A. Women’s ability to make critical decisions in agriculture, access to the credit that she needs to support the production, use the technology that facilitates better agriculture, have access to the informed market choices, can take a leadership role in the household and community can be some of the aspects of women empowerment in agriculture. In other words, empowerment in agriculture enables her ownership on production, market and consumption, which means she can control her income, better manage her time, and make sure she remains healthy and productive in her multiple roles.

A. The recent census of the country and the National Sample Survey shows more than 81 percent of the country’s female work force is from rural India and almost 84 percent of them are engaged in agriculture, with a very unfair access to resources. Agriculture is beyond the word “occupation” in a socio-cultural landscape like rural India. It not only has the opportunity to increase incomes of the women in agriculture but it can empower them at individual, household and community levels. So, talking and working agriculture from gender lens can reach to a huge share of underserved population in India.

A. There are several factors responsible for it and they are all interconnected. Historically, like all other sectors, the ownership of agricultural resources lies with men. Though 84 percent of women are into agriculture only 13 percent of them own lands. Women have less access to knowledge that includes information on modern methods of agriculture. They were never a part of the science and technology that has become an integral part of agriculture. The technology and tools that improves productivity, saves labour and time are not gender friendly. Women with a cultural restriction on mobility have less access to market, which is an important domain for not only transferring the production to income but a key in availability and accessibility of resources, and women has less access to decision making within the household. The word “farmer” in media, campaigns, policy document is still represented as a man! We are yet to internalize the female face of farming.

A. Efforts for empowering women in agriculture have to be multisectoral. Promoting inclusive governance of land and other resources where women have equal access, promoting gender-responsive agriculture approaches that includes strengthened capacity of farmer for efficient production, ensured access to gender friendly technology that saves labour, strengthened women’s participation and leadership in rural collectivization, enhanced awareness about market and promoting market interface that is women friendly etc. can create a greater opportunity for women in agriculture. We have to also work with existing socio-cultural norm to undo the stereotypes that marginalizes women due to their gender. We should not forget to invest on men if we want to achieve empowerment for women. Further, at policy level, measure that engenders the pathways of food systems is vital for sustainable empowerment of women in agriculture. Empowering women in agriculture is not only a good thing but a smart thing to do. Tata Cornell Institute’s work under the program of TARINA in Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh has shown that women’s empowerment in agriculture not only intensifies and diversifies the agriculture production but also improves the household nu