
West Bengal 1.001 0.992 1.019 1.018
Assam 1.000 0.981 1.024 1.040
Nagaland 1.019 1.016 1.037 1.026
Manipur 1.004 1.004 1.063 1.058
Tripura 1.000 0.990 1.030 1.050
The above table shows that the Compound Growth Rate (CAGR) for males and females over
the multiple year periods. The CRG is shown for farmers and agricultural Labour for all the states of
India from the period 1961-2001. The CGR is almost uniform for all the states showing very slight
changes in a few states which show a bit higher CGR than the rest. Some states like Nagaland,
Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan show good growth rate in the case of male cultivators. But Nagaland
shows the highest CGR in the case of both male and female cultivators. There are some states like
Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Rajasthan that illustrate a fine Compound Growth Rate for female
cultivators. The male and female Agricultural Laborers in Manipur shows the highest and Kerala shows
the lowest Compound Growth Rate (CGR) for male agricultural labor and the lowest CGR for female
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agricultural labor Analysis of Women Participation in Indian Agriculture is of Bihar. Some women
farmers in Maharashtra, Tripura, and Kerala perform a good compound growth rate also the male
agricultural labor of Nagaland, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Assam show good CGR.
Table 6: Shows the agricultural farmers in Karnataka during 2001 and 2011 Census
Population Census 2011 Census 2001 (Population in ‘000’)
Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban
Total farmers 61,095 37,469 23,626 52,851 34,889 17,962
Males 30,967 18,929 12,037 26,899 17,649 9,250
Females 30,129 18,540 11,589 25,952 17,240 8,712
Source: Karnataka Census, 2011
2. To examine the issues and challenges affects women to access opportunities in organic farming
a) Issues and challenges of organic farming
1. Gender Division of Labor in India:-In India, Women earn fewer wages, especially in joint,
informal and private sector. Some of the women farmers work in farming activity without any payment.
According to the United Nations Human Development Report, only 32.8% of Indian women formally
participate in the labor force, by comparison, men constitute 81.1%.
2. Women farmers Literacy rare:-As predicted, 52-75% of Indian women involved in agriculture are
illiterate, and an education barrier that avoids women from participating in more skilled labor sectors.
The absence of employment flexibility and education reduce the majority of women farmers in a
vulnerable situation, as they are dependents on the growth and stability of the organic farming market.
3. Time allocation for farming: - The time allocation, which pinpoints exactly how a woman's hours
are spent throughout the week, Indian women spend about 25 hours in a week doing household tasks
and five hours in caring and community work. Moreover the 30 hours of unpaid work, women spend
the same amount of time as men carrying out agricultural work.
4. Property Ownership Rights of Indian Women: The critical resources such as land are also
unevenly distributed by gender. Women rarely enjoy property ownership rights directly in their names.
They have little control over decisions made in reference to land.
5. Rural Credit for agriculture :-Moreover, the access of women to the most crucial input “credit” is
limited since they are not landowners; the credit flow generally goes in the name of the male.
6. Women have limited access to use of productive resources.
7. Women perform all un-mechanized agricultural tasks and perform multiple tasks which add more
burdens to them due to lack of equipment and appropriate technology.
8. Women have little control over decision making process, either inside home or outside home.
9. Miss applying some laws and regulations in favor of women such heritage legislation.
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10. Lack of market intelligence and inadequate information put women farmers under unfavorable
situation with weak bargaining power with the buyers.
b) Opportunities in organic farming
1. Perceived positive impacts of organic farming on the livelihood of female farmers and on the
empowerment of women: The interviewed female farmers perceived different positive effects of
organic farming, such as improved health condition, improved food security and an improved standard
of living as well as reduced farming expenditures, less financial dependency of farming households on
money lenders and facilitated access to seeds.
2. Improved health conditions of female farmers and their families: Female farmers described
health improvements as one of the most important impacts due to organic farming. According to the
female farmers, this resulted in lower medical expenses and had a positive social effect by reducing
concerns on health and financial burdens within the family.
3. Improved food security: Many women stated that organic farming improved the food security
situation of their households in three ways, by intercropping cash crop fields with food crops, by
introducing new diverse food crops and through higher food crop yields.
4. Improved standard of living: The Organic farming intervention has positive effects on education
and the standard of living of the farming family. Women can invest in school uniforms, books, and
other utensils and are able to finance higher education for their children, including girls. These
investments are decisive in bridging the gender gap in the literacy rate.
5. Reduced farming expenditures and less financial dependency of farming households: Female
farmers reported reduced input costs as one of the most important impacts of organic farming. In
organic farming, these external inputs are replaced by self-made bio-pesticides and organic fertilizers,
which greatly reduce production costs. As a result, farming households depend less on money lenders
and their financial situation has improved.
6. Diversified income sources empower female farmers: Organic cotton has helped women to
generate additional income, by diversifying their sources of income as selling food crops and food crop
seeds as well as through tailoring, fishery, and livestock keeping activities
7. Facilitated access to seeds: The Female farmers facilitated to access seeds as another important
impact of organic farming. By managing these seed banks, women have access to more diverse, locally
adapted food crop seeds and therefore provide seed sovereignty independent of markets and expensive
hybrid seeds.
3. To study government support for women farmers to opt for organic farming
When there is no proper scheme for women farmer in India, the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran
Pariyojana (MKSP) is the only sub-program under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural
Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) particularly targeted at women farmers. The NRLM targets to reach
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out to 8-9 crore rural poor households to strengthen and organize one woman per household into self-
help groups to take up organic farming in clusters. As per the ministry of rural development’s norms, “a
total of 57,270 Mahila Kisan have been registered through 5,816 local groups for the implementation of
organic farming”. The same norm also identifies approximately 14.03 lakh of women farmers under the
State Rural Livelihoods Mission and MKSP. As anyone can perceive, women are at the center of
executing the objectives of organic farming of the government. Though, the total financial allocation
for MKSP in 2018-19 was a mere Rs 1,000 crore. As MKSP is a sub-programme the allocations for
2019-20 are yet to be announced. Although the allocations for NRLM have increased over the years, an
increase in an allocation for MKSP has yet to be realized effectively.
In fact, the trends since 2014 show that not only does the policy framework suffers low levels of
allocation and expenditure but also shows how it misplaced the government’s importance continues to
be in the agrarian sector with respect to women farmers. The sub-program under NRLM for Mahila
Kisan needs to be scaled up and backed with better resource mobilization plans, which may not be
sufficient as work for women farmers in varies region. Moreover, transparency in the process of
identifying and registering women farmers is important for better outcomes. As per the announcement
made by the ministry of agriculture in Lok Sabha on August 2, 2016, budgetary allocations for women
farmers have been made at 30 % on various schemes like Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization,
support for organic farming, National Food Security Mission, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, National
Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm, Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material and Mission for
Integrated Development of Horticulture (National Mission on Horticulture). The income guarantee
scheme of Rs 6,000 per annum under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana for farmers owning
less than 2 hectares of land announced in the interim budget is also outside the framework as most
women in agriculture do not own land. In the absence of schemes designed especially for women
farmers, the government needs to minimize gaps in land and asset ownership, the wage gap, supportive
infrastructure, access to credit, subsidized fertilizers, and recognition to entitlements among others.
4. To provide recommendations for improving women’s participation in organic farming
1. More amenities should be given to poor rural women for land, organic agricultural and livestock
extension services.
2. By providing financial powers to women farmers in accessing credit on soft terms from banks and
other financial institutions for landholdings, setting up their occupation, for buying properties, and for
house building etc.
3. The separate education policy for women may serve the purpose to improve women's literacy rates.
4. The women must be involved in administrative bodies that have the possibility to introduce structural
changes. This will bring some changes in gender relations in society.
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5. The women farmers must be aware of their existing rights, access to judicial relief and
compensation, eliminating discrimination through legal improvements, and providing legal assistance,
and counseling.
6. The women farmers Skill empowerment training in the area of numerous operations- Organic
farming, Vocational training, Field operations, Conservation of biodiversity and Nutritional bio-
security etc.
7. The women farmers' development in technology by designing tools for various field operations,
animal husbandry, artificial insemination, veterinary knowledge, and other income activities like -
Mushroom cultivation, Floriculture etc.
8. The Creation of self-help groups for women farmers to their financial support, and generation of
employment.
9. To empower the women farmers by projection of successful women farmers in organic farming, and
representation of their contribution in our economy.
10. Minimum and equal wages should be fixed by state government for women agricultural -labours
and the rates should be reviewed periodically.
CONCLUSION:
Rural women are the main contributors to agriculture and its associated areas. Her scope of
work varies from crop production, livestock production to cottage industry. Her work-related choices
are also restricted due to societal and traditional constraints, gender favoritism in the labor market, and
lack of supportive facilities such as childcare, transport, and accommodation in the formal sector of the
labor market. Women’s labor power is considered inferior because of owners' predetermined opinion of
women’s primary role as homemakers. As a result of discrimination against female labor, women are
concentrated in the secondary sector of the labor market. There are having lower wages, low status,
casual, and lacks potential upward mobility.
Observing at the present importance of women in agriculture and their limited access to
research and extension services it is urgently needed to revamp the entire approach towards women
farmers to provide their existing needs highlighting the future challenges which the country has to face
in the coming years. Hence, the empowerment of rural women farmers is the need of this era, as it is the
only positive way of making women as “partners” in development and bringing them into the
mainstream of organic farming development. The government has to take interest in solving their
problems, the government should not only invent “the schemes but they have to see whether the
schemes are working successfully or not. By this, women farmers will come out of these problems and
can lead to a better life. The focusing on ‘delivering knowledge’ such as technical training on organic
farming practices is important to empower women in order to be able to act autonomously and
independently.
ISSN NO: 0776-3808
AEGAEUM JOURNAL

REFERENCE:
Cathy Farnsworth and Jessica Hutchings (2009): “Organic Agriculture and Women’s’ Empowerment”,
www.ifoam.org, ISBN 13: 978-3-940946-15-7, Page No; 1-85.
Christine Altenbuchner, Stefan Vogel, Manuela Larcher (2017): “Effects of organic farming on the
empowerment of women: A case study on the perception of female farmers in Odisha, India”,
www.elsevier.com/locate/wsif, volume 64, Pag.No.28–33.
Dhruv&Munmun (2016): "Industry Collective and Organic Farming in Tamil Nadu: Women’s
Participation, Empowerment and Food Sovereignty", Canadian Center of Science and
Education, Journal of Asian Social Science, www.ccsenet.org/ass, ISSN 1911-2017 E-ISSN
1911-2025, Issue No. 8, Vol. 12, page no- 184-91.
Galièa, J. Jiggins, P.C. Struik (2013): “Women’s identity as farmers: A case study from ten households
in Syria”, Journal of Life Sciences Volume-64, Issue– 65 (2013) Page no.25– 33.JitendraPandey
and Ashima Singh (2012): “Opportunities and constraints in organic farming: an Indian
perspective”, Journal of Scientific Research, Vol. 56, ISSN: 0447-9483, Page No: 47-72.
https://leisaindia.org/organic-vegetable-farming-by-women/
https://yourstory.com/herstory/2019/04/women-farming-initiatives-agriculture-india
http://www.ifoam.org/ about ifoam/status/index.html. (IFOAM 2007 and2014)
https://www.ilo.org/empelm/pubs/WCMS_143349/lang--en/index.htm
http://www.isec.ac.in/Agri%20Profile-Karnataka.pdf
ISSN NO: 0776-3808
AEGAEUM JOURNAL

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