Role of Women in Indian Agriculture By Prof. Vinod Malkar Sanjivani Rural Education Society, College of Engineering, Dept. of MBA, Kopargaon, Dist: Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India 1

CONTENTS About India Indian Agriculture Indian Women Role of Women in Indian Agriculture.

Location of India in World Map

India

National Symbols of India 5 Truth Alone Triumph s

About India  National Anthem - Jana Gana Mana  National Bird – Peacock  National Animal – Tiger  National Language – Hindi  Independence Day – 15 th August  Republic Day – 26 th January

About India 5,000 year old civilization 325 languages spoken 18 official languages 28 states, 7 union territories 3.28 million sq. kilometers - Area 7,516 kilometers - Coastline 1,210,193,422 population (2011 Census) Parliamentary form of Government Secular democratic constitution

About India Worlds largest democracy since 55 years 4 th largest economy Fastest growing IT super power Indian Railways,the biggest employer in the world

9 Indian Agriculture- Some Facts Total Geographical Area million hectares Net Area sown million hectares Gross Cropped Area – million hectares Major Crop Production ( ) » Rice 89.5 million tonnes » Wheat75.6 million tonnes » Coarse Cereals30.5 million tonnes » Pulses13.4 million tonnes » Oilseeds20.9 million tonnes » Sugarcane29.9 million tonnes

10 Indian Agriculture- Some Facts Contributes to 24% of GDP Provides food to 1Billion people Sustains 65% of the population : helps alleviate poverty Produces 51 major Crops Provides Raw Material to Industries Contributes to 1/6 th of the export earnings One of the 12 Bio-diversity centers in the world with over 46,000 species of plants and 86,000 species of animals recorded

Major Achievements India is Largest producer in the world of pulses, tea, and milk Second Largest producer of fruits, vegetables, wheat, rice, groundnut and sugarcane.

12 Indian Agriculture Scenario STRENGTHS Rich Bio-diversity Arable land Climate Strong and well dispersed research and extension system OPPORTUNITIES Bridgeable yield crops Exports Agro-based Industry Horticulture Untapped potential WEAKNESS Fragmentation of land Low Technology Inputs Unsustainable Water Management Poor Infrastructure Low value addition THREATS Unsustainable Resource Use Unsustainable Regional Development Imports

India’s Rural Market The size of the India’s Rural market covers two third of countries population and half of the national income comes out of the rural population. The country is divided into more than 400 districts and 630,000 villages. The size of India’s rural market, stated as the percentage of world population is 12.2%. This means 12.2% worlds consumer live in rural India. 13

Women In India The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers,equal rights The history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition.PresidentPrime ministerSpeaker of the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition As of 2012, the President of India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the parliament) are all womenSpeaker of the Lok SabhaLeader of the OppositionLok Sabha 14

Place of women in Indian society: A (cultural) historical perspective The Goddess (Devi) The mother The sister The wife

Indian Women in Modern Times Categories of employment (2001) FemaleMale Agricultural laborer 46.3%23.0% Cultivator34.6%39.9% Household industry 3.5%2.1% Non-household industry 3.8%8.8% Services8.3%10.8% Other categories 3.5%15.5%

Role of Women in Indian Agriculture 17

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Key Facts Indian population is 48.1% women and 51.9% men Female illiteracy is 62% whereas the male illiteracy rate is 34% The labour force participation rate of women is 22.7%, less than half of the men's rate of 51.6% In rural India, agriculture and allied industrial sectors employ as much as 89.5% of the total female labour 19

Key Facts Women have extensive work loads with dual responsibility for farm and household production Women's work is getting harder and more time-consuming due to ecological degradation and changing agricultural technologies and practices Women have an active role and extensive involvement in livestock production, forest resource use and fishery processing 20

Key facts Women contribute considerably to household income through farm and nonfarm activities as well as through work as landless agricultural labourers. Women's work as family labour is underestimated There are high degrees of inter-state and intra-state variations in gender roles in agriculture, environment and rural production 21

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Multi-Dimensional Role of Women Agriculture : Sowing, transplanting, weeding, irrigation, fertilizer application, plant protection, harvesting, winnowing, storing etc.

24 winnowing Fertilizer application Sowing

25 Domestic: Cooking, child rearing, water collection, fuel wood gathering, household maintenance etc.

26 water collection child rearing fuel wood gathering

27 Allied Activities: Cattle management, Fodder collection, Milking etc

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29 Mainly rural women are engaged in agricultural activities in three different ways depending on the socio-economic status of their family and regional factors. They are work as: (i) Paid Labourers (ii) Cultivator doing labour on their own land and (iii) Managers of certain aspects of agricultural production by way of labour supervision and the participation in post harvest operations.

Currently in India a paid women labour is getting Rs.100/- to Rs.150/- for six hours i.e. $2 to$3 for Six hours. 30

Percentage distribution of workers (main + marginal) according Categories of worker by sex and by sector during 2001 for India. 31

Case Study The study was conducted by Nisha N. in 2010 Palakkad district of Kerala state. Palakkad district is the major agricultural district in the state and more than 50 per cent of the total women workforce is employed in agriculture. There are about 317,192 agricultural labourers in the district, of which 156,290 are male agricultural labourers and 160,902 are female agricultural labourers. A Sample Size 120 has been taken for study and the results are found as

Demographics of women in agriculture 33

Economics Women in agriculture 34

Women Employment days in a year

National Research Centre for Women in Agriculture (NRCWA). 36 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research established the NRCWA in the month of April 1996 at Bhubaneswar and has since been upgraded as the Directorate of Research on Women in Agriculture (DRWA) from the year DRWA is carrying out basic, strategic and applied research on various gender related issues in agriculture and allied sectors with thematic approach in creating a repository of gender disaggregated data and documentation; technology testing and refinement; drudgery assessment and reduction; gender sensitive extension approach; capacity building of scientists and functionaries; efficient resource management; and gender mainstreaming.

Summary The women is the backbone of agricultural workforce and are a vital part of Indian economy. Over the years, there is a gradual realization of the key role of women in agricultural development and their contribution in the field of agriculture, food security, horticulture, dairy, nutrition, sericulture, fisheries, and other allied sectors. 37

Following are the key points,which will help in creating respectable role of women in Indian agriculture 1. Skill empowerment. By training in the area of various operations : – i. Field operations – ii. Conservation of biodiversity – iii. Nutritional bio-security – iv. Vocational training – v. Organic farming 38

2. Technology development for women Designing of tools for various field operations b. Animal husbandry i. Artificial insemination. ii. Veterinary knowledge c. For side income i. Mushroom cultivation ii. Floriculture 39

3. Creation of self help groups a. For financial support b. For generation of employment 4. Projection of contribution of women by collecting and analysing data a. Collection and display of data b. Projection of successful women in agriculture c. Representation of their contribution in economic terms 5. Providing Financial Powers a. Giving representation in land holdings 40

“India Lives in its Villages” Mahatma Gandhi Thank You