Women Farmers in India

Women Farmers in India: From “Invisible Labour” to Recognised Agricultural Agency. Read here to learn more.

Maharashtra has enacted the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Act, 2026, becoming the first Indian State to create a dedicated legal framework for recognising women as farmers irrespective of land ownership. The State has also launched an official Woman Farmer Certificate portal.

The new framework recognises that a woman’s contribution to agriculture cannot be determined solely by whose name appears on the land record. It provides a formal identity for women engaged in agriculture and allied activities and aims to improve their access to credit, insurance, inputs, extension services and government programmes. The Maharashtra Agriculture Department’s portal explicitly states that land ownership is not a condition for recognition.

The development is particularly significant because the United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, highlighting women’s contribution to agrifood systems and the structural barriers limiting their access to resources.

What is the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Act, 2026?

The legislation seeks to address the recognition gap between women who actually participate in farming and women who are formally recorded as farmers.

Under the framework, women engaged in the following activities can qualify for recognition:

• Crop cultivation
• Seed production
• Horticulture
• Animal husbandry
• Dairy
• Poultry
• Fisheries
• Apiculture
• Sericulture
• Agroforestry
• Compost production

The framework also covers categories such as tenant farmers, sharecroppers and agricultural labourers, reflecting an activity-based understanding of farming rather than an ownership-based one.

Woman Farmer Certificate

The certificate provides an official identity as a woman farmer.

Importantly, land ownership is not a prerequisite for certification.

The State’s portal states that the certificate can facilitate access to institutional credit, crop loans, crop insurance, subsidies, skill training, agricultural technology, inputs and market-related support, although individual schemes may continue to have their own eligibility conditions.

Why is Recognition of Women Farmers Important?

The central issue is the distinction between ownership of land and participation in agriculture.

A woman may:

• Sow and transplant crops.
• Weed and harvest.
• Manage livestock.
• Preserve seeds.
• Process agricultural produce.
• Manage farm finances.
• Participate in agricultural marketing.

Yet if the land is recorded in the name of a husband, father or another male relative, she may not be formally recognised as the farmer.

This creates a chain of exclusion, and Maharashtra’s legislation attempts to break this chain at its first stage.

Status of Women in Indian Agriculture

India is witnessing what is commonly described as the feminisation of agriculture, an increasing dependence on women’s labour and participation in agricultural and allied activities.

However, this increased participation has not necessarily translated into ownership, decision-making power or institutional recognition.

Land ownership gap

• Agriculture Census 2015-16 data show that female operational holders accounted for about 14% of operational holdings, up from 12.8% in 2010-11. In terms of operated area, women accounted for only about 11.72% nationally.
• Thus, women’s participation in agriculture is greater than women’s formal control over agricultural assets
• This is the fundamental ownership paradox.

The Recognition Gap in Government Schemes

Many agricultural programmes have historically relied heavily on land records and farmer databases for identifying beneficiaries.

This can disadvantage women who:

• Cultivate family land without ownership.
• Farm leased land.
• Work as sharecroppers.
• Manage livestock or allied activities.
• Perform substantial unpaid work on family farms.

For example, the Union Government reported that over 2.18 crore women farmers received the 23rd PM-KISAN instalment in June 2026, accounting for more than 23% of beneficiaries.

This demonstrates substantial inclusion, but also highlights the continuing importance of ensuring that women who contribute to agriculture but lack conventional land-based documentation are not excluded from formal farmer databases.

Why is Agriculture Becoming Increasingly Feminised?

1. Male Out-Migration

Rural men increasingly migrate to urban and non-farm employment.

Women consequently assume greater responsibility for:

• Cultivation
• Livestock
• Household food production
• Farm management
• Post-harvest activities

2. Limited Rural Non-Farm Employment

Women often face greater barriers to accessing formal non-farm employment because of:

• Limited mobility.
• Care responsibilities.
• Skill gaps.
• Social restrictions.
• Inadequate local employment opportunities.

Agriculture therefore remains an important source of livelihood.

3. Unpaid Family Labour

• Women frequently work on family farms without receiving an independent wage.
• This creates an important distinction between labour contribution and economic recognition.
• The former can be substantial while the latter remains limited.

4. Gendered Social Norms

Traditional gender roles often assign women responsibility for:

• Livestock care.
• Seed preservation.
• Weeding.
• Harvesting.
• Post-harvest processing.
• Household food security.

These activities can be viewed as extensions of household responsibilities rather than as economically productive agricultural work.

Major Challenges Faced by Women Farmers

1. Land and Property Rights

Land ownership remains one of the strongest determinants of access to:

• Institutional credit.
• Government schemes.
• Compensation.
• Crop insurance.
• Agricultural investment.

Inheritance and customary practices can continue to disadvantage women despite formal legal rights.

2. Access to Institutional Credit

Land often functions as collateral for agricultural finance.

A woman without land ownership may consequently face difficulty obtaining:

• Agricultural loans.
• Kisan Credit Cards.
• Working capital.
• Investment credit.

Recognition through a farmer certificate can help establish identity, but certificate-based recognition alone cannot automatically solve collateral and lending requirements.

3. Limited Access to Technology

Agricultural machinery is frequently designed around male body dimensions and strength.

Women therefore experience substantial physical drudgery in:

• Weeding.
• Harvesting.
• Carrying loads.
• Processing.
• Livestock management.

Gender-responsive agricultural mechanisation is consequently important.

4. Weak Market Access

Women may have limited access to:

• Agricultural mandis.
• Storage facilities.
• Transportation.
• Market information.
• Digital marketplaces.

This reduces their bargaining power and can increase dependence on intermediaries.

5. Limited Extension Services

Agricultural extension systems may not adequately reach women because of:

• Mobility restrictions.
• Lack of awareness.
• Timing of training programmes.
• Male-dominated institutional structures.

This limits women’s access to information on climate-resilient farming, crop diversification and modern technology.

Why Empowering Women Farmers Matters

Food Security

• The FAO has highlighted that closing gender gaps in access to agricultural resources can produce significant gains in agricultural productivity and food security.
• The UN notes that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, agricultural yields could increase by 20-30%, potentially reducing hunger for 100-150 million people.
• Thus, women’s empowerment is not merely a gender-equity issue; it is also an agricultural productivity issue.

Household Welfare

Greater control over productive assets and income can strengthen women’s economic agency and contribute to household expenditure on:

• Nutrition.
• Education.
• Healthcare.
• Children’s welfare.

Climate Resilience

Women possess valuable knowledge related to:

• Local crops.
• Traditional seeds.
• Biodiversity.
• Livestock.
• Water management.
• Soil practices.

Recognising women as agricultural decision-makers can therefore strengthen climate-resilient agriculture.

India’s Existing Initiatives

Maharashtra’s legislation complements several existing national programmes.

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana

• The MKSP, under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), seeks to strengthen women’s participation and skills in agriculture.

Krishi Sakhi Programme

• Women from rural communities are trained as Krishi Sakhis to provide agricultural extension and advisory services at the grassroots level.

Women-led FPOs

• Farmer Producer Organisations can enable women farmers to achieve improved market access
• The Union Government has also highlighted FPOs as an institutional mechanism capable of supporting small, marginal and landless farmers.

PM-KISAN

• Women are already significant beneficiaries of PM-KISAN. In the 23rd instalment, more than 2.18 crore women farmers received benefits.
• The challenge is to ensure that women engaged in agriculture but absent from conventional land-based farmer records are progressively brought within such systems where eligible.

Benefits of the Woman Farmer Certificate

• Formal recognition as a farmer
• Improved documentation for institutional finance
• Greater ability to access eligible crop-insurance schemes
• Improved identification of beneficiaries
• Direct access to agricultural advisory services
• Better access to seeds, fertilisers and technology
• Facilitation of market and value-chain participation
• Better gender-disaggregated agricultural statistics
• Evidence-based planning for women farmers
• Greater participation in agricultural decision-making

The certificate, however, does not automatically confer eligibility for every agricultural scheme; scheme-specific conditions continue to apply.

Way Forward

1. Replicate Activity-Based Farmer Identification

• Other States can consider recognising farmers based on actual agricultural activity, rather than relying exclusively on land ownership.
• This should cover cultivators, tenants, sharecroppers, livestock keepers, fishers, and agricultural labourers involved in productive activity

2. Integrate with AgriStack

Woman Farmer Certificates should be interoperable with:

• Farmer IDs.
• AgriStack.
• Land records.
• PM-KISAN.
• PMFBY.
• KCC.
• FPO databases.

This can prevent duplication while ensuring that women are not excluded simply because their names are absent from land records.

3. Link Recognition with Credit

Recognition should translate into actual economic agency.

Banks and financial institutions should develop appropriate mechanisms for women farmers without conventional land collateral, including:

• Joint-liability models.
• SHG-linked credit.
• Credit guarantees.
• FPO-based lending.
• Cash-flow-based assessment.

4. Strengthen Women FPOs

• Women-led FPOs can transform individual recognition into collective bargaining power.
• The focus should move beyond formation of FPOs towards production, aggregation, processing, branding, storage, market access, and export

5. Gender-Responsive Mechanisation

Agricultural research institutions should develop machinery designed for diverse users, particularly:

• Lightweight equipment.
• Ergonomically designed tools.
• Small-scale processing machinery.
• Mechanised weeders.
• Post-harvest equipment.

6. Strengthen Gram Sabha and Panchayat-Level Identification

Local institutions can play an important role in:

• Identifying women engaged in agriculture.
• Verifying agricultural activity.
• Creating awareness.
• Facilitating applications.
• Resolving grievances.

The Maharashtra portal, for example, provides an appeal mechanism where an application is rejected by the Gram Sabha.

7. Improve Gender-Disaggregated Agricultural Data

India needs better data on:

• Women cultivators.
• Tenant women farmers.
• Sharecroppers.
• Women livestock farmers.
• Women fishers.
• Unpaid family workers.
• Women’s ownership and control over productive assets.

What gets measured is more likely to get recognised in policy.

Constitutional and SDG Linkages

The issue has strong constitutional relevance.

Fundamental Rights and DPSPs

• Article 14: Equality before law.
• Article 15(3): Permits special provisions for women and children.
• Article 16: Equality of opportunity in public employment.
• Article 39(a): Adequate means of livelihood for men and women.
• Article 39(d): Equal pay for equal work.
• Article 43: Promotion of decent conditions of work and living wage.

SDGs

• SDG 1: No Poverty
• SDG 2: Zero Hunger
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 13: Climate Action

International Year of the Woman Farmer, 2026

• The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 78/279 without a vote on 2 May 2024, declaring 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer.
• The initiative seeks to draw attention to women’s contributions across agrifood systems and the persistent barriers relating to land, credit, training, technology, markets and other productive resources.
• Thus, Maharashtra’s initiative provides a useful Indian example of translating the broader international emphasis on recognition, empowerment and access to resources into a state-level institutional framework.

Conclusion

The central challenge facing India’s women farmers is not merely low participation but the disconnect between participation and recognition.

Women may sow, cultivate, harvest, manage livestock and preserve agricultural resources, while formal systems continue to identify the farmer primarily through land ownership and documentary records.

Maharashtra’s Women Farmer Certificate attempts to bridge this gap by shifting the emphasis from “Whose land is it?” to “Who is actually engaged in farming?”

However, recognition must be the beginning rather than the endpoint. Its success will depend on whether certification translates into access to credit, insurance, technology, markets, extension services and decision-making power.

As the UN’s International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 places women at the centre of the global agrifood agenda, India’s broader policy objective should be to transform women from unrecognised agricultural workers into recognised economic actors, entrepreneurs and decision-makers.